Snowy Roads

It is almost a tradition with us to go out driving into the forested side of town on a snowy day to see what we can see. Although we live in a relatively small town, there are definitely microclimates within the town. Our neighborhood is definitely a high desert climate, but a few miles away (and a few hundred feet higher), it is more of a mountain climate. They get more snow- and it is really pretty!

20160107-MMA_7885_melinda_anderson-EditI took this through the front windshield as we drove toward the Thumb Butte, which was shrouded in fog that morning. We only have patches of snow left at our house- but I would imagine there is still a lot of snow left in this part of town.

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An Umbrella, A Spoon, Some Music, and a Tornado

Such a fun adventure we had yesterday in Sedona! We drove over in the middle of the afternoon and had a great time wandering around and checking out the galleries and shops at Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village. We enjoyed a fabulous dinner at El Rincon, where, to the amusement of our waitress, I couldn’t resist photographing the reflection of the little white lights on the overhead umbrella on my spoon. umbrella_spoonMidway through dinner, the flamenco guitar music began!

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During dinner, Lonnie was googling best places for sunset photography in Sedona, so we ended up on an overlook on Airport Road. The wind had kicked up, and it was threatening rain, making for dramatic clouds.

20150831-MMA_2086_melinda_andersonAfter we walked across the road and began setting up, I realized I didn’t have my cable release, so I walked back to the car and lugged my whole camera bag back across the road to where my tripod was set up. Lonnie and Carol were busy photographing the scene while I got set up again. What I didn’t realize was that they were photographing a tornado forming! I continued taking photos of the rocks, oblivious to what they were seeing. Fortunately, I have a few shots at the end of the event- although I didn’t know what I was shooting.  It wasn’t until we got home and they started talking about the tornado, that I realized what I had missed! You can check out Carol’s magnificent twister photos at http://infocusdaily.com

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Melinda7 Comments

Cloudscape

skyscapeLast night’s sky called me outside at sunset. Looking out the window, I saw everything bathed in a warm glow . There were pink and orange clouds, the moon was peeking through wispy clouds, and there was thunder and lightning in the distance.  I had my Lensbaby with Edge 80 attached (a very zoomed in focal length for my crop sensor camera), but, knowing how quickly the light changes at this time of day, I didn’t dare stop to change lenses.  I have no images that capture the panoramic view of these majestic clouds across the sky.  I know, I know- I should have used my iPhone. . .

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Persistence at Garden of the Gods

After leaving the plains of Kansas, we drove to Colorado, spending the night at Limon. We decided to get up early-ish (early for us, late for landscape photographers) the next morning to drive to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs before heading to Santa Fe.  We woke up to overcast skies and got to the park around 9:00 or 9:30.  Garden of the Gods is a public park with paved walkways among gorgeous red rock formations. It was relatively uncrowded, probably because it appeared that it would rain at any moment. We were both eager to see the iconic view of Pike’s Peak through the red rocks, but of course, you couldn’t see the mountains because of the clouds. I love the combination of gray clouds and red rocks, but I was really hoping to see Pike’s Peak!

20150530-MMA_6288_melinda_andersonAfter walking through the park for awhile and monitoring the skies in case we had to make a dash to the car, we finally decided a drive around the park might give us a glimpse of the mountains. We drove around, but all we saw were clouds and red rocks- and more clouds. But as we got out of the car to look at the Balancing Rock, we noticed that the skies were beginning to clear a bit.

20150530-MMA_6303_melinda_andersonWe ate a quick snack at the Visitors Center, and then drove back into the park to see what we could see- and VOILA!

20150530-MMA_6343_melinda_anderson-EditThe above shot is of the same rocks and walkway (from a different angle) as the first one a couple hours earlier.

Persistence pays off!

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Kansas Minimalism

We are home now, after a LOOOOONG drive through Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico and a day off to celebrate my birthday in Santa Fe.  There are a lot of photos to go through- especially from Santa Fe, where I tried to take enough photos with my Lensbaby to satisfy the photo essay requirement for the last week of the class (even though I’m not a full participant and won’t be evaluated).

So today, I again celebrate the flat horizons and vast expanses of Kansas with these minimalist shots, both taken with the Edge 80 optic.

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