Tulip with Attitude

My little AAUW photo group was discussing gesture in photography- a term used by Jay Maisel all the time to describe what he waits for when choosing a subject for his photograph.  I can’t say that I fully understand the concept- but I usually know it when I see an obvious example.  It seems to be a quality that makes the subject unique and isn’t only limited to living subjects. Even Scott Kelby was having difficulty understanding the meaning when interviewing Maisel.

To my eye, this tulip exemplifies gesture; in fact, it seems to have a definite attitude!

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Two Tulip Monochromes

I love tulips in the window light.  These are pink, but I really like the contrast when I convert it to black and white.
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Both photos were taken with Lensbabies. I think the second one was with the Edge 80- but I can’t be sure (aperture and lens aren’t recorded in the metadata- frustrating at times).

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Snowy Courthouse Square

Of the photos I took Courthouse Square in the snow, this one is my favorite. After I took photos with my Nikon and got back in the car, I decided to take a quick iPhone shot for Facebook and to text to a few friends. Of course, that one ended up being my favorite- the point of view from the car was much better than from where I had stood for my other photos. I can’t believe I didn’t see that when I was taking pictures.  My excuse is that I was concerned about the snow falling on my camera. . .

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I converted it to black and white in Lightroom to use for my photo club on Tuesday (the theme was black and white). The photo was well-received, although not a winner in the voting- and the comments all had to do with the unique point of view- the angle of the fence etc. etc. Maybe when it snows again, I can shoot from this angle again- only with my big-girl camera!

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Winter is coming . . .

The hush comes with the deepening of Autumn; but it comes gradually. Our ears are attuned to it, day by quieter day.
But even now, if one awakens in the deep darkness of the small hours, one can hear it, a foretaste of Winter silence.

~Hal Borland

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For as long as I can remember, Fall has been my favorite season.  I think I like autumn leaves on the ground almost as much as the leaves on the trees. And to my eye, they are melancholy and mysterious in black and white- I love their fragile, crispy crunchiness and ragged, tired edges- reminding us that Winter is coming (a Game of Thrones reference, with my apologies). Snow is in the forecast in the high country, but I don’t think we’ll see any here.  In the meantime, I’m enjoying every minute of Fall!

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Snakeskin

My daughter and husband took a walk while we were at Yellowstone and came back with a snakeskin they had found. Despite being a little grossed out, I was fascinated with the textures and patterns and couldn’t resist taking a few photos.

snakeskinMiles was fascinated as well.

20150629-MMA_9349_melinda_anderson20150629-MMA_9350_melinda_andersonI am hoping this is the last time I photograph anything related to snakes.

 

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Saying Goodbye

I took my camera along to the cemetery when we attended my father-in-law’s graveside service last month, with the intention of getting some family group shots. There was a short service with military honors, and my husband was presented with the flag.  It was a very emotional moment. When my husband got up to leave, he walked in front of me and paused at the casket. The photographer in me couldn’t resist reaching for the camera and snapping one quick shot.

20150527-MMA_5887_melinda_anderson-Edit-2Unfortunately, the autofocus on the camera had been turned off, because I had been using the Lensbaby previously- and, although this photo was in pretty good focus, all subsequent photos were out of focus until I realized what was going on- arrgghhh!  I edited this one with Topaz Simplify and added some textures in Photoshop.

 

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Debbie’s Find

My Friday Find is borrowed from my friend, Debbie, who graciously allowed me to photograph it this week. You may see it again, because I have some other ideas before I return it. And my goodness, there’s that straw hat again!

This is a Lensbaby shot with added textures. I like the look that some of my textures give my walls- wish they really looked like that!

20150611-MMA_7085_melinda_anderson-EditAnd here is the same photo (in the original proportions- I “stretched the canvas” of the top one in Photoshop) with a black and white preset I adapted from one I had gotten from somewhere.  I wanted a light-ish black and white conversion, which I sometimes do by adjusting tones etc.  This time I decided to save it as a preset, hoping it will work on other photos as well.

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Kim Klassen dot com

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Portraits of Kiki

No longer having pets, I was eager to take some lensbaby photos of my inlaws’ 18 year old cat, Kiki. Normally she ignores me, but this time, she kept coming over to me while I was attempting to take her portrait.  I decided to go for a really shallow depth of field and just focus on her whiskers. My favorite is the first one.

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