Here is the third (and final) version of my windmill photo (see Adventures in Compositing and Adventures in Compositing, part 2), which I used for this month’s photo club. It is a composite of the windmill and Granite Mountain- with lots of layers in Photoshop, including the use of Topaz Glow and Texture Effects and On 1 software. Fun to do!
from our Alaskan boat trip
Our boat trip along the Kenai fjords in Alaska was one of the most memorable travel experiences of my life. Despite the rain and fog and the constant rolling motion (4 foot swells in places, they said- is that unusual? I don’t know.) and sometimes rough waters, it was amazing! We spent most of our time on deck, except for when the rain became too much, and were constantly awestruck by the dramatic coastline and the opportunities to see whales, puffins, eagles, porpoises, seals, and sea lions. And oh yes- glaciers! My photos of the scenery include mostly gray shapes with water spots- not too many keepers, considering how many I shot.
Here is one of my better land/sea-scape shots- taken while the boat was in motion and there was little rain. I wish I could say exactly where on the map this was. The mountains seemed to rise right out of the sea- with snow and glaciers and clouds to round out the scene.
We have just returned from a weeklong trip to Alaska, where we had a wonderful visit with my daughter’s family in their beautiful new home. Alaska is everything we heard it was and more- majestic peaks, glacial waterways, wildlife, and an abundance of wildflowers. We can’t wait to go back!
Of course the reason for our visit was these guys! They are settling into their new life and were eager to tell us about the otters and other animals they had just seen, as well as the wild berries and mushrooms growing in their yard. They will be starting school in a couple weeks, so their lives will quickly become very busy.
The photos below are from a walk we took at the Eagle River Nature Center, just a few miles from their house.
Next week, I will share some of the photos I took of our short trip to the Kenai Peninsula and our all day boat trip to the Kenai Fjords.
These beautiful flowers stopped me dead in my tracks as my friend, Carol and I entered the restaurant where we had lunch in San Francisco. We both ended up taking a few photos- the flowers were so gorgeous! We ended up photographing them from different angles- and edited them in ways that were opposite from each other, as well as opposite of our usual styles. Carol’s photo is an impressionistic rendering- and mine is more of a standard photo, edited for clarity. It’s as if we switched styles!
When we were in San Francisco last month, I snapped a few photos of the lobby art and lights, which I think make some interesting abstracts.
Another photo from our one day San Francisco visit:
I don’t know if there will be a Part 3. Time will tell.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been trying some different photoshop techniques. Here is a very different take on my chamomile macro from the other day!
The topic for this month’s photo club is an interesting one: each member randomly drew a piece of paper which had a section of a map of Prescott and the surrounding area on it. Our photo had to be taken within our section of the map. I believe the word creative was used in the description. Gah!
Lonnie and I drove out to my area, and he immediately spied an old windmill, which stands in someone’s yard. Perfect! It was midday with no clouds and 95 degrees, so we planned to go back. The following week, we drove out there again about 9 a.m., and I had a nice chat with the owner of the property. The windmill was there before the land was developed and was evidently part of the original ranch. It still works, although he doesn’t have it going right now.
I had this brilliant (hah!) idea of taking photos of the windmill, a poppy, a street sign and Granite Mountain (visible from the street) and then creating a composite that would be very artsy. I need practice in making composites- both the technical side and the creative side. I never did get all the elements into the photo- maybe someday. And neither of the two composites look at all like I envisioned. I will probably use a plain windmill shot for the photo club.
Here is my first effort. Later in the week, I’ll post my second try.
Here’s a closer view of some of the chamomile I’ve used in my still life shots in the last week.
It is feeling so good to get back to doing a little still life photography! Now that the house is no longer torn up, I have some space and time to set up some stills. I’ve been especially eager to try out a birthday present I got from my friend, Debbie- a vintage window! It’s been piled in the garage with everything else, but now I can get to it, along with some of my other still life props that were covered up.
I propped up the window on a table outside in the 95 degree heat and had a great time composing this image. I edited it using Kim Klassen’s darkday preset (desaturation, a matte tone curve, and split toning, among other adjustments).
As usual, I couldn’t leave well enough alone, so I took it into Photoshop and Topaz Impression for a painterly look.
Here’s another Topaz Impression version- a new one called Wispy Sketch. Love this!
It was too hot to create any more still life vignettes- but look for this window in the future! Thanks, Debbie!
And here’s another version of my nandina leaves- this time in black and white:
Leaves from our nandina plant:
You may remember my series of chair photos from last year- some including this hat. Well, the bunch of chamomile I picked up at Trader Joe’s put me in the mood again- so here’s another in the series, this time in black and white.
melinda anderson photography 