It was so much fun to stand on the pier taking photos of the surfers at July’s championship competition at Huntington Beach! Oh how I wished for a longer lens (these are cropped). . .
Sunrise Skies
Early morning along the Colorado River
Morning River
I never tired of this view- here’s another shot of the Colorado River in the early morning.
Morning Run
A beautiful Moab morning!
Sunset and Rain on the Colorado
We stayed at the Red Cliffs Lodge outside Moab on the Colorado River. This was a return trip for us, having first visited there in October 2014. This view is of the grounds by the restaurant, where we had just eaten dinner. I went outside to photograph the clouds at sunset, and then it started to rain.
I spy
On the last morning of our trip to Moab, I was standing by the fence looking over at the horses across from our room at the lodge, when I heard the unmistakable gobble of a turkey. From behind me walked a turkey, just as calm as could be, and gobbling all the while. It peeked through the fence, spied another turkey in the brush, flew to the top of the fence, and disappeared into the bushes.
Window View
When we were traveling to Utah last month, I took a few shots out the car window of a group of running horses. The quality was not excellent, but I kept them anyway.
Meanwhile, in photo class last week, the topic of clipping masks came up- so that was in the back of my mind as I went through some photos I took in Huntington Beach in July. When I came upon a shot of a vintage window taken inside looking out from the cottage where we were staying, I knew I wanted to replace the view with, with . . . HORSES!
Here is the original window view:
Nature’s Watercolor
Like every other photographer, I’m drawn to reflections. This one caught my eye at the Eagle River Nature Center in Alaska. I loved the contrast between the bits poking above the surface of the water and the watercolor swirls beneath.
Mono Drama
Just had to try the big rock in black and white!
Approaching Buddha
We took a few days to visit southern Utah to meet up with family a few weeks ago- what a beautiful road trip! As we drove along south of Moab we noticed what appeared to be a huge rock Buddha in the distance. The sky was darkening as rain clouds formed ahead, but the “Buddha” sat in a patch of light. I took several shots through the windshield before it disappeared from view.
A little while later we could see that we were approaching the Buddha- or maybe it looked like a huge beehive?
As we drove by, the huge rock seemed to change shape, and no longer looked like a Buddha at all. Maybe a landlocked ship? Or an alien craft? All photos were taken through the car window as we whizzed by.
Indecisive
I sometimes get bored editing landscapes- a little clarity and contrast, maybe a little vibrance, some dodging and burning, some sharpening- and done. Since joining the photo group, I’ve tended to use Nik Color Efex Pro or sometimes Silver Efex (both photoshop plug-ins) to edit my landscapes – because that’s what they all use in class. Now I am trying to use Luminar, because Google, who bought the program, is no longer supporting or updating the older programs. And we all use the TK Actions panel as well.
I decided to try doing a black and white in Luminar- but I ended up having to do a lot more more afterward in Photoshop, because I couldn’t figure out how to get the look I wanted. And when I was done getting the look, I decided I really wanted a color image after all.
Here is the black and white, edited in Lightroom, Luminar, and Photoshop. This was taken in the Matanuska Valley in Alaska.
And here is another view from a slightly different angle (and with a different focal length) of the same scene, edited mostly in Lightroom, with just a little work in Photoshop.
Sometimes you CAN have it both ways!
And now that I see them together, I think I like the black and white better after all. Maybe.
Winding River
Here’s one of the many beautiful vistas we saw in Alaska- a view of the Matanuska River.
Mad, Mad World
Dipping into the archives for a little change of pace, I found this image I barely remember doing from last year’s San Francisco trip.
Sunset Star
Another sunset palm tree view in Benicia.
Palm Tree Play
I have always loved how palm trees line Benicia’s First Street and especially love how they look at night lit up with twinkly white lights. After photographing sunset there a couple weeks ago, I took a moment to take some photos looking up at the palm fronds.
The below image started as an in-camera multiple exposure- and then I went a little crazy . . .
melinda anderson photography 