I convert at least half my photos to black and white- I just can’t help myself. I love the emphasis on shape and form, as well as the drama and simplicity of the monochrome. Not that I don’t love color- just not all the time.
Both of these are macros (yes, I tried macro at the botanical garden with no tripod. . .). The first, I call Prickly.
And this one, I call Cactus Noir.
Tomorrow a color photo- I promise!
I love photography. I love my iPhone (I’m on my third!). Why haven’t I gotten more into iPhoneography? I guess the answer is that if I have my big camera with me, that’s what I’m going to use. However, iPhoneography has become a BIG DEAL, and I want to at least dip my toes in that water, so to speak.
I signed up for a little online iPhoneography class and learned about some new apps and got some good tips. I thought I had a lot of apps already, but I have recently learned that there’s a whole world of creative apps I hadn’t discovered yet. I love apps!
Some online photo friends have inspired me to get back on instagram and participate in a 30 day challenge using the Waterlogue app (a cool app that turns your photos into paintings). It’s fun and challenging- and gives me another excuse to play with photos on my phone.
Here’s a selection of some of my instagram photos from this week. The first was edited in Mextures, one of my absolute favorite creative apps, and the others were edited in Waterlogue. In most cases, each photo first went through one of my go-to photo apps, Snapseed and/or Pic-Tap-Go, before the creative apps. FUN!!!
Top row: last night’s downtown sunset, Granite Mountain
Bottom row: Chihuly exhibit, flower still life
My AAUW photo group took a field trip yesterday to the Chihuly Exhibit at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. WOW! So many of the cacti were in bloom- and blooming cacti is something I had never seen. It was photography heaven!
I concentrated on the plants- with the glass exhibit taking a backseat, as I had photographed most of it before. I haven’t had time yet to go through the hundreds of photos- I’m sure you will be seeing more here over the next week.
That’s Chihuly bokeh in the photo above!
Snow!!! After our teaser snowstorm in December, we waited and waited for more. Now that I am wearing capris and a sunhat, the weather surprised us yesterday afternoon with more snow.
My husband and I are still such Prescott newbies that we got in the car and drove around to see what snow was like in each part of town. Nothing seemed to be sticking, but big flakes were coming down fast almost everywhere we went.
Downtown Whiskey Row:
We drove past my friend, Debbie’s house, because she lives in the pines at a slightly higher elevation and usually gets more snow than we do. Sure enough, the snow was sticking to the tree branches and the ground in some places.
We’re still missing our sweet grandsons a lot! We’re so grateful for the wonderful visit we had and are already planning our next trip to Yellowstone to visit them. We’ve received two phone calls from 3 year old Henry (one unknown to his mother!), which lets us know he’s still thinking of us.
I edited another photo of Sedona’s Bell Rock for this week’s Texture Tuesday. This one was taken from partway up (which is about as far as I got), and is edited with two layers of Kim’s canvasback (color burn blend mode) and a couple “magic” textures. Happy April (no foolin’ )!
My sweet little guys have flown back home, and I’m going through photos and remembering the special moments of this visit. One day, the boys (on their own) made forts in the living room with their blankets and the afghans and throws they found on the couches. This was especially appealing to Henry, whose favorite game is hiding under a blanket and calling, “Come find me!”
The boys love bathtime in our big tub, and last night they were rolling around afterward on our bed. I thought I’d take a bunch of photos, but Caitlin and I mostly were in stitches over their antics. Here is one brotherly shot that I love.
We took the boys (along with their parents) on a picnic and hike at a city park which has trails overlooking the town. Henry and Miles lead the way and were triumphant reaching the point where we would start back down to the parking lot.
Here they are leading the way; that’s Granite Mountain in the background. I added a Jessica Drossin texture to this one to add some color and depth.
And here is my favorite photo of the day- the boys at the top of the trail.
Today’s Texture Tuesday theme is QUIET.
Hmmmm…… there hasn’t been much quiet around here lately due to the presence of two rambunctious little boys- UNLESS they are asleep. I took some photos of Henry asleep in the car and used a much more heavy hand than usual when adding textures. I used two layers of Kim’s 1612 at multiply mode (brushed off face) and then added a grunge texture from my Photoshop Artistry class.
Linking up with Texture Tuesday.
Most of my photos from Sedona are of the grandkids, but I did take a few scenery shots- here’s one:
It’s been a wild few days in our usually quiet retirement home here in Prescott- the grandkids are here (along with their mom and dad)! Today, we drove over to Jerome and Sedona; the boys’ favorite part was getting out of the car finally and walking (running!) partway up Bell Rock.
Their exuberance at being outside in a natural environment was evident!
Sitting at my desk, I have the perfect view of anyone or anything coming into our yard. We hung a bird feeder right outside the window, so I can keep an eye on my little friends. It was while I was sitting here that I spotted the first roadrunner, and the other day it was quail. I think it is a Gambel’s quail, which looks almost the same as a California quail- but I am totally bird-challenged. But I am sure at least that it is a quail- that’s one of the three or so birds I am actually able to identify. I have seen them down the street- and actually all over Prescott- but never before in our yard.
I noticed two of these guys in the “flower” bed out front ( we haven’t yet replanted the bed with the annuals that were here when we moved in), so I grabbed my camera. I tiptoed out the front door, and came face- to-face with them on my porch. They skittered up the rocks to a bush that is usually filled with finches and the two mourning doves that hang out with them. I then saw that there was a big group (a covey or bevy) of 15 to 20 of them under the bushes. When I started clicking my camera- zoomed in from 15 feet or so away, they started heading out into the street, led by one of the quail from the front porch. They then took flight over to the field across the street and disappeared.
This photo is severely cropped, and there is a texture and blur added to the background.
melinda anderson photography 