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:
Five
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!
Frozen
Here is another view of the frozen landscape at the Eagle River Nature Center.
Alaska Drive-by
There is so much beautiful scenery in Alaska, and you can’t stop for every view- so you sometimes have to just keep clicking your shutter as you go down the freeway. In fact, my shutter jammed as I kept firing it in burst mode as we drove along (it did recover, thank goodness). I don’t know exactly where this was taken- somewhere between Palmer and Wasilla, I think.
Brrrr!
I think all my Alaska photos should be titled Brrrr– it was cold. We didn’t spend a lot of time outside, but I did accompany Justin and Caitlin- and Penny, the golden retriever, on a quick walk at the Eagle River Nature Center, at the Chugach State Park. I saw a very different scene from my visit in August!
That’s ice on the trees; the only snow was on the mountains. I think this photo was taken around three- thirty.
Shades of Orange and Purple
Another sunset view. . .
Folded Sky
I never get tired of sunrise and sunset shots. I think this in-camera multiple of the sky looks like folds.
Wiggling the Camera
I have spent perhaps 4 days editing the photo I’m using for the final in my photo group. It is sharp, sharp, sharp- but, other than that, the project was pretty much a disaster. The editing time was basically spent trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. More cloning than anyone should have to do in their entire life! I am hoping the result is adequate. No, I’m not yet posting it.
To recover, I spent an hour in the land of blur, producing some ICM images- abstract or impressionist landscapes, I’ve discovered they are called- achieved by long exposures and camera wiggling.
Here are two edits of my across the street view. I think the black and white looks like an ocean view.
Blast from the Past (well, August)
This is overlooking part of the town of Eagle River, outside Anchorage, Alaska, where our daughter’s family lives. In the distance you can see a bit of the Knik Arm- and an overcast sky, and in the foreground is fireweed, which was everywhere during our visit. We are returning to Alaska to spend Thanksgiving- and I’m sure it will look quite different!
Morning Blues
The other morning I woke up early and looked out the window to see blue stripes of clouds in the pre-dawn sky. I threw on some gym pants and slippers, grabbed my camera, and headed out to the driveway to shoot some pictures before the sun came up. I ended up crossing the street to get this view of the peaks and hills in the distance. I took multiple exposures as well as intentional camera movement shots and had a great time- until I realized that the sun had come up and I was across the street in my nightclothes, with a wild bedhead- and was waving my camera around like a madwoman. This is how I am earning my reputation as the neighborhood crazy person!
Below is what looks like a multiple exposure- and I guess it is- but it was shot by moving the camera around during a long exposure (intentional camera movement).
October Color
Last week, Lonnie read a feature in our local paper about the beautiful fall color to be found at in Watson Woods, the riparian preserve by Watson Lake, only a mile or two from our house. We drive by it every day, so we decided to go over there and see what we could see.
The photo below shows one of the first scenes to catch my eye- what photographer can resist reflections?
Here’s another version of the same scene- with intentional camera movement for an impressionistic view.
We walked until the mid afternoon heat started to catch up with me (why was I wearing long sleeves and a vest?), and then we stopped to soak in the atmosphere before walking back to the car.
Rising
Another beautiful Arizona sunrise!
What Lies Beyond
I’m still going through my Alaska photos, which bring back memories of the beautiful sights we saw everywhere. This shot is from our boat trip out of Seward along the Kenai Fjords.
Shades of Green
Alaska is SO GREEN- at least in the summer. This was taken at the Eagle River Nature Center on our walk with the kids. As I look ahead to Fall, I am wondering what it looks like there now. I am imagining some golds among the greens.
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!
melinda anderson photography 