Melinda

Lost- and FOUND!

This week I was going through my antique dental cabinet and discovered some seashells that I hadn’t seen since the move to Arizona. I had always kept my father’s shells from his tour in the Pacific in World War II in the cabinet, but didn’t realize that MY small collection had been put in there too. I KNEW they would turn up somewhere! I have photographed the little green one before, but felt compelled to shoot it again, because, well, I was just so happy to see it again! So the shells are this week’s Friday Find.

And, of course, here is a black and white version.

August 29, 2014August 28, 2014

Melinda11 Comments

A Few Random Clicks

Jade plant

Some bottles and jars (note the wizard oil!)

August 28, 2014August 27, 2014

Melinda2 Comments

Golden Hour- EXTREME edition

We have lived in Arizona for a year now, and I am still obsessed with the changing skies. On Monday night, we looked out the window to see this (captured with my iPhone):

I grabbed my Nikon and ran outside. Unfortunately my macro lens (85mm) was on the camera, but, knowing how quickly light can change, I didn’t take the time to change it to my zoom to be able to capture a wide angle view. By the time, I got outside, the rainbow had faded and everything was bathed in an almost eerie golden light.

The clouds in every direction were shades of pink and gold, which darkened during the 5-10 minutes I took these photos.

All the photos have only minor exposure and clarity adjustments. The last one has Kim Klassen’s everyday texture added.

August 27, 2014August 26, 2014

Melinda4 Comments

Sunflower Monochromes

My grocery store sunflowers are starting to droop and turn brown on the edges, alas. I took a bunch of macro shots- and then turned two of my favorites to high contrast, split-toned black and whites, which I then textured with Kim Klassen’s golden.

Linking up with Texture Tuesday today.

August 26, 2014August 24, 2014

Melinda15 Comments

Prairie Sunflowers

Prairie sunflowers! At our monthly photography club meeting last week, I learned that the Flagstaff area is blanketed with prairie sunflowers in August and September. Bonito Park, north of Flagstaff, is a particularly photogenic spot as it sits between Sunset Crater and the San Francisco Peaks. My husband and I headed up there on Saturday and found it lives up to its reputation.

Here is the meadow with Sunset Crater in the background.

Looking the other direction, I photographed the sunflowers with the San Francisco peaks behind them.

As we began the drive home, we enjoyed seeing prairie sunflowers in bloom everywhere.

August 25, 2014August 24, 2014

Melinda7 Comments

Say cheese!

Photography seems to run in the family. My earliest memories involve being wakened by the glare of strobe lights as my father filmed every moment of Christmas morning (perhaps that’s why I avoid having my photo taken to this day). In his retirement years, he took college classes in photography and captured some wonderful photos of my children when they were little. Today’s photo includes his Nikon on the left and my first good camera, an Argus rangefinder (right), as well as a toy camera (middle) which I picked up in an antique store when Joan was visiting. In the front are two issues of Kodakery magazine from the 1920’s, which I bought in an antique store a few months ago.

Linking up with Friday Finds today.

August 22, 2014

Melinda6 Comments

Sun, sun, sun- here it comes!

After the extreme rain, a day of sunshine was so welcome! Sunflowers are among my flower favorites, so- to celebrate a day of sunshine- here are a few sunflower images (and yes, some are converted to black and white- I just can’t help myself).

August 21, 2014August 20, 2014

Melinda2 Comments

Monsoon

If we were in any doubt that it is the monsoon season here in Arizona, the last 24 hours have made us believers. Holy Moly! Thunder, lightning, rain and flash floods- we’ve seen them all. We’re happy to be high and dry (so far. . .) on our little hill and are watching the action on TV. When we were out yesterday, we spotted clouds hanging over Thumb Butte (not the usual view), so we went home and got my camera so I could get some shots before visibility was gone. Storms are predicted off and on all week- wish I could send some to California!

August 20, 2014August 19, 2014

Melinda2 Comments

Alas, the End

Today is the end of our friend, Joan’s visit to our home in Prescott. We are so sad to see her go- we had such a wonderful time with her! Yesterday, she got to experience a true “Retirement in Prescott” day.

We started the day with a trip to our fabulous hardware store, where we spent so much time browsing that we almost forgot why we were there (to buy picture hangers and a birdfeeder extender hook). Then we drove down to the square so Joan could take photos of the courthouse and some of the surrounding buildings.

She and Lonnie enjoyed walking the timeline of the history of Yavapai County.

We did a complete circuit of the courthouse building, which is undergoing some construction, with a security guard acting as tour guide for part of the way.

After lunch at home, we headed out to the movies so that Joan could experience the reclining seats. We saw Into the Storm (thumbs down for acting and plot, thumbs up for special effects), and afterward walked out into our own extreme storm- driving rain, thunder, lightning, and flooding roadways. Now Joan can say she has truly experienced summer in Arizona!

The sunset and flag photos each have textures added: ecru on both photos, and also waterfront 17 on the sunset (both by Kim Klassen).

Linking up with Texture Tuesday today.

August 19, 2014August 18, 2014

Melinda6 Comments

Ready or not . . .

My friend, Joan, is staying with us, and we are having so much fun introducing her to Arizona. Saturday was spent touring Prescott- and shopping- and Sunday was the anticipated trip to Sedona and Jerome. I packed my camera bag with three lenses and an extra battery and planned to try some detail shots of the area, as I had photographed the places we were visiting several times. I had picked up a free Sedona guide at the airport, so was planning to bring that as well as the Arizona Highways photography guide I had recently purchased. I was READY!

As we drove into Sedona, I looked down at my feet and saw that yes indeed I had brought the guidebooks- but where was my camera? The answer became clear that I had left my camera bag on the kitchen counter. Oh. My. God.

So it became obvious that any pictures I might take would have to be shot with my iPhone. I relaxed, because I already have photos of Sedona. But when we pulled into our first stop, the Chapel of the Holy Cross, I noticed something that had been missing on our previous trips to Sedona- CLOUDS! Big billowy CLOUDS! And there was a moon- kind of taunting me up there. Darn.

So today’s post is all iPhone photos- including some Lensbaby shots, because at least I had that in my purse.

Here’s the view of Cathedral Rock from outside the chapel (notice the clouds. . .).

The chapel is awe-inspiring. After sitting quietly for awhile, I put the Lensbaby on the iPhone and tried some creative photography inside.

Afterward, I snapped another view of Cathedral Rock, before we went into town for lunch and some shopping.

Despite the camera fiasco, we had a wonderful time!

August 18, 2014August 17, 2014

Melinda4 Comments

Arizona Raindrops

Arizona monsoon season!!! What a difference rain makes! Our brown hills have turned green, and, after this week’s huge storm, I went outside and actually found raindrops left on plants from the night before. If you look closely, you’ll some tiny refracted images of flowers in some of the drops.

Linking up with Friday Finds today.

August 15, 2014August 15, 2014

Melinda9 Comments

Unstaged

One of the recent lessons in BeStill 52 was to create an unstaged (or at least a seemingly unstaged) still life. I’ve been busy- or at least preoccupied- but finally made some time earlier this week to get it DONE.

Of course, the first step was to get caffeinated, and, as the coffee started coming out of the Keurig, I grabbed my camera and took a few unstaged shots. Encouraged by how easy this was, I added a nectarine and a knife and finished the shoot in less than 10 minutes. If I had known how fast I could get it finished, I would have done it sooner!

Inspired by my photo friend, Barbara, I edited each photo with a different preset and am calling it DONE!

Presets used (all by Kim Klassen):

Left- truegrit

Right- oldendays and lettherebelight (one of my all-time favorites)

August 14, 2014August 12, 2014

Melinda1 Comment

I Heart Lensbaby

My iPhone Lensbaby came at last! I participated in the Kickstarter program and was able to get it before it goes on the market (and at a reduced price).

I absolutely love it! My iPhone is fun again- thanks to this tiny little lens. This is the first and only lens I’ve had for my phone, and it has taken some time for me to get used to it. Although I loved it from the start, focusing it has been a challenge for me. The first step in using this little guy is to attach it to the magnet ring (supplied) on the phone (with the Lensbaby app open )- then adjust the position of the lens to get the best focus with a centered “sweet spot.” Since I almost always prefer an off-center area of focus, I then switch to the “movable sweet spot” mode and compose my picture. I’m not sure why focusing was so difficult for me, but since I’ve relaxed about it a bit, I’ve been happier with my results.

Here are some of my favorite shots.

The soft blur created by the lensbaby just seems to go with flowers!

Since this is app-happy Wednesday, I will mention the apps I used to edit these images. I generally open in Snapseed first to crop and make any exposure adjustments. I often go into Pixlr Express afterward if I want to make an adjustment to just one area of the image. I used to do this in Snapseed, but I find the history brush in Pixlr Express easier to use. To do this, I make the adjustment I want to the ENTIRE image, and then use the history brush to erase it from the areas where I don’t want that particular adjustment. It’s kind of counterintuitive, but I’m getting used to it.

Now I NEED to get a Lensbaby for my Nikon- I could start with a Composer Pro with a double glass optic. Are you reading this, Santa???

August 13, 2014August 12, 2014

Melinda7 Comments

Country Drive

Today I’m posting some photos from our drive through Peeples Valley and Kirkland a couple weeks ago. I love country roads and all the charms of barns and fences and horses- maybe it’s because I grew up in a small town in a rural area.

Textures (all from Kim Klassen): top- waterfront 7; bottom- nutmeg and unleashed

Linking up with Texture Tuesday

August 12, 2014August 12, 2014

Melinda6 Comments

Somewhere over the . .

Warning: there are more Arizona skies in this post!

Last night,we had just sat down to dinner, when my husband exclaimed- LOOOOOK! This is not that unusual; we have beautiful clouds and sunsets (not to mention birds and snakes and lizards. . .), and we are always telling each other to LOOOOK!

As you have guessed, there was a beautiful rainbow out there (and it had not been raining).

But what became immediately apparent was that it was a DOUBLE rainbow that stretched across the whole horizon! I grabbed my camera (and he grabbed his), and we ran outside. I don’t know if he captured the whole span, but I soon discovered that my 18-200 mm lens was not really wide enough- especially, because it started raining as soon as we got out there, and we had to stand on the porch and then in the open garage. It got too wet too quickly to stand out there, so we went back to eating dinner. These photos do not begin to capture the beauty of the rainbow or the quality of the light- but here they are.

I don’t know what is going on with the clouds in the middle two photos (the darker semi-circular shape at the top). A camera thing, a flying saucer thing- who knows?

BTW, it being summer in Arizona, there was thunder and lightning going on too!

August 11, 2014August 10, 2014

Melinda1 Comment