Crystal Cove
Beach Bareness
Hanging Around Alleys
Beach Grass 2
Beach Grass
Alley Adventure
Last week I accompanied my husband on a business trip to the Bay Area (California). We took time to stay in two of the towns where we used to live and were able to visit with many of our close friends and my teaching colleagues. It was a last minute decision to go, and it was so wonderful to be able to see so many friends on short notice.
I did not do much photography while there (no time!), but when we arrived in Petaluma, our first stop, we took a short walk in the RAIN before meeting dear friends for dinner. I only had my iPhone, but had a great time photographing this alley.
Cool Morning, Hot Air
Country Store Window
Wupatki
I’ve discovered that having an orthopedist a couple hours away in Flagstaff seems inconvenient, but it has turned out to be a great opportunity for exploring the area with my camera. Wupatki National Monument is only about a half hour from Flagstaff and is an easy way to see pueblos without having to hike miles in the desert. This one is the Wupatki Pueblo itself, but we were also able to drive to several others within the area. It was a great way to spend part of an afternoon!
Far in the distance you can see a bit of the Painted Desert!
Morning Balloon
Farm View
To the Edge and Beyond
One of the assignments that we’ve been given in our photo class is to create an image with “tension.” An example that our instructor has used constantly over the years is that when we have an element in the photo that leads us OUT of the photo. it creates tension. And this is not a good thing. Another example would be when two elements meet in the photo in a perhaps uncomfortable way (think of “merges”, where a tree seems to grow out of the top of someone’s head). He has himself created a series of photos that deliberately have tension (called “In Tension”, which is a play on words), which include several different kinds of tension that somehow works. I must confess to being confused by the concept.
Tension was on my mind in Albuquerque, so I deliberately set out to create some photos which have tension, but yet somehow “work” for me. This was probably the easiest to do- all those branches perhaps leading out of and into the photo.
Dawn
Between the Silos
Silos!
The last night of our New Mexico trip was spent on a lavender farm, which Lonnie found online. It was fantastic in many ways- lavender growing right outside our room (which looked like it was decorated by Martha Stewart or Joanna Gaines), peacocks, and a fantastic restaurant to name a few.
I was sold the minute I saw SILOS!














