There was so much to photograph on our outing last weekend. I loved the contrast between the dark tree (mesquite?), the green leaves, and the yellow blossoms peeking through from the background.
Happy Earth Day! Go outside!
Painted Butterfly
I had fun yesterday giving this butterfly a painted look with three textures and two different Topaz Impression filters. It somehow satisfies my childhood desire to be a painter.
Catching up. . .
Thank goodness I have some photos that have never seen light of day, because I have NOT been using my camera lately. Here is a shot of pussy willows from last month.
Upcycled Cardinal
I’m back among the land of the living again! I haven’t quite returned to photography as yet, so today’s photo is a reworking of one I took last summer in Tucson. I played with it in Photoshop and added some textures to create a painterly look.
Spring is Here!
Here’s another blossom image for today- with a little Topaz Impression for a painterly look:
In Bloom
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I looked through my recent photos and decided to break with tradition and go with pink instead of green for today. I took these shots of the blossoms on our plum tree before we left for Palm Springs. I guess this was a smart move, because, now that we are back, the blossoms are all gone.
Surreal
Here are a couple shots from V Bar V, where we saw the petroglyphs. It was the color contrasts that caught my eye.
Pussy Willow Two Ways
My friend, Debbie gave me some pussy willow branches, which I placed in water in the kitchen window. The buds are starting to open, so I took a few minutes to capture this one with my Lensbaby Velvet 56 in macro mode.
It’s Spring. . .
… at the Desert Botanical Garden!
Playing with Sticks
More branches in a jar. This was shot with the Lensbaby Edge 80 again, but then I used an oil painting filter in Topaz Impression and a Flypaper texture after that. Yup- just playing with sticks. . .
The Berries- again
I found a couple other shots I took when I was taking my berry still life for my class. These were taken before or after- without a tripod, because I couldn’t get high enough with the tripod. I used a shallow depth of field for fun- and I guess I wasn’t very steady on the stepstool, because these would definitely not pass the sharpness test! I like them anyway.
BTW, my hummingbird passed muster yesterday in my new photo class. I wondered how people (especially the instructor) would respond to the background, which had been edited using Topaz Impression- but they were fine with it. If you read my blog regularly, you’ll recognize this photo from last summer. The only critiques were some thought the little twig under the hummingbird could be cloned out, and one person would have liked a closed beak. One thing I’m learning is that people have differing opinions of each other’s work- and it’s all ok. It’s a very nice group of people, which makes it all easier.
Bone Structure
“I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape.
Something waits beneath it; the whole story doesn’t show.”
– Andrew Wyeth
The Winter Sun
The combination of bright sunshine and freezing temperatures what irresistible to me on our Thanksgiving trip to Yellowstone. I guess I should get my favorite shots posted before spring comes!
Company Came!
Yesterday we woke up to a couple inches of snow on the ground- which quickly became 4 or 5 inches at least, as it snowed steadily all day. It is super cold, as it was during and after our last snowstorm, so snow is still on the ground- unlike in our first two winters here, when it all melted away by noon. We are experiencing a real winter in the Arizona high country!
Around noon, my husband spotted this hawk sitting quietly on one of the birdhouses. It was snowing lightly at the time, and the wind was blowing. I’m not sure if he was just resting or was waiting for the birds that frequent the bird feeders in this part of the yard. I posted a shot of him on Facebook, and it was suggested he was either a Copper’s hawk or a Sharp-Shinned Hawk. I didn’t enter the debate (I have no confidence in this area), but I did read that even experienced birders have trouble telling them apart.
For the above image, I cloned out all the distracting branches and the rocks on the hill in the background, and then added a texture at low opacity to make the background less stark. Below is a more natural photo- with the branches and background clutter. Both photos were taken through a bedroom window, and he was definitely aware of my presence!
Sun, Snow, and Steam
I couldn’t resist- here’s another image from our visit to Mammoth Hot Springs. . .
melinda anderson photography 