My husband and I began to develop a bit of cabin fever over the weekend, as the weather had kept us inside for most of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. By Sunday we were ready for an outing and decided to drive over to Lynx Lake. The road was plowed and we were able to have a nice view of the lake before the snow began. The rest of the day wasn’t snowy, at least where we live, but we are expecting more today.
The Christmas lights are off for the season in Prescott, Arizona’s Christmas City. But they were still on last week, when we drove up the hill to the Pioneer Home to see this view. I think it’s most fitting that the residents of the Pioneer Home, who must have lived in Arizona for at least 50 years in order to be eligible to live there, have the best view in town!
The lights on this blog will be out tomorrow.
Many of my favorite photos these days are taken right from the driveway or across the street. It is usually cloud patterns or streaks of light on the hills that bring me outside with my camera. I find that by using intentional camera movement or in camera multiple exposures, I can create an image that expresses the way I see the scene in front of me rather than a literal depiction. Usually only a small amount of post-processing is needed, which is unusual for me!
This one is a combination of in an camera multiple exposure combined with photoshop layers. It was taken in the blue hour right before dawn, when the lights from the shopping mall across town were still visible.
I have gathered some of my Homescapes together in a slideshow, which you can view on my gallery page. Click on the word, gallery in the menu at the top right of this page or click here.
I didn’t know the moon would be full last night, but when I sat down to wait for the rice to finish cooking for dinner, I could see the moon through the front window. I wish I had been there to see it pop up over the horizon, but I am delighted to have captured the moon at sunset.
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.
Icy Eklutna Lake with some intentional camera movement:
We were dreaming of white Arizona Christmas as we checked the weather apps each day. As the weekend approached, the forecasts kept showing a snowflake for most of Christmas Eve day- and they were right. It rained in the late morning, quickly turning to sleet and then snow- heavy snow that lasted all afternoon. We ended up with about six or seven inches at our house, and it is still here. Beautiful!
I posted this photo on Facebook- and then noticed the fire hydrant in the foreground, which I have since removed (fire hydrants and garbage cans are what cloning brushes are for!). After I took this shot, I walked toward the tree- and fell against the curb, cracking my lens hood and banging my arm and knee. Happy to report that the only damage seems to have been to the lens hood (which is a replacement for the one I cracked in Montana. . .)- the camera and photographer are just fine!
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.
My daughter’s home in Alaska is surrounded by trees and mountains, and the winter sun is too low on the horizon to shine directly on their house. But for about an hour a day it sits in a gap between peaks, its intense light turning everything golden before hiding again behind the mountains.
I’m sure this won’t be the last- there were gorgeous views everywhere you looked!
This is somewhere near Palmer- I think.
I have photographed this view of the San Francisco Peaks many times- and recently have used both intentional camera movement and multiple exposure for a different look. But really- it is the skies that make the difference.
This shot is of last Friday’s sunrise and is a multiple exposure. It looks like a woven blanket to me.
And here is a more “traditional” photo taken at the same time- not that much different, except for the colors of the mountains. I love how the sun is hitting the snow at the top.
Sometimes you don’t have to wander far from home to find photo subjects.
Another view of sunset at the Eagle River Nature Center
When we first moved to Arizona, I missed trees! Over time, I have learned to love the open landscape and find myself drawn to its bare beauty.
Every day we were in Alaska, I would wander out onto the deck and take photos of the view.
Here is an afternoon blue hour shot:
This row of trees seems to stand guard at the gap in the mountains at the nature center. In browsing through other photos of this area, I noticed everyone seems to take a photo of these same trees. They are somewhat ragtag and gawky looking, but there is just something about them!
At sunset, everything seemed to have a rosy glow.
I did another edit in black and white, but couldn’t seem to get the effect I wanted. Then I added a teal color layer and a texture, which gives it a snowy look. Just playing!
melinda anderson photography 