Yes, there are mountains!

This is the view looking across the Turnagain Arm from the Seward Highway outside Anchorage, Alaska. Just a small part of the view, I might add! On our first visit to Alaska in the summer of 2016, we landed at night and stayed at a hotel near downtown. We saw none of this- Anchorage did not look pretty, and we saw no mountains. The next morning, we headed out on the Seward Highway and got our first view of the snow capped peaks and glaciers- I’ll never forget my feelings of awe and excitement as we drove along the water! Every time we return, I get that same feeling as we drive along that now familiar road. This shot is from a few weeks ago when we were there for our grandson’s graduation.

Melinda2 Comments

Morning in Eagle River

We had the privilege of watching our first grandson, Miles, graduate from high school 10 days ago in Alaska! It was a heartwarming and poignant moment to see this wonderful boy cross the stage and take this first step into adulthood. Cheers and tears!

We had never visited our Alaska family in May but knew that winter was especially late leaving this year- so we prepared for all weather, including rain. We stayed in a rental close to our daughter’s home and were greeted by a beautiful view of the cloud-covered mountains each morning. I think there was only a day or two when it actually rained, but the beautiful clouds were always there.

My focus was not photography this visit, but we did manage to take two drives along the Turnagain Arm. I’ll be sharing a few more mountain and clouds photos soon!

MelindaLeave a comment

Teepee Dreams

I have photographed the teepees at the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook on three separate trips. Each visit has resulted in entirely different images. This last was from a short visit a couple weeks ago. It’s possible that wasn’t my last visit- I still haven’t actually walked on the grounds of the motel!

MelindaLeave a comment

Timeless Faith

Chat GPT suggested the title for this photo taken back in 2015 of Mission San Xavier del Bac (south of Tucson). I’m posting it now, because I recently edited it for the monthly competition in our photo club. The challenge was to take a photo that we might have rejected previously and improve it by editing. I also used this as an opportunity to practice my updated Silver Efex software for a black and white conversion. I’m in a Black and White Special Interest Group with the club and have been learning the program- with an emphasis on the Zone System, which I first heard about from my father back in his photography days. After my Lightroom editing, I did the conversion and some local adjustments in Silver Efex, and then I took it back to Photoshop to add some toning, which I couldn’t quite get right in Silver Efex. I don’t always submit photos to the club and am very happy to report it got First Place!

Below is the original image before the final edit:

Melinda1 Comment

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.

Melinda1 Comment

Turnagain Again and Again

We return to the same spots along the Seward Highway every year- mostly for me to take photos of the Turnagain Arm. I’m fascinated by the mountains and glaciers- and am always looking for beluga whales at Beluga Point (no, not yet…). The last couple years I’ve spent time taking ICM images- each one turning out different from the others.

MelindaLeave a comment

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.

MelindaLeave a comment

In the Forest

We’ve just returned from a visit with our daughter’s family in Alaska. My camera got a workout taking dozens of senior photos of our oldest grandson, and lots of ICM photos of places we’ve visited many times, trying to capture them in a different way. The photos here taken on a short hike to a spot we had never visited before- Barbara Falls in Eagle River. I took the photo above as we walked along and the more traditional photo below of the falls themselves. Quite a contrast to Arizona!

MelindaLeave a comment

Two Guns

Depending on your point of view, you could call this site along Route 66 historic or an eyesore, but photographers call Two Guns a great photo opportunity. This just one of many remnants of a tourist stop during the heyday of Route 66, and the graffiti only adds to its appeal to photographers. Like many areas in Arizona it has a bloody past- you can read about it HERE. Lonnie and I spent a couple hours exploring the area with my photo group and never ran out of things to point out or photograph!

MelindaLeave a comment