This is my first post of 2026- time flies when you are having fun (or are busy and overwhelmed). But I am still here! And still taking photos. I’m active in 7 photo groups and have leadership roles in two- I enjoy it all, but sometimes my blog posts suffer.
This started out as a night heron, photographed on the Newport Beach pier- but somehow I got the idea one night to dress him in Route 66 garb. So here he is- ready to go out on the town in 1960!
Ahhh the lazy days of summer, just hanging out by a lake- in this case, at our daughter’s cabin at Crooked Lake in Alaska. The sunlight shimmering on the water behind the fireweed caught my eye, and I tried to capture the dreamy feeling using multiple exposures and a slow shutter.
We visited Tumacacori State Historical Park two years ago, which inspired me to create a series of abstracts reflecting my feelings and memories of this place and time. I was looking through this series and found many images which I’ve never shared on this blog. This one began as a multiple exposure from inside the church.
Just a little abstract expressing my mindset these days…
Just having a little Photoshop fun- layering and blending photos
I can’t think of anything more KANSAS than a cornfield.
I had some fun with an image of some hotels in Phoenix layered with part of a rusty fence- and then some Photoshop brushwork. Playing with images is definitely my favorite form of escape and relaxation.
I haven’t had a beach day for almost two years- just in dreams.
Like many photographers, I love the old and decaying details I come across. Give me an alley, a rusty old truck, a weathered fence or a crumbling wall- I can be happy all day! I won’t go into how much I love barb wire. . .
Here’s another multiple exposure from Newport Beach from 2022. This one is layered with some gelli plate textures.
This is the third image I’ve submitted for the online exhibition. It is an in-camera multiple exposure of the Newport Beach pier layered in Photoshop with some gelli prints and is called “Smithereens”. You can decide for yourself what the image means to you, and, as for the title, I just like the word!
As you may remember, I am part of an wonderful group called Find Your Voice, run by the amazing Valda Bailey and Doug Chinnery. I have learned so much from them and from the photographer/artists who are a part of the group! We create work in the expressionist style, using multiple exposure, intentional camera movement and other techniques to express our vision. It is the time of year when we submit 3 pieces to Valda and Doug who will pick ONE to show in the online exhibition, like we did last year. This year, the exhibition is titled “Fragments” and we are encouraged to use elements of collage in our work, which may be other photographs, painting, cyanotype, or other techniques. Many of the members are also artists in other mediums (not me!), so, as you can imagine, I have to fight off “Imposter Syndrome” at every turn!
The image above is a collage (or composite) of an in-camera multiple exposure layered with parts of several gelli plate printed images. My inspiration was the recent massive heat wave- hence the title, “Heat Dome”. It is one of the three images I am submitting, so may or may not be in the online show.Another image I’m submitting is “That Morning”, which has appeared here on the blog. I will post the other entry later, once I figure out a title!
I am finally getting around to posting the third in my Merging Realities series! Although I’ve been taking and editing photos, I’ve been super busy and just couldn’t get my act together to post any of them. But summer vacation is here, and my retirement life is going to slow down a bit- so expect more posts soon-ish!
Another image from the mall.
I watched a video tutorial on intentional camera movement the other day, and, inspired by a photo friend who did a whole series of ICM images in her bedroom while ill, I created a series while watching the video. I used a glass apple from my teaching days and focused into the glass, swirling my camera around, picking up other colors. I am calling my series Imaginarius, because of the imaginary landscapes and abstracts created by this process. I will post more in the next week or so.
melinda anderson photography 