Whitney Portal Road goes from Lone Pine through the Alabama Hills and then starts its ascent up the mountain to 8,389 feet, where it ends at Whitney Portal. There are spectacular views of the hills below and of the mountain itself.
Mobius Arch
We have just returned from a fantastic trip to Lone Pine, California with my photo group. The goal was to see the Alabama Hills where many old movies, especially westerns, were filmed. It is a beautiful area with Mt. Whitney as a backdrop, and few in our group had ever been there. I wasn’t sure how I would do on this trip, because I knew that to see much of the area I would have to do a lot of walking. But my knee held up great, and with the help of my trekking poles, I was able to actually do a short hike up and down on uneven ground in order to take advantage of one of the iconic photo ops- the view of Mt. Whitney as seen through Mobius Arch.
BTW, to take this photo, you have to lie on your back on top of a boulder.
Just pretty . . .
A pretty view at the Alaska Native Heritage Center
Watercolors
Eagle River, Alaska reflections
Days Gone By
Below is an image from the old Independence Mine in Alaska. The old-timey look of these old-timey buildings was enchanced using the selective focus of a Lensbaby lens and some tones and textures in Photoshop.
Ancient Spirit
Friday Photo Art from our trip to Alaska
Windmill Garden
Usually I take shots out the car window of wind turbines as we drive to and from California- they fascinate me. This time, we actually drove over near the turbines so I could take photos to my heart’s content. This one is a bit of a fantasy- a multiple exposure edited with textures and NO RULES for sure! 🙂
One of the 26
Back to the 26 Glacier Cruise in Alaska- here is one of the twenty-six! I think this was just the first glimpse.
Actually, for me, the best part of the above image is the reflection- hence this crop:
Shadow Play
I spotted the shadows on these steps at the Tehachapi train station and loved the lines and patterns they made. I decided to emphasize the graphic design qualities of this shot by doing a little . . . ummm . . .creative editing.
Choo Choo
Last week’s road trip back home managed to yield a few photos despite our disappointment about not getting to Monterey.. We spent the night in Tehachapi and went over to the train station so I could have the opportunity to find something (ANYTHING!) to photograph. We had been there a couple times before and knew there were some old railroad items on display. Below is a view of the wheels on an old box car.
Edited with some grunge textures and filters.
Unexpected
We have just returned from a road trip to the San Francisco Bay Area, and this is the first photo I’ve posted since our return (last week’s and Monday’s photos were scheduled in advance before we left). Our trip was supposed to be a two day business trip for my husband followed by a long weekend in Monterey (which was supposed to include lots of photo opportunities. . .). Unfortunately, I had to take my husband to the ER the second night we were in the Bay Area- and he ended up being hospitalized for 5 days! He is much improved now, and “normal” life has resumed.
On the last day he was in the hospital, I brought my camera with me and photographed parts of an art installation across from the main entrance. Since I first saw it, I had been captivated by this piece of art, which forms a semi-wall in front of the parking area. I decided to practice my multiple exposure skills in photographing it, because I didn’t want to just capture someone else’s art- I wanted to create my own.
When I got home and downloaded my images, I was struck by how the jagged lines resembled the parts of the display I was constantly seeing on the monitor at his bedside- as if they were stacked upon each other. Is this why I was so attracted to it? Or does it represent the chaos of dealing with a medical situation while on vacation? I don’t know- but this is the result.
Shifting Realities:
Being a photographer who likes simple compositions, I have to say I prefer the crop below. It doesn’t look like it represents any of the angst of last week- it now looks more like mountains to me.
Night Peaks:
Art of the North
The Anchorage Museum is fantastic for children AND adults. It not only has exhibits of the art and culture of Alaska native peoples, but also has interactive science exhibits (earthquakes for example). The image below is from their contemporary art gallery.
Life Underground
Some of the Alaska native peoples built smokehouses and dwellings underground like these, seen at the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage (I believe they were Yupik).
Cold Sail
Spotted on Glacier Bay while on our 26 Glacier Cruise
Red Sun
No, the skies weren’t really this dark. But the sun was a vivid red due to smoky skies.
melinda anderson photography 