Hello, 2017!

The camera is an instrument that teaches people to see without a camera.
                                                                        ~ Dorothea Lange

When I started doing photography as a hobby, I soon realized that I was seeing the world in a way I hadn’t since childhood. Pausing to take the time to really notice and see has been the great gift of photography for me. I recently read a wonderful book called Adventures in Seeing by Kim Manley Ort that reminded me of the importance of all this.

As I approach the new year, I know there is no way I can predict what will happen in the world and in my life, but I do know that I want to be happy and present in my own life and with the people I love. I intend to slow down a bit, and take some photographs just for the joy of seeing.

Again- thank you for stopping by and for your lovely comments this year. Whether photography is your hobby or not, take some time to stop and SEE- and perhaps take a photo! Best wishes for a new year filled with JOY!

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Melinda2 Comments

Good-bye, 2016!

As I say good-bye to 2016, I am looking back to my personal highlights, photography-wise.

  • Having my first photos hung in a gallery and selling two!
  • Being invited to join a local photography group- the intimidating one that I have referred to many times. Being in this group has helped me to accept criticism and to really look at my own work with a much more critical eye. And it’s also really fun!
  • Improving my Photoshop skills (also due to the above group) .
  • Getting a good photo printer and learning to print my own photos.
  • Traveling to Alaska, where photo ops are everywhere!
  • Trying out multiple exposure and intentional camera movement techniques, which I find fun and an escape from the more traditional photography skills I use in my photo group.

Instagram will compile the best nine photos of the year for each user, based on likes. I’m an inconsistent Instagram user, but have been trying to use it more recently, because that is the way everyone seems to be going these days. Two of the photos (the Thumb Butte abstract and the misty, snowy woods) were actually from 2015, but I posted them later to Instagram. So here are my Best Nine, according to Instagram:

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Here are my own personal nine favorites of 2016, a few of which never made it to Instagram:

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Three of my favorites were just taken in the last month or so- the peaks with pretty skies. And three were taken in Alaska in November. I know the aurora photo is not stellar- but I’m so glad I got even a little bit of it. There are two from San Francisco- and what is that hawk doing there?- I don’t know, I just like the photo!  I noticed that my usual macros, flowers, and still life shots didn’t make the cut- although I still like doing them. And I have to say that my absolute favorite photo of the year is The Magician (top left)- fun to do (and a lot of work to edit).

Thanks for visiting my photo blog this year!

Happy New Year, everyone!

 

 

 

Melinda5 Comments

Out of Context

20161205-mma_0594_melinda_anderson-editAs I look out at the melting snow, this image seems out of place- yet I did take it a week or so before Christmas. Let it serve as a reminder that the days are now getting longer, spring is on its way, and the strange, turbulent, and sad year 2016 is almost over.

Shot with Lensbaby Velvet 56

Melinda2 Comments

Experimenting

On Christmas Day, while the menfolk were absorbed with football, I went outside a couple times to take photos. The snow was deep-ish and the temperature was cold, so I never stayed out long.  Since I so often take photos of the same scenes around my front yard, I quickly got the urge to experiment with alternative photography methods . The two photos below are both in-camera multiple exposures of a tree and snow. The snow added a texture to the photos- no photoshop involved.  Fun to do- although the lack of control is challenging.

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A White Christmas Dream Come True

We were dreaming of white Arizona Christmas as we checked the weather apps each day. As the weekend approached, the forecasts kept showing a snowflake for most of Christmas Eve day- and they were right. It rained in the late morning, quickly turning to sleet and then snow- heavy snow that lasted all afternoon. We ended up with about six or seven inches at our house, and it is still here. Beautiful!

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I posted this photo on Facebook- and then noticed the fire hydrant in the foreground, which I have since removed (fire hydrants and garbage cans are what cloning brushes are for!).  After I took this shot, I walked toward the tree- and fell against the curb, cracking my lens hood and banging my arm and knee. Happy to report that the only damage seems to have been to the lens hood (which is a replacement for the one I cracked in Montana. . .)- the camera and photographer are just fine!

Melinda4 Comments

Eklutna Lake- Two Ways

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Our son-in-law took us for a drive over to Eklutna Lake, which was not yet completely frozen. The icy shoreline proved irresistible to kids and dog who immediately were running and sliding and having a great time.

I realized I haven’t posted as many black and whites as usual- and I do love black and white. So I converted today’s image into a monochrome, although I think I like it better in color.

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Melinda3 Comments

Through the Gap

My daughter’s home in Alaska is surrounded by trees and mountains, and the winter sun is too low on the horizon to shine directly on their house.  But for about an hour a day it sits in a gap between peaks, its intense light turning everything golden before hiding again behind the mountains.

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Super Duper

Last night I finally got outside to photograph the super moon. At first there was just a glow in the sky- and then the moon rose over the clouds, only to disappear and then reappear in the cloudy sky.

20161214-mma_0738_melinda_andersonI went out later to check on its progress as it rose in the sky and was almost more fascinated with the smoke-like cloud beside it than I was with the moon itself. For the image below I had to blend two exposures to get the cloud to show next to the moon.

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Not tired of it yet. . .

I have photographed this view of the San Francisco Peaks many times- and recently have used both intentional camera movement and multiple exposure for a different look. But really- it is the skies that make the difference.

This shot is of last Friday’s sunrise and is a multiple exposure. It looks like a woven blanket to me.

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And here is a more “traditional” photo taken at the same time- not that much different, except for the colors of the mountains. I love how the sun is hitting the snow at the top.

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Sometimes you don’t have to wander far from home to find photo subjects.

Melinda3 Comments