One of the highlights of our recent trip to Alaska was taking the tram up the mountain at the Alyeska Ski Resort, where our daughter’s family skis. They are all accomplished skiers, but the thought of those little guys up on the steep ski runs at the top strikes terror into this grandmother’s heart! BTW, those are glaciers on the nearby peaks!
Yes- it really is this pretty- everywhere you go, everywhere you look! Mountains, glaciers, water, flowers- Alaska is beautiful!
This was taken at the Eagle River Nature Center.
Different windmill- same day.
Rudy suggested I slow down my shutter to capture the motion of the blades- I like the effect! This is something Tom (my photo teacher) says to do with helicopters and propellers. Why have I never made that connection?
There’s nothing I like better than a windmill, a silo, or a grain elevator as a photo subject!
Our longtime friends, Joan and Rudy have been here for a visit and to celebrate Joan and my birthdays. On Friday, we took a drive over to Skull Valley and Yarnell so that Rudy and I could do a little photography. You will see a few of my photos in the coming week.
As Arizona newbies, we tried to get to the Red Rocks Crossing view of Cathedral Rock in Sedona several times over the last few years- always without a map, unfortunately. Once we even got to the trailhead, but it was almost sunset- too late to start out. So a couple years after our last attempt,we set out this weekend without any expectations (or map. . .) and drove to the trailhead in the middle of the afternoon. It was a fairly easy and short walk to the view above, and I got to sit with my feet in the water and look at nature (my happy place)! What this does NOT show is the huge, NOISY crowd of families- complete with boom boxes. The iconic shots of this spot never show that scene. I hope to return at a better time of day for photography and explore a little more of the area now that we know where it is.
The views go on forever!
We were absolutely entranced by the view from the Mogollon Rim on our recent trip to Payson. The views of rolling hills and mountains seem to go on forever. This image started as an in-camera multiple exposure, which was then layered with another multiple exposure and edited in Photoshop and other programs.
Another digital art/alternative landscape/multiple exposure piece from Alaska.
I’m kind of at the point where I don’t know what to call my work anymore. Is it digital art- but it’s all photography? Is it multiple exposure- but it’s done in photoshop? Whatever it is, I enjoy doing it!
Editing photos for creative expression, relaxation, and just plain fun is an essential part of my photography life. I don’t paint or do crafts- so I create with the camera and the computer. I respect and enjoy traditional photography, but I sometimes like to tiptoe a bit onto the photography wild side.
Yesterday I revisited some of last summer’s photos from Alaska. At the time, I was fascinated with the stark shapes of the rocks and peaks jutting out of the sea, but I was disappointed in many of the resulting shots when edited traditionally. But I had so much fun creating the “alternative landscapes” below.
I’ve always loved blue and have recently become a big fan of the hour before the sun comes up, when the sky and clouds are streaked with shades of blue.
Here are some driveway and across the street shots from yesterday.
If you look closely, you’ll see a layer of fog between the far and near hills- I’m guessing over Watson Lake.
While reviewing some of my Alaska photos, I found so many shots that never made the blog- like this sunset view.
It was a beautiful sunny day in Prescott- perfect for a walk and some photography. The water is high at Willow Lake, and areas where we normally walk are under water. The upside is that the water surrounding the boulders create beautiful reflections- and waterfowl is everywhere! The usual ducks were there, as well as egrets- and there was a hawk perched high in a tree (too far for a photo with my limited lens).
Arizona sunsets are amazing!
You can see the Thumb Butte ahead with our hill to the right (our house is off camera).
Photography notes: Unfortunately I only had my iPhone with me to capture this (and the snowplow was waiting for us to move, I think)- and I haven’t learned enough about iPhoneography to know how to capture the dynamic range of this scene. I would automatically bracket this scene on my big camera- and could have done it with the phone camera if I knew my controls better (on my to-do list. . .). I edited it on the computer, but I can’t help wondering what it would have looked like taken with my Nikon!
When we were out driving around Sunday, we stopped at Watson Lake for a short while. There was some snow on the ground, but what interested me was the high water level. Areas that we could normally walk through in Watson Woods were flooded, which made for some nice reflections.
Same photo, tighter crop. . .
melinda anderson photography 