One of my favorite series of books for beginning readers (my children and grandchildren as well as my first grade students) is the Little Bear series by Else Holmelund Minarik. There is something about this photo of one of the three little grizzlies at Bearizona that brings those books to mind. It has been two months since I saw those bears, and I’m sure they are a lot bigger (and scarier) these days!
The last few days I have finally gotten around to editing more of the photos I took at Bearizona a month or so ago. I had fun playing with textures and some new brushes in photoshop to create somewhat painterly looks.
Same photoshoot as my other window shot from a week or so ago, but with the items rearranged and a slightly different look. Thank you to Debbie for giving me this old window to use in my still life shots- so much fun!
Below is a still life I shared with my weekly photo group on Tuesday. I have been in the group over 4 1/2 years now, and it has become an important part of my life. As I prepared this photo for class (on zoom, of course), I remembered that I had created a still life in the same spot in our house (on my father’s antique dental cabinet) for my second photo ever for this group back in 2016. You can see that photo and read about my experience as a new and very nervous member of the group here. I still learn new things every week and am constantly inspired by the group’s creativity and technical skills.
It’s October. Leaves are beginning to fall, pumpkins are in the stores, and we still have flowers!
I’m in the mood for fall, so I created a pumpkin still life today.
Our walk at Willow Lake showed us that Fall is on its way (some yellow leaves), but drought has caused the lake to recede and plants to dry up and wither. What used to be under water is now mud. Many trees still have green leaves however, which created the green bokeh areas in the background of my photo. We are looking forward to some colder weather and hopefully rain in the coming weeks.
Late one afternoon, we finally got over to Willow Lake to visit the white pelicans that flew in a few weeks ago. They are earlier than usual- and staying longer- perhaps because of the hot weather. As I drew closer to photograph them, it seemed the pelican on the right was becoming nervous, and it looked as if the bigger one was reassuring him. This went on for awhile, and eventually he did take off over the water to find a place to swim.
FYI- It has been about 11 months since my knee replacement, and during this walk, I noticed that I really don’t even think about my knee at all before taking a step. Before surgery, each step on uneven ground was wobbly as my knee was very unstable. I can’t say that it feels like a normal knee, but it WORKS!
I have an autumn wreath on my door and am planning to get out my Halloween decorations later today, but . . . it’s still summer here!
A variation on theme
Yeah- probably not real words- but I had fun yesterday “abstractifying and impressionizing” this multiple exposure photo of a building and archway on the University of New Mexico campus. I added another photo layer, one of my own textures, and a few grunge brushstrokes before doing some color adjustments. I like the effects and thoroughly enjoyed myself!
Another portrait of “my” bunny
As summer draws to a close, the grasses go from green to gold, and a new beauty emerges.
May you rest in peace, Justice Ginsburg. And thank you.
We have really enjoyed all our new rose bushes this summer- but this one is our favorite. We love the variety of shades that the roses turn as they bloom.
melinda anderson photography 