Foggy Morning at the Draw

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.

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BIF

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!

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Wires of Bisbee

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.

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Waiting. . .

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.

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Hope

“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.

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It’s All a Blur

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. . .

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I’m dreaming of . . .

. . . a White Christmas- although this ICM photo I did several years ago looks more like a blue Christmas! We are having a relatively non-traditional Christmas celebration in Phoenix, which is becoming our traditional Christmas. We will have our kids and grandchildren with us- which is the best thing ever! No snow, but some warm days and lots of downtime to spend with our loved ones! We can’t think of better Christmas than that!

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At the Square

It was soooo cold (with no snow), but that did not stop people from walking around Courthouse Square looking at the decorations. The trees and gazebo were all lit up creating a magical atmosphere for walking on this December night.

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Oldie but Goodie

I took this photo several years ago at a Ruby’s in Southern California. The light was right, and I tried to capture the waiter as he went about his duties. I went back and edited it a bit, had it printed, and took it to my camera club’s Christmas party. There’s something about photos I take at the beaches that end up being among my favorites- I need to get back there!

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Home is where the heart is

Waterfront Impressions

Just a little memory of our April visit to Benicia. We lived in Benicia longer than anywhere else (26 years), and when you add in the 12 years of living in Sonoma County, that makes the San Francisco Bay Area our home for about 38 years! The older I get, the harder the math is getting: We have lived in Arizona 11 years. We lived in Sacramento for 6 years too (not quite the Bay Area, but not far away). Chico was home for 23 years (including my college years at Davis). Don’t add it all up- it makes a really big number! I wish my math was off…

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the day after

I thought of calling this The Twilight of America, but I decided that was too pessimistic. Can I see this differently? The American people have spoken. I hope that the future is not as bleak as I see it right now, but right now I see the things I value- inclusion, educating our children to think, women’s rights over their bodies, respecting differences, taking care of the less fortunate, valuing science- being rejected.

About the image- It started with seeing the moon last night at sunset- and noticing red, white, and blue appearing in the image as I looked at it on my phone. A good omen, I wondered? This morning I overlaid a doorframe and the stars and a texture. And it expresses my mood. You can interpret it as you wish- negatively as in my first paragraph, or the moon as a symbol of what is constant in the universe, despite politics and politicians.

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