I decided that I should to go out to take snowy pictures when it is actually snowing if I wanted to capture the diffused light and soft palette that I like so much (and miss in Arizona). So Lonnie and I drove to Watson Lake for today’s photo and then had a great time trudging around in the snow at Willow Lake until the snowflakes stopped. Yes, I got a few shots that were blurred by falling snow, but I got a lot of keepers too. And within a couple hours most of the snow was gone.
Looking at Willow Lake in winter
Saturday morning’s wintry mix (did the Weather Channel invent that term???) gave way to overcast skies, which finally dumped a layer of snow Saturday evening. Of course I took a few photos on the way to the grocery store on Sunday morning!
Willow Lake
A view of the snowy hill and houses across the main road from us- bathed in the early morning sunlight- fingers crossed that we have more snow this weekend!
A peaceful scene at Lynx Lake yesterday. . .
A view from the top- Alyeska ski resort
I haven’t been doing much shooting lately- so thank goodness there are dozens of unprocessed photos to go through. Here’s a photo from last summer of the Matanuska River in Alaska.
When we were staying in Moab, we never really understood what the tepee set up was for and never took the time to find out. Turned into a monochrome, it reminds me of a vintage photo postcard (never mind the fence and the wagon and the lawn. . .).
There is beauty even in the stark landscape of areas in northern Arizona. Of course, the clouds help. . .
The above is another through-the-windshield shot- a few miles before getting to White Mesa..
Here is my current favorite cloud photo. I captured this one through the car window as we were driving to Moab; I think we were already in Utah by this point. It reminds me of a giant flying saucer hovering over the road. Can you tell I was a child in the 1950’s?
I never tired of this view- here’s another shot of the Colorado River in the early morning.
Just had to try the big rock in black and white!
I sometimes get bored editing landscapes- a little clarity and contrast, maybe a little vibrance, some dodging and burning, some sharpening- and done. Since joining the photo group, I’ve tended to use Nik Color Efex Pro or sometimes Silver Efex (both photoshop plug-ins) to edit my landscapes – because that’s what they all use in class. Now I am trying to use Luminar, because Google, who bought the program, is no longer supporting or updating the older programs. And we all use the TK Actions panel as well.
I decided to try doing a black and white in Luminar- but I ended up having to do a lot more more afterward in Photoshop, because I couldn’t figure out how to get the look I wanted. And when I was done getting the look, I decided I really wanted a color image after all.
Here is the black and white, edited in Lightroom, Luminar, and Photoshop. This was taken in the Matanuska Valley in Alaska.
And here is another view from a slightly different angle (and with a different focal length) of the same scene, edited mostly in Lightroom, with just a little work in Photoshop.
Sometimes you CAN have it both ways!
And now that I see them together, I think I like the black and white better after all. Maybe.
Here’s one of the many beautiful vistas we saw in Alaska- a view of the Matanuska River.
There is the Thumb Butte here in Prescott, and it turns out there is a thumb in Alaska as well- near the Matanuska glacier.
melinda anderson photography 