When I was at Aspen Corner in Flagstaff in October, the aspens were still turning from green to gold. I wonder what they look like today!
From Green to Gold
London Bridge Impressions
We took a trip with my photo club along the western part of Route 66 in Arizona, and made a side trip to Lake Havasu, home of the iconic London Bridge. Lonnie and I visited there several years ago and enjoyed walking along the bridge and and remembering how my parents had visited there in the seventies, not long after it was constructed (and faced with the original masonry from the 1830’s original bridge). This time I used intentional camera movement techniques to produce an impressionistic view of the bridge.
Lakeside
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.
Forest Fantasy
Just having a little Photoshop fun- layering and blending photos
By the Shores of Willow Lake
We took a two hour walk at Willow Lake on Thursday- what a gorgeous Fall day! The grasses were golden, and the trees were starting to turn from green to yellow. At one point I did my favorite camera waving moves- and this was the result!
Talk Like a Pirate
I’m almost a week late sharing this, but a) it wasn’t quite finished on September 19 and b) I wanted to share it with my photo group before posting it. I took this photo at the parrot show at the Yavapai County Fair a couple weeks ago and knew as I took it that I wanted to create a painterly illustration of this wonderful pirate as he moved up onto the stage and stood in front of the rigging with his macaw (one of many birds he showed us). The image was a challenge for me to create, because there was a big awning thing and a motor home behind him, and getting rid of those distractions was a huge challenge for me.
Those of you who knew me before retirement as the teacher who held pirate treasure hunts every year will appreciate what a labor of love this image was to create! Aaaarrrrgh, matey!
Turnagain . . . again
Another ICM image from our rainy drive along Alaska’s Turnagain Arm. Oh how I love to wave my camera around!
Moonshadow, Moonshadow
I’m a bit obsessed by the moonshadows created by Monday’s eclipse. This is a composite of two moonshadowed iris leaf images. The painterliness of the image was not created by filters, but by the magic of blending the moonshadows and leaves together.
Beyond Their Prime
With the approach of Spring, I was in the mood for Lensbaby photography. I purchased some poppies at the grocery store, but realized when I got them home that they were already beginning to wither. No matter- I love taking photos of flowers at every stage from bud to their demise. This one is my favorite.
And below is a diptych with another in the series, both shot with the Velvet 56 to emphasize the blur.
When there were leaves . . .
Although it is winter now, it seems like yesterday that our backyard birds were hiding among the leaves instead of enduring freezing temps and dodging raindrops and snowflakes.
This is another in my Bird by Bird series.
Poppy Memories
Here is another California poppy image created from photos I took a few weeks ago on our poppy adventure down in the valley. What a great day that was!
Show-off
Morning coffee these days means sitting on the front porch watching the monsoon rains or sitting on the back patio and watching the hummingbird show. Today it was the hummingbirds.
We have had more hummingbirds than usual this summer and often they are vying for dominance in their territory. This morning they were zooming around so fast it was difficult to focus. Although they were focused on each other (and the feeder!), I considered they might actually fly right into me as I stood taking photos. As I write this, they are back at it again after a forced respite due to heavy rain.
I was in the mood for a soft photo when I edited this image, so muted the colors and added a blur and a paint filter over all. This is a look I like in photography- but does NOT reflect the mood of these feisty hummers.
Impressions of Iris- Again
Although I have taken a lot of photos, I haven’t been posting for some reason. The iris image above is an in-camera multiple exposure shot with intentional camera movement from a couple months ago. It is similar to one I have posted already, but I’ve just gotten around to editing this one.
Volunteers? Anyone, anyone . . . ?
My father always referred to flowers or plants that appeared out of nowhere “volunteers.” Is that the right word? Anyway, a couple years ago I noticed a prickly pear leaf growing out of the ground behind our rose bushes. We left it alone, and this year it developed several leaves and a couple dozen buds. I worried that they would open while we were gone for the week, but they waited until our return. Over the last few days, we’ve been enjoying the blossoms “volunteering” to add color and beauty to our garden.
Iris Impressions
Our photo group “final” was last week, one of the two topics being “Impressionism”. Since our irises are in bloom, I chose to create an impressionist image. I used intentional camera movement layered with a standard shot and some brushwork and a texture to give it a painterly quality. I’m delighted to have a camera, warm weather, and flowers in bloom as an excuse to sit in the backyard for hours at a time.
melinda anderson photography 