We will be in Alaska for the next two weeks! I am scheduling a few posts of some photos from previous Alaska trips to publish while I’m gone. We’ll be seeing our Alaska family for the first time in a year and a half; their youngest, Henry is now 10 1/2 and Miles is a teenager- 13 1/2! AND we will be celebrating our 50th anniversary!
Here is where we’ll be celebrating- Homer, Alaska!
Here is another almost abstract image created by using intentional camera movement and slow shutter speed. Although it might look like I added a texture, this is almost straight out of camera. I find it so interesting the different effects that can be created this way.
The morning fog was just beginning to give way to a bit of sunlight as I took this photo of a gull flying overhead at Newport Beach. I love the quiet of mornings at the beach!
Last night we went out to grab a quick salad before settling down to rewatch one of our favorite Brit TV series- Scott and Bailey (we just can’t seem to get enough of these fascinating characters!). After dinner, the sky put on an amazing display for us, complete with God-beams highlighting Granite Mountain! I managed to capture several shots with my iPhone through the windshield as we drove towards home.
After we had been home for a bit, we heard the pitter patter of gentle rain, which had been predicted for earlier in the day. We ran outside and watched, and, unfortunately, the rain stopped after about ten minutes. The drought here is getting scary- our lakes are drying up and there are wildfires burning. In fact, it is likely that the some of the clouds and haze behind the mountains in this photo are actually smoke.
We spent a few days in California this last weekend, and I was able to get out on the beach with my camera for a couple hours. Watching the waves always brings me peace, and this time I decided I would only use slow shutter speeds and a bit of intentional camera movement to convey that feeling in my photos. Although I’ve used these techniques before, this was the first shoot where I ONLY used them. The results were mixed, but here is a quick edit of a gull in flight, which I hope captures the peace and calm I was feeling as I took the photo.
Reflections on a cloud filled day
with love to Joni
It’s been so hot- I think the temperature has affected my photo editing!
It’s summertime, thank goodness- and there is always something to photograph in our yard. If it isn’t a rose, it’s a dahlia or a honeysuckle or a daisy!
What a great message!
Spotted in Bisbee.
When we were in Bisbee a week ago, we took a little side trip to Lowell- once a mining town, and now part of Bisbee itself. It was fun to look at the old cars and buildings; below is the old police department.
It was almost sunset in the desert, but the sun was still fiery hot. This was taken after dinner outside the house where we stayed in Oro Valley, Arizona for my birthday.
While everyone around us was watching the hummingbirds at the feeders, I happened to turn around and spot this little guy on the pole behind the group. He looked at me, I looked at him. He was very cute! My bird app tells me he was a white-breasted nuthatch.
We went away last weekend to celebrate my birthday! We headed to Oro Valley to a beautiful VRBO and took trips every day to various areas within a couple hours from where we stayed. In 2020, our photo group had to cancel our planned trip to Sierra Vista, so we did a general reconnaissance trip of the area for when we eventually do a photo trip again.
The morning of the first day, we visited Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon and did a little bird watching, which was a lot of fun. A big attraction was the hummingbirds. As various birders came in, they excitedly asked if the Berylline had been spotted yet- a hummingbird that I, of course, had never heard of or seen. It evidently had been making regular appearances at a particular feeder, but it was not seen during the morning we were there. The broad-billed hummingbird below was not at all shy and was a constant visitor to the feeder near us.
Other birds we saw included acorn woodpeckers, pine siskins, black headed grosbeaks, scrub jays, and a white-breasted nuthatch. Remembering bird names is always a challenge for me- thank goodness for my iPhone apps.
We continued on to Tubac for a delicious Mexican lunch and a bit of gallery browsing. A great day!
It’s just a gull- not an unusual sight at the beach (understatement!)- but it was so nice to be able to take a picture of one. So here he is!
melinda anderson photography 