The sun broke through the fog at Whitewater Draw presenting us with an unforgettable scene. Behind us though, the cranes were still almost invisible in the early morning fog. Time for photographers to head to breakfast!
Breaking Through
Foggy Morning at the Draw
Our second day of shooting started well before sunrise- in fact Lonnie and I did the half hour drive from Bisbee through the farmlands in complete darkness and then dense fog as we got closer. We were the first to arrive and sat in the car waiting for light and our fellow photographers to arrive. The cranes began to vocalize as the first rays of light appeared and soon were headed out to feed on the nearby farms. The dense fog made the cranes almost invisible, but this image is actually one of my favorites.
Wires of Bisbee
We will be heading to Bisbee, Arizona this week, so I have been looking through photos of our first trip there in 2021. I found this shot and thought it would look most effective in black and white. I inverted it in Photoshop to emphasize wires and details of the buildings.
Kansas Summer
Remembering our visit to Kansas this summer. . .
On the Outskirts of Oz
We stayed in the charming small town of Wamego, Kansas when visiting with Lonnie’s stepmom, Laura a month ago. Our first night there we stopped for ice cream after dinner at a cute little spot on the main street (I had the BEST root beer float!). Everyone knows everyone in town, so of course the owner knew Lonnie’s stepsister. The sun had gone down when we left and cast a magical light over this cute little town which seems to border Oz itself.
Lost in Kansas
A couple weeks ago, we spent the weekend in Wamego, Kansas visiting with Lonnie’s beloved stepmother, Laura, who at age 92 is in poor health. The two full days we were there, we spent time in the mornings and early evenings with Laura and her daughter, Sue, caregiver extraordinaire, but in the afternoons we went out on some adventures. We drove to Manchester to visit the family graves and the site of the old burnt out family home, as we always do, but this time we decided to add an additional cemetery to the itinerary. Lonnie’s great-grandmother Carrie Funk Wolfe, who died when his grandmother, Irene, was only twelve years old, was buried in the Catholic Cemetery in Vine Creek, only 7 Miles from Manchester. I don’t remember how long it took to get there (an hour? 2 hours?), but what were listed as roads on Google maps, turned out to be narrow rutted dirt roads. Despite us having been raised in Kansas (Lonnie) and small-town Chico (me) and living in Arizona, which is full of dirt roads, we felt like city slickers in this area. The closer we got to Vine Creek, the more confused we became, but we got there! However, we chose to go a different way back (why?), and the directions on Google took us to a road not really there and a road ending in a gate. We basically followed our noses and eventually found a main (dirt) road that was familiar and took us straight to Manchester and the highway back to Wamego, only a half hour late.
I love the scene above which shows the beauty of Kansas farmlands. I took it to my weekly photo group and talked about converting it to a black and white, which everyone agreed would not work. Because I have been working with black and white film recently (details eventually in another post), I have been experimenting with converting more photos to black and white, as well as editing my film photos- so here is my moody version:
I think I like it better in some ways than the color version, although the color image is certainly more true to the scene.
Tern in the Rain
When we were in Alaska, we managed to get out as often as we could despite the rainy weather. We strolled along the wooden walkways at Potter Marsh and were thrilled to see this Arctic Tern perched above the water. From time to time it would fly down to fish, but was mostly hunkered down on this stump, as the rain grew more intense. I had only seen one in the air, never on land, so it was a thrill to be able to get a photo, even this far away. I was also amazed that you can see the rain in this shot; the rain was intense!
Cloudfall
Here is yet another ICM image from the Turnagain Arm in Alaska captured on our visit a couple weeks ago.
Turnagain . . . again
Another ICM image from our rainy drive along Alaska’s Turnagain Arm. Oh how I love to wave my camera around!
Rainy Day on the Turnagain Arm
We have just returned from a trip to Alaska to visit our daughter’s beautiful family. Like on our first trip eight years ago, it rained most of the time. My husband and I love the views of the Turnagain Arm along the Seward highway, so did not let the rains stop us from driving on the beautiful stretch of highway between Anchorage and Girdwood. We stopped at Beluga Point and Bird Point as usual, but the rain started getting more intense and it became more and more difficult to get good photos and keep my camera dry. I ended up using the Slow Shutter app on my iPhone to capture a series of ICM images through the car window as we drove along. The raindrops on the window added interesting patterns, and I ended up being very happy with the resulting impressionistic images. This one is one of the least abstract and is one of my favorites.
Ghost Barn
Photographed on our drive to Bodega Bay a few weeks ago, this barn looms out of a gloomy sky when converted to a black and white image.
Driving Through Memories
One of our favorite (and almost NECESSARY) things to do when we go back to the Bay Area is to drive over to Bodega Bay, the scene of many memories from our dating and early marriage days. The drive from Petaluma is through rural Sonoma County, and it still looks much like it did over 50 years ago. I loved this view of the curve in the road, the white power poles, and the intense green as we approached a hill and made Lonnie slow down so I could take an iPhone shot through the windshield.
You Can Go Home Again
We have just returned from a wonderful trip back to Benicia to attend Morgan and Matt’s wedding. We took the opportunity to visit as many friends as we could in town, as well as driving over to Sonoma County twice to visit our Petaluma and Santa Rosa friends. I captured this beloved view of the Carquinez Bridge through the window of Sailor Jack’s on the Benicia Waterfront as we ate dinner with Debbie and Dale (Morgan’s parents) on our last night in town. I have taken hundreds of photos of this view, and I never tire of it!
SoCal Winter
As we drove along one of the main streets in Rancho Cucamonga towards our son’s house, we were treated to beautiful views of the snow-covered mountains ahead. The street had a row of palms along the median, and I was struck by the contrast of the palm trees and the snow ahead. I hunched down in my seat and was able to capture this shot with my iPhone through the windshield.
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