When we arrived at Watson Lake, a heron was sitting on the little float that sits in the middle of the lake. After awhile it flew in front of us and then across to the opposite shore. The wind was ruffling its feathers as it stood immobile until after we left.
As I write this, we are having snow flurries and very welcome rain- but when I took this photo on Friday the sun was shining. We walked along the trail by Watson Lake and admired the yellow, orange, and still green leaves- knowing that many of those leaves would be off the trees over the next few days. Autumn is my favorite season, and this autumn I’m holding onto the hope of better days ahead with a less volatile political climate, a more united country and an end in sight to the pandemic. Sunnier days ahead!
Dry. Parched. Windy. Smoky. Burning.
Those are the words that come to mind when I think of the west these days. October is always fire season, but in recent years ever more so. My home state of California has been on fire this last month, causing tens of thousands to evacuate and thousands of others to be without power. We have a massive drought going on here in Arizona as well- no monsoon season the last two years. Add in a pandemic, an election, and political upheavals- the world of 2020 is not the world we thought we were promised.
I’ve learned in recent years that the process of taking and editing photos soothes my worried soul. Below is a little piece of photo art I created this week. As always, a camera (or in this case an iPhone) and Photoshop ease my worries.
Pray for rain.
We call these yellow and pink roses our tropicals; we never heard the correct name when we bought the plant, but think the word “tropical” might have been part of it. Because the weather has turned, we’ve picked a few for bouquets to enjoy inside while we can. I edited this multiple exposure image with a hint of a fall palette to go with the season.
One of my favorite series of books for beginning readers (my children and grandchildren as well as my first grade students) is the Little Bear series by Else Holmelund Minarik. There is something about this photo of one of the three little grizzlies at Bearizona that brings those books to mind. It has been two months since I saw those bears, and I’m sure they are a lot bigger (and scarier) these days!
The last few days I have finally gotten around to editing more of the photos I took at Bearizona a month or so ago. I had fun playing with textures and some new brushes in photoshop to create somewhat painterly looks.
Same photoshoot as my other window shot from a week or so ago, but with the items rearranged and a slightly different look. Thank you to Debbie for giving me this old window to use in my still life shots- so much fun!
Below is a still life I shared with my weekly photo group on Tuesday. I have been in the group over 4 1/2 years now, and it has become an important part of my life. As I prepared this photo for class (on zoom, of course), I remembered that I had created a still life in the same spot in our house (on my father’s antique dental cabinet) for my second photo ever for this group back in 2016. You can see that photo and read about my experience as a new and very nervous member of the group here. I still learn new things every week and am constantly inspired by the group’s creativity and technical skills.
It’s October. Leaves are beginning to fall, pumpkins are in the stores, and we still have flowers!
Our walk at Willow Lake showed us that Fall is on its way (some yellow leaves), but drought has caused the lake to recede and plants to dry up and wither. What used to be under water is now mud. Many trees still have green leaves however, which created the green bokeh areas in the background of my photo. We are looking forward to some colder weather and hopefully rain in the coming weeks.
Late one afternoon, we finally got over to Willow Lake to visit the white pelicans that flew in a few weeks ago. They are earlier than usual- and staying longer- perhaps because of the hot weather. As I drew closer to photograph them, it seemed the pelican on the right was becoming nervous, and it looked as if the bigger one was reassuring him. This went on for awhile, and eventually he did take off over the water to find a place to swim.
FYI- It has been about 11 months since my knee replacement, and during this walk, I noticed that I really don’t even think about my knee at all before taking a step. Before surgery, each step on uneven ground was wobbly as my knee was very unstable. I can’t say that it feels like a normal knee, but it WORKS!
A variation on theme
Yeah- probably not real words- but I had fun yesterday “abstractifying and impressionizing” this multiple exposure photo of a building and archway on the University of New Mexico campus. I added another photo layer, one of my own textures, and a few grunge brushstrokes before doing some color adjustments. I like the effects and thoroughly enjoyed myself!
Another portrait of “my” bunny
As summer draws to a close, the grasses go from green to gold, and a new beauty emerges.
melinda anderson photography 