Hot chocolate and a book by the fire- my kind of evening!
Tulip with Attitude
My little AAUW photo group was discussing gesture in photography- a term used by Jay Maisel all the time to describe what he waits for when choosing a subject for his photograph. I can’t say that I fully understand the concept- but I usually know it when I see an obvious example. It seems to be a quality that makes the subject unique and isn’t only limited to living subjects. Even Scott Kelby was having difficulty understanding the meaning when interviewing Maisel.
To my eye, this tulip exemplifies gesture; in fact, it seems to have a definite attitude!
The Bench
There was still a lot of snow on the ground as we stepped out of the car on our way to one of our favorite Italian restaurants. But the area around this bench was snow-free, and the orange leaves on and around it seemed to create a little autumn vignette. I quickly snapped a photo with my iPhone, edited it in Snapseed, and called it done.
Big Wow!
For the last month, three photos of mine have been hanging at ‘Tis, a downtown gallery right on the square. I must admit I have visited them there more than once.
Below, you can see my husband, the art critic, analyzing Dandelion Dreams.
And here are Moonburn and Daydreaming (I think I overuse the word dream in my photo titles. . .):
This whole gallery experience has felt like I’m playing at being an artist, and I’ve enjoyed every minute. I still have one photo on display in another gallery at Prescott Center for the Arts, and I was awarded an honorable mention for that one (I didn’t even realize there were awards). The planets must have aligned just right!
Yesterday, the last day of the show at ‘Tis, I went to pick up my photos. The curator said I could only pick up one, and when I asked why only one, she replied “Because the other two are SOLD!” You could have knocked me over with a feather! I’m pretty stoked!
So Dandelion Dreams and Moonburn didn’t come home- and that’s more than okay with me!
Snowbound
It has been a week and a half since our snowstorms- and I find myself marveling every day at the slowly disappearing expanses of snow that remain in my yard, not to mention around town. I took my Velvet 56 outside to capture a few bits of weeds and leaves peeking up here and there through the snow.
Icy Abstracts
Icy branches in Yellowstone:
Ice by our driveway (a week after the snowstorms!):
Mammoth Mornings
It’s been over a month since we left Yellowstone, but I still am going through my photos. Here is a shot of the chapel with an elk grazing outside.
And below is a very early and very cold morning view of the Yellowstone Justice Center. Can you spot the elk in this photo? 🙂
Snowy Roads
It is almost a tradition with us to go out driving into the forested side of town on a snowy day to see what we can see. Although we live in a relatively small town, there are definitely microclimates within the town. Our neighborhood is definitely a high desert climate, but a few miles away (and a few hundred feet higher), it is more of a mountain climate. They get more snow- and it is really pretty!
I took this through the front windshield as we drove toward the Thumb Butte, which was shrouded in fog that morning. We only have patches of snow left at our house- but I would imagine there is still a lot of snow left in this part of town.
a little flower
Just living is not enough… one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.
-Hans Christian Anderson
Snow Drops
When we went outside last weekend, the melting snow on the evergreens sparkled in the sunlight- and I couldn’t resist going back in to grab my camera!
Snow at Daybreak
This is an early morning view from our driveway of the hills to the southeast of us. I posted the original photo on Facebook last week, but had fun playing with it yesterday, using two filters from Topaz Impression plus an added texture.
Up on the Roof
It was snowing as I waited at the church for members of my HeartMath group to arrive. I entertained myself by taking photos (of course) and was especially drawn to a group of robins on the roof. Two were flying around while this little guy sat there, making up his mind what to do next. I love our snow days!
Snow Delay
The El Nino storms have been hitting Prescott this week. Here’s a very early morning shot of a snowplow clearing the street yesterday, making it safe for the kids to get to school on a “snow delay” day.
Edited with Topaz Impression and Topaz Texture Effects
Two Tulip Monochromes
I love tulips in the window light. These are pink, but I really like the contrast when I convert it to black and white.
Both photos were taken with Lensbabies. I think the second one was with the Edge 80- but I can’t be sure (aperture and lens aren’t recorded in the metadata- frustrating at times).
Made by Hand
I couldn’t post this until after Christmas, because I was knitting this scarf for my daughter. I used to knit all the time until about five years ago, when I realized that my hand and wrist issues were being exacerbated by the repetitive motion. I have a real love of yarn and handknits, and, although I was never an expert knitter, it was a relaxing and creative outlet for me. So, I dug out some of my yarn and found a scarf that I had started to knit in 2010- and, knitting only a little at a time, I finished it up for my daughter for Christmas. I made so many mistakes, but finally the muscle memory kicked in. I know my hands aren’t up to more than a half hour or so a day of knitting, but I plan on digging into my yarn again and finishing up a few projects- a little at a time- baby steps!
melinda anderson photography 