It’s not Halloween- it’s a Tsunami!
Last Saturday, we went to what I would call a Happening- Tsunami at the Square. I’m not sure all the events that took place, because we were only there for an hour (it went on until 10:00 that night). The people watching was fantastic, but the dappled lighting made it hard for me to find a good angle. There were several photographers there with pro cameras who were shooting the action on stage (musicians, clowns etc.), but I had more fun photographing the audience. There were many people dressed in hippie attire, but this couple was my favorite.
Edited with Photoshop and Topaz Impression.
Halloween Walkabout
Here are a couple more sights we saw as we walked down Mount Vernon Street.
Spirit of Halloween
Yesterday we took our annual Halloween stroll along Mt. Vernon Street, where the Halloween spirit is very evident. In this neighborhood of older homes, most houses are decorated for Halloween, and some have gone all out! It’s the most popular street in town for trick-or-treating.
Just folks. . .
Saturday we went to the Prescott Folk Music Festival. It has been going on for 37 years, but this was our first time- actually our first time at ANY folk music festival. We loved it!
Picture a small, rustic venue with small stages, inside and out (the Sharlot Hall Museum). Then picture musicians and some ordinary folks like us walking through the grounds on their way to hear groups or perform on stage- the acts changing about every half hour. There were also workshops for musicians, food of course, and small groups jamming here and there. There was folk music of all kinds- and most of it really, really good! Oh- and most of the performers we saw were at least in their sixties. Lots of men with gray pony tails and beards! I hope there are a lot of young folk singers out there somewhere- we didn’t see any in Prescott!
She looks like Mary Travers, doesn’t she? And yes, they sang Peter, Paul, and Mary songs- and sounded like them too! This is MacDougal Street West.
I LOVED this guy! He is part of a bluegrass group from Phoenix. What a musician! His group was called Jason Donne and the Open Graves!
The two ladies above were a part of a group that sang Southwest cowboy music; we almost didn’t stay to hear them- and they were fabulous! They are called IQ Minus One- and I can’t remember what IQ stands for. . .
One of the highlights of the day was hearing an amazing group from Tucson which included Bobby Kimmel, the founder of the Stone Poneys, and members of the Ronstadt family- Linda’s cousin and wife. I don’t have any great photos of their performance, because it was inside and all I have are iPhone shots, but I had to mention them, because they were sooo good! I Hear Voices is the group.
At the end of the day, many musicians gathered on stage and led the crowd through This Land is Your Land.
We discovered that this two-day folk festival is held the first weekend in October every year- put it on your calendar!
Gated
Happy Fence Friday!
The Porch
I’ve always loved front porches. We had a good sized one in the house I grew up in, but we never sat on it. I finally have a front porch in our current house (just a slab, but it does the trick), where we sit and watch lightning storms and … sometimes … snowflakes!
This front porch caught my eye when we were picnicking at a Sonoma County winery with our friends, Georgia and Jerry in August. I loved the blue bench as background for the yellow flowers- and then there was just something about the watering can by the screen door! I played with these images a bit using Topaz Simplify and some textures.
Granite Mountain
Granite Mountain is the stark backdrop to the northwest area of Prescott and one of my favorite views. On Labor Day, my husband and I decided to take a short hike on the trail leading over to the mountain. As we walked along, we saw bikes and horses as well as hikers; it’s a popular area. After walking for a half hour (and continually stopping for me to take photos), we could see the mountain getting closer, but we were not yet near the base. It was time to turn around- we definitely plan to come back on another day.
Granite Mountain:
Gates near the beginning of the trail:
Truckin’
One of the fun photo ops in Jerome is by the Gold King Mine where there are rows of old cars and trucks parked. I took these shots a couple months ago and had forgotten all about them. So here they are!
Golden Hour, once more. . .
Golden Hour
From last week’s walk with Carol at Willow Lake during the golden hour:
Sunnyflowers
My friend, Carol and I took a walk at Willow Lake the evening before she left- hoping for a dramatic sunset, some birds, and golden light on the rocks. There was a lot of golden light, but no dramatic sunset and few birds. I enjoyed photographing the weeds and flowers backlit by the sun, which was hanging low in the sky; here are a few of my favorites:
I love how only one flower is facing the camera in this shot.
A hazy Granite Mountain can be seen in the background here.
An Umbrella, A Spoon, Some Music, and a Tornado
Such a fun adventure we had yesterday in Sedona! We drove over in the middle of the afternoon and had a great time wandering around and checking out the galleries and shops at Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village. We enjoyed a fabulous dinner at El Rincon, where, to the amusement of our waitress, I couldn’t resist photographing the reflection of the little white lights on the overhead umbrella on my spoon. 
Midway through dinner, the flamenco guitar music began!
During dinner, Lonnie was googling best places for sunset photography in Sedona, so we ended up on an overlook on Airport Road. The wind had kicked up, and it was threatening rain, making for dramatic clouds.
After we walked across the road and began setting up, I realized I didn’t have my cable release, so I walked back to the car and lugged my whole camera bag back across the road to where my tripod was set up. Lonnie and Carol were busy photographing the scene while I got set up again. What I didn’t realize was that they were photographing a tornado forming! I continued taking photos of the rocks, oblivious to what they were seeing. Fortunately, I have a few shots at the end of the event- although I didn’t know what I was shooting. It wasn’t until we got home and they started talking about the tornado, that I realized what I had missed! You can check out Carol’s magnificent twister photos at http://infocusdaily.com
Color- or Not
I couldn’t decided which I liked best- so I’m posting them both.
Both of these were taken at my visit to Eliphante, right before walking across the creek!
Water’s Edge
When we were walking at the lake a week ago, I was captivated by the green of this tree, which contrasted with the darker trees bordering the lake. It was hard to photograph because I could only see it through branches- so I didn’t. But I saw it again on our way back- with a little girl under it- and knew I had to try. I was already envisioning it as a painterly image. I took the resulting photo into Lightroom and then Photoshop for some cloning work. Then, I used Topaz Simplify to remove details and give it a bit of a watercolor look. I blended it with the original image, bringing back some detail- and finished it off with some textures. Playing with images is part of what keeps stress out of my life- and it’s so much fun!
melinda anderson photography 