I always love how snow transforms our downtown- and how intentional camera movement gives the scene a dreamy quality. I think we should be done having snowy days; snow from our last storm a few days ago was mostly melted by afternoon. Bring on Spring!
That intense gaze was directed at the sparrows and finches at the bird feeder. I took my photos and off he went. He looks like a Cooper’s hawk- but seems smaller than the other ones we’ve seen.
I got up before daybreak on last week’s snowy day and ventured outside into the barely visible snow. I used the intentional camera movement technique with bigger apertures than usual in the dim light and liked this image of the neighbors’ lights glowing through the trees.
Winter has finally come! We drove down to the Courthouse this morning and had a wonderful time seeing how the deepening blanket of snow transformed everything. I took a few standard photos and then had a great time waving my camera around for some winter impressionistic images.
Another view of sunrise at Whitewater Draw
Just a little abstract expressing my mindset these days…
The sun broke through the fog at Whitewater Draw presenting us with an unforgettable scene. Behind us though, the cranes were still almost invisible in the early morning fog. Time for photographers to head to breakfast!
Spotted in Bisbee last week
Our second day of shooting started well before sunrise- in fact Lonnie and I did the half hour drive from Bisbee through the farmlands in complete darkness and then dense fog as we got closer. We were the first to arrive and sat in the car waiting for light and our fellow photographers to arrive. The cranes began to vocalize as the first rays of light appeared and soon were headed out to feed on the nearby farms. The dense fog made the cranes almost invisible, but this image is actually one of my favorites.
I have just returned from photographing sandhill cranes at Whitewater Draw in southern Arizona. Lonnie and I went with a group of people from my camera club- and this was my very first time seeing the cranes, as well as photographing birds in flight. It was an amazing, bucket list type adventure- such a wonderful escape from stress! I highly recommend taking a break from the news, soaking yourself in nature and just watching the birds. What does BIF mean? Birds in Flight of course!
We will be heading to Bisbee, Arizona this week, so I have been looking through photos of our first trip there in 2021. I found this shot and thought it would look most effective in black and white. I inverted it in Photoshop to emphasize wires and details of the buildings.
After trying unsuccessfully to capture ducks in flight the other day, I went to my comfort zone- intentional camera movement. My patient husband took custody of my tripod and long lens while I waved my camera around and took photos.
A cold morning walk at Willow Lake today. . .
“Hope” is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.
Emily Dickinson
P.S. Looking ahead to the next four years, I am trying to choose HOPE, despite all appearances of dark days ahead.
We returned yesterday from 10 days in Scottsdale where we brought in the New Year with our children and grandchildren. Almost all the time was spent in the pool and hot tub, and besides being a precious time to reconnect with our grandsons, it was a delightful break from the to-do’s of everyday life. All the images today were made with intentional camera movement and a slow shutter to reflect the relaxed days by the pool. Above are the lounges by the pool, and below are Papa and the boys watching football on the outside TV and grandson Miles playing ping pong. Ahhh the lazy, hazy days of January. . .
melinda anderson photography 