I’m going through some of my Alaska photos looking for some suitable images to bring to my photo group this semester. I’m considering this shot of the tracks along the Turnagain Arm.
Eklutna Lake- Two Ways
Our son-in-law took us for a drive over to Eklutna Lake, which was not yet completely frozen. The icy shoreline proved irresistible to kids and dog who immediately were running and sliding and having a great time.
I realized I haven’t posted as many black and whites as usual- and I do love black and white. So I converted today’s image into a monochrome, although I think I like it better in color.
Windmills on my Mind Again
Four treatments of the same scene- part of the larger image from yesterday.
Boo Two
Ghost of pumpkins past . . .
Into the City
I took my multiple exposure obsession and ran with it for my “Old Master” assignment for my photo class. Instead of using my Van Gogh field of yellow flowers (which is very much in my comfort zone), I was inspired by Edward Steichen’s multiple exposure cityscapes of New York City to create a composite of three of my San Francisco images to create this one. This was a fun assignment- not only creating my own image, but seeing what the others chose. I think all of us really stepped out of our respective boxes!
Montezuma Well
The travelogue continues! After visiting Montezuma Castle (and then having lunch at the nearby casino on the reservation!), we drove down the highway to Montezuma Well, another part of the same National Monument. A short walk takes you to an overlook of an eerily deep green/blue well, where cliff dwellings line the surrounding rocks. Yes, the water does really look this color!
We didn’t take the steps down to the water itself, but just continued on the upper trail.
I converted the photo below to black and white; it looks a bit like another planet to me!
Trio in Black and White
You might not recognize these, but they some of the wildflowers/weeds growing in the dirt pile from across the street!
Sunflower Decay
I love sunflowers no matter what the stage of their life cycle. For me, there is beauty in their decay.
Back to SF
I realized that I never posted my favorite Ferry Building shot from our brief San Francisco visit early in the summer. I took this photo the evening before Carol arrived- right after Lonnie discovered the view while he was looking for ice. This one, taken through glass, has better focus than the one I took the next night, even though it was handheld- no tripod. Go figure!
And here is another edit of the same image- black and white with a slightly different crop.
A Different Take
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!
Adventures in Compositing
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.
A hat, some flowers, and the chair
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.
Twists and Turns
I spotted this tree by a hotel where we were staying in Phoenix and was fascinated by the twisty branches. Although I would normally edit a paloverde in color to emphasize the green bark, I thought a black and white treatment better showed off the gnarled quality of the branches.
Funky Flower Fun
This is the flower from the Apache Plume plant that we have by our street- in color and with 3 black and white edits.
Yellow- or Not
Yellow!
Or not!
melinda anderson photography 