Roses- and Moonlit Wind Turbines

My Mother’s Day flowers came just in time- I was running out of things to photograph for a still life!  This is my favorite shot so far of the beautiful roses given to me by my husband.

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Since this is App-Happy Wednesday over at Keeping with the Times, I’m also including an iPhone photo.

This week, I got a fun new (to me) app called Distressed FX; I tend to pick new apps when I see others using them on Instagram.  I confess I fell in love with the app when I saw you could add flocks of birds to your photos.  Two things about this photo: 1) the subject is wind turbines in the moonlight (I’m kind of obsessed with photographing wind turbines on road trips) and 2) I wanted to fade the texture, but couldn’t find my original to blend with it (and besides, the birds would have faded too).  I know I could have done something with Adobe Photoshop Touch, but didn’t take the time to figure it out. I have a lot to learn!

Photo May 10- 9 43 20 PM

Melinda12 Comments

This and That

My camera has been out a lot the last week; here are a few photos that didn’t make the blog.

A couple Blue Ridge cups

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A macro of a leaf, snapped while watering

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And from Chalk It, Prescott’s chalk art festival last weekend

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Have a Happy Thursday!

Melinda2 Comments

We’re off to see the lizard . . .

Our walk at Willow Lake was for exercise, but of course I brought along my camera.  I always like watching the ducks and other birds that hang out at the lake, but I had not thought about photographing the lizards.  The lizards around our house started to emerge around the same time our grandkids were here, so they had fun catching (gently, as taught by their daddy) and releasing them.  But in the last week with the hot weather, they have really come into their own- holy cow! Welcome to Arizona!  I appreciate that lizards are part of our ecosystem and are actually kinda, sorta cute, but I am not particularly fond of them.  So, of course, I am leading up to my lizard photo. . .

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My husband spotted him first from afar as he posed atop a high rock, and we debated about whether it was really a lizard.  But then I got closer and zoomed in- and yes, it was a lizard!  He was pretty big by my standards, and was definitely basking in the sun. This is cropped- I was not that close.

We also watched the ducks and a great heron, who was stalking slowly through the waters, concentrating intently on the water. I wasn’t sure if he was a heron or crane until he took flight.  Cranes fly with their necks straight out.  That is one of the two or three facts I know about birds. As usual, one of my more learned friends is welcome correct me on my bird fact!

All in all- a successful photography outing!

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Melinda4 Comments

Escape Route

Last week’s meet-up with my photo group yielded some shots that go along with the shadow theme for this month’s meeting of my photo club. We were walking behind Whiskey Row and came upon this wonderful fire escape on the back of one of the buildings.  Looks at the crazy pattern of steps, landings, and shadows!

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Melinda5 Comments

Live and In Person!!!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet Barbara of Barbara Hurst Photography,  Barb of Keeping Up With the Times, and Terri of Focusing on Life for a photo shoot right here in town.  It was a bit surreal (dislike that overused word, but I can’t think of a better one right now) to meet these photobloggers in person in MY house. I’ve learned all my photography skills online and have a bunch of online contacts, but this is the first time I’ve met any in person.  What fun we had sharing tips and comparing notes as we wandered around downtown Prescott.! They are all so knowledgeable and much more savvy in the whole photoblogging world than I am- I learned a lot.

Here’s a shot of the courthouse, edited with textures from Florabella and Kim Klassen.

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I would like to live in the turret on this house (Florabella textures)!

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Let’s do this again, ladies!!!

Melinda5 Comments

For Love of the Sun

I knew that today’s post would have at least one photo from my field trip to the Desert Botanical Garden. “For the love of . . . ” is the topic for this week’s Texture Tuesday, and, when I looked through my images, Sheryl Crow’s Soak Up the Sun started going through my head.  Think of it as the soundtrack for these two photos!

These cacti must have been at least 15 feet tall.  I used a small aperture, intending to get a starburst effect- but this is what happened. And I think I like it better this way!

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This bird was perched at the top of one of the cacti.  And how about the sun in this photo? Did I add it in post-processing?  No- it’s actually flare from the sun on my right.  Usually I clone those out. . .

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Both photos have layers of an altered version of Kim’s ruemarion texture as well as kkcanvasback.  The bottom one also has some magic textures in there.

Melinda8 Comments

Desert Black and White

I convert at least half my photos to black and white- I just can’t help myself. I love the emphasis on shape and form, as well as the drama and simplicity of the monochrome. Not that I don’t love color- just not all the time.

Both of these are macros (yes, I tried macro at the botanical garden with no tripod. . .). The first, I call Prickly.

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And this one, I call Cactus Noir.

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Tomorrow a color photo- I promise!

Melinda1 Comment

Desert in Bloom

My AAUW photo group took a field trip yesterday to the Chihuly Exhibit at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. WOW! So many of the cacti were in bloom- and blooming cacti is something I had never seen.  It was photography heaven!

I concentrated on the plants- with the glass exhibit taking a backseat, as I had photographed most of it before. I haven’t had time yet to go through the hundreds of photos- I’m sure you will be seeing more here over the next week.

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Melinda1 Comment

Spring Snow

Snow!!!  After our teaser snowstorm in December, we waited and waited for more. Now that I am wearing capris and a sunhat, the weather surprised us yesterday afternoon with more snow.

My husband and I are still such Prescott newbies that we got in the car and drove around to see what snow was like in each part of town.  Nothing seemed to be sticking, but big flakes were coming down fast almost everywhere we went.

Downtown Whiskey Row:

2Apr2014-4347-EditWe drove past my friend, Debbie’s house, because she lives in the pines at a slightly higher elevation and usually gets more snow than we do.  Sure enough, the snow was sticking to the tree branches and the ground in some places.

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Melinda4 Comments

Going Up

I edited another photo of Sedona’s Bell Rock for this week’s Texture Tuesday. This one was taken from partway up (which is about as far as I got), and is edited with two layers of Kim’s canvasback (color burn blend mode) and a couple “magic” textures.  Happy April (no foolin’ )!

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Melinda6 Comments

Hiking (AKA Running)

We took the boys (along with their parents) on a picnic and hike at a city park which has trails overlooking the town.  Henry and Miles lead the way and were triumphant reaching the point where we would start back down to the parking lot.

Here they are leading the way; that’s Granite Mountain in the background. I added a Jessica Drossin texture to this one to add some color and depth.

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And here is my favorite photo of the day- the boys at the top of the trail.

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Melinda2 Comments

Lines and Shadows

Sometimes, it’s fun to just capture the lines or shapes in your surroundings.  I took the first two shots behind the Sam Hill warehouse near the railroad bridge I photographed last week (it’s the fence surrounding the power company).  The third photo was taken walking down steps of the old warehouse, which is now part of Prescott College.

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Melinda3 Comments

Railroad Bridge

As part of my exploration of Prescott, I visited the old railroad bridge, which is no longer in use.  I took several photos and decided I like the bridge best in black and white.27Feb2014-2984

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Melinda2 Comments