Five

This row of trees seems to stand guard at the gap in the mountains at the nature center. In browsing through other photos of this area, I noticed everyone seems to take a photo of these same trees. They are somewhat ragtag and gawky looking, but there is just something about them!

At sunset, everything seemed to have a rosy glow.

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I did another edit in black and white, but couldn’t seem to get the effect I wanted. Then I added a teal color layer and a texture, which gives it a snowy look. Just playing!

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Aurora!

We have just returned from a wonderful Thanksgiving visit with our daughter’s family in Alaska- our first trip there in winter (I know it is technically fall, but it was WINTER there!). There was no snow, but the ground and many of the trees were covered with icy hoar frost. Daylight was limited, and the weather averaged in the low teens. Brrrr!

I was hoping to see the northern lights, but Caitlin had warned me that most nights had cloud covered skies, which blocked the view. I think it was the second morning we were there that she woke us up to  tell us that she could see the aurora from the front deck. We staggered sleepily outside (it was not really that early- 7 a.m.- but it was dark, of course), and, after a few minutes of allowing our eyes to be accustomed to the darkness, we were treated to the sight of a faint aurora dancing around the dark skies. I grabbed my camera and set up the tripod for a long exposure. I hadn’t prepared for this and didn’t think anything was showing up on the LCD monitor. Caitlin offered to drive us a few miles down the road toward the state park, where she thought we would be able to see more. We pulled over in a likely spot, but alas, we could only see stars. I set up the tripod anyway and took three 15 second exposures anyway, stopping when I kept hearing rustling in the bushes. It wasn’t until I looked at the images on the computer that I realized that there was indeed a very small part of the aurora visible. My images were underexposed at 15 seconds- perhaps I needed to increase ISO or use a longer exposure. Next time, I will be more prepared!

Below is my favorite view, although the aurora is mini. This was taken from a pullout on the road.

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Blast from the Past (well, August)

This is overlooking part of the town of Eagle River, outside Anchorage, Alaska, where our daughter’s family lives. In the distance you can see a bit of the Knik Arm- and an overcast sky, and in the foreground is fireweed, which was everywhere during our visit. We are returning to Alaska to spend Thanksgiving- and I’m sure it will look quite different!

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Bay Bridge(s)

I’ve been a little obsessed with multiple exposures lately- both in camera and in Photoshop.  Here’s a double view of the San Francisco Bay Bridge at night, with some distortions and reflections adding to the unreality of the image. The double exposure was created in Photoshop, rather than in camera.

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Ruby’s on the Pier

While we were in Newport Beach, we would walk every day over to Balboa Pier, and on our first day we split a chocolate- banana milkshake at Ruby’s- yum! I said I wanted to come back in the evening and get a shot with it lit up, so the next night I brought my tripod along as we walked over at sunset. Our son, Matt was with us, and wasn’t too enthusiastic about me setting up my tripod on the pier just to take a photo of the diner. I wanted to wait until it got darker, but ended up snapping my shot right after the sun went down. No, we didn’t have dinner there. 😦  But Matt did agree it made a good photo when he saw the edited version. 🙂

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Beachiness

We have just returned from a quick trip to Southern California to visit our son. We walked on the beach with him at sunset, and I grabbed this quick shot when I saw silhouettes against the orange sky. I think the fellow on the far right might be taking a selfie!

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Home for Elves?

My Alaska family (especially Miles) has become fascinated with the mushrooms and toadstools that abound in this wet climate. According to Wikipedia, this amanita is classified as poisonous and is noted for its hallucinogenic properties. I just think it looks like the perfect setting for a fairy tale!

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