Perfect orchids!
Not mine, fortunately (orchids shrivel up and die when I get too close)- they were at Sunnylands. 🙂
Points of View
My little AAUW photo group had the assignment last week of photographing a subject in different ways, from different angles, and/or edited different ways. I had a busy week so allowed about a half hour for shooting and a half hour for editing- I almost made it. I used my 35 mm for 3 shots and switched to my 85mm macro for the other 2. I quickly edited all in Lightroom and then added textures to two in Photoshop- all on schedule. Â But I was in such a hurry and so out of patience that I kept messing up the collage in the Lightroom Print Module. I threw up my hands and sent them all to my phone where I made a quick layout in Pic Collage, which added only about 5 minutes to my allotted time. Â When I picked up my print at Costco, I realized that I had sent the wrong photo to my phone for the middle one on the left- it was unedited! And so it was. . .
I added a bit of contrast, clarity, and sharpening to that unedited part of the collage before uploading to my blog- so it looks a little better (no, I did not re-make the whole collage!).
And again. . .
I’m returning one more time to some shots I took at Sunnylands.
Here are the grounds.
And here are some shots I took of a bench presented to President Obama by the president of China in 2013.
Spring is Here!
Here’s another blossom image for today- with a little Topaz Impression for a painterly look:
Where’s Waldo?
Here’s yet another view of Sunnylands- I just can’t get enough of the palo verde trees! During the editing process of this photo, I discovered something that I didn’t realize I had captured when I snapped the shutter. Can you find it?
No, it’s not the people in the background- it’s in the foreground, and may be pretty pixelated in this online version. It’s in the orange flowers, and it starts with H!
In Bloom
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Â I looked through my recent photos and decided to break with tradition and go with pink instead of green for today. I took these shots of the blossoms on our plum tree before we left for Palm Springs. Â I guess this was a smart move, because, now that we are back, the blossoms are all gone.
More from Sunnylands
This was the view that awaited us as we walked onto the grounds from the parking lot! I kept trying to capture shots of the little hummingbirds flitting in among the orange flowers, but, alas, they were too quick.
Sunnylands
The focus of our short stay in Palm Springs was of course our reunion with the Rapunzels. We enjoyed some great meals and spent a lot of time catching up on each other’s lives. Our one outing was to Sunnylands, which had been highly recommended by my cousin, Charlaine who was just there. Sunnylands was the estate (built in 1966) of Walter Annenberg, the late publisher, diplomat, and philanthropist. We hadn’t bought tickets for the tour (which included the house), but took our time walking around the beautiful grounds. I was especially captivated by the palo verde trees (state tree of Arizona!), the trunks of which you can see in the below photos.
The Rapunzels Do Palm Springs
We returned last night from a delightful mini-vacation to get together with my Rapunzel friends in Palm Springs.  It was our first trip there- slightly less than 5 hours away now that we live in Arizona- and it was great fun! It was the first time that the six (of the seven) of us who came had been together as a group for over 3 years. Oh yes- the husbands were along too! We had a blast- and it was as if no time had passed at all for these forever friends of over 40 years. More photos to follow. . .
Surreal
Here are a couple shots from V Bar V, where we saw the petroglyphs. It was the color contrasts that caught my eye.
Deconstructing
This is what can happen as you arrange flowers for still life photography. . .
Predators
As the cormorants were busily building their nests, these two red-tailed hawks looked on- most likely with bad intentions!
On the Rookery Path
Here’s another view of the path we took through the rookery area of Willow Lake. If you look very closely you can glimpse the Dells across the lake- way in the background.
At the Rookery
Last week in my photo class I overheard someone mentioning a path by the rookery- and I interjected, “What rookery? Where?” It turns out that deep in a grove of cottonwoods at Willow Lake there are huge old trees containing enormous heron, egret, and cormorant nests. Although I am sadly lacking in bird knowledge, I love to take photos of them- and the idea of a rookery close by was impossible to resist. A few days later, Lonnie and I found the right path at the lake- and we were there!
As we entered the area, we could hear wingbeats and gutteral squawks overhead before we even saw the nests- which are impossible to miss. I don’t think I managed to convey the enormity of the nests in the photo below, but you can get an idea of how numerous and high up they were.
In the first tree, there were 10 or 12 herons perched on nests or branches and occasionally flying around. Â The next tree was packed with cormorants actively nest-building. We didn’t see egrets, although we heard they were around. It was an amazing sight!
I think this is the first time I’ve ever photographed herons from below- probably not a wise place to be.
Stay tuned for more rookery photos tomorrow!
Flowers for Friday
Just some ranunculus in a Mason jar- have a good weekend!
melinda anderson photography 