Happy Fence Friday!
Big Boys of Summer
Comings and Goings
Color- or Not
I couldn’t decided which I liked best- so I’m posting them both.
Both of these were taken at my visit to Eliphante, right before walking across the creek!
Water’s Edge
When we were walking at the lake a week ago, I was captivated by the green of this tree, which contrasted with the darker trees bordering the lake. It was hard to photograph because I could only see it through branches- so I didn’t. But I saw it again on our way back- with a little girl under it- and knew I had to try. I was already envisioning it as a painterly image. I took the resulting photo into Lightroom and then Photoshop for some cloning work. Then, I used Topaz Simplify to remove details and give it a bit of a watercolor look. I blended it with the original image, bringing back some detail- and finished it off with some textures. Playing with images is part of what keeps stress out of my life- and it’s so much fun!
In and Out
The title of this post refers to the subject of today’s photos- and also to the process of intake and outake with regards to my photo files. I’ve been going through the process of culling and editing the photos I took at Eliphante the other day. Since I have very full hard drives, I am trying to become more disciplined about the culling and deleting process. Not easy- I tend to want to keep everything!
And the subject of today’s photos? Doors! Entry into the artistic structures is always through individually designed doors- and often through tunnels lit by skylights or windows.
An unusual place to say the least.
Found Stills
July has been a busy month; actually the whole summer has been busy. Trips to Kansas, Yellowstone and Tucson plus some fun social events have filled up summer. I’m not complaining- it’s not like I have to go back to school in August! We’re also taking a quick trip (4 days driving, one day there!) to the Bay Area for business and have some houseguests coming (yay!) in August. And I’m about halfway through Caroline Jensen’s Communicating with Color and Light class through Clickin Moms (it is fabulous!). Life is full and fun! I’m saying all this as a way to explain why I haven’t done much still life photography for the Studio Online. Something had to give, and I know I will be getting back to it.
But in the meantime, while I was at Eliphante yesterday, I FOUND some still life arrangements just sitting around. So I got my still life fix the easy way!
Artsy musical instruments
Random pots under a potting bench:
Through the Looking Glass
Yesterday I went with some photography friends and my friend, Debbie (not a photographer, but definitely an artist) to a very unique spot called Eliphante, located in Cornville, near Sedona. It was once the home of an artist couple, who created art which evolved on the land where they lived. It is now a private museum, which is only open to the public by appointment.
We had to meet one of the live-in caretakers/guides and then walk on rocks across a creek to get there. Eliphante is hard to describe- but the words, Hobbit and Through the Looking Glass are what came to my mind.
One of the structures we explored:
My friend, Gail, taking photos inside this one:
Debbie went through the tunnel ahead of me to get inside this building:
So here I am- through the looking glass!
Barrio Doors
Aaaah- those colorful Tucson barrio doors! It was images like these that made me want to explore this area with my camera!
Lily Abstracts
I took some time a few days ago to take some abstract macro shots of lilies. I added a couple textures for that painterly look I love- and the first one I also took into Topaz Simplify. Truthfully, because of the shallow depth of field, it looked pretty painterly already, but I love to fiddle around with my images. It is my form of a mindfulness meditation and satisfies my childhood ambition to be an artist when I grew up. 🙂
Tucson Evenings
Even though we only spent two full days there, I still have Tucson photos to share! Here are two views of the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains taken from the balcony of our hotel room.
Double rainbow and rain!
Sunset
Hummmmmm, part 2
Cherry, Cherry
Music to read blogs by:
Taking cherry photos, editing cherry photos, EATING cherries, and listening to Neil Diamond SING Cherry, Cherry!
Lensbaby Sweet 35 (with macro converters in first image)
Textures and painting with Topaz Simplify in first image
Hummmmmmm
One of the areas we enjoyed the most at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum was the aviary- mostly because of the hummingbirds. As we wandered around the paths, we were able to catch glimpses of many of these cute little guys.
In the Desert
Probably the highlight for me of our trip to Tucson (beyond lying by the pool and having guacamole with every meal) was seeing the Sonoran Desert. I now get why people love the desert. The landscape there is different from what we’ve seen around Phoenix and definitely not like the high desert climate we live in- it is BEAUTIFUL and full of life. I would love to go back and see more.
This view is from when we stopped the car on the way to the museum.
This is the view next to the museum.
I can only imagine what this looks like at sunrise or sunset (these were around noon. . . and it was SO HOT! ). Beautiful country!
melinda anderson photography 