Ascent

This abstract image was created from one shot of the pipes of an organ in a Kansas church. I was fascinated by the array of pipes arranged by diameter (it seemed…) and height in ascending order and took the photo with the intention of creating an abstract. I think there will be more- perhaps in different colors and perhaps not ascending. Stay tuned!

Lost in Kansas

A couple weeks ago, we spent the weekend in Wamego, Kansas visiting with Lonnie’s beloved stepmother, Laura, who at age 92 is in poor health. The two full days we were there, we spent time in the mornings and early evenings with Laura and her daughter, Sue, caregiver extraordinaire, but in the afternoons we went out on some adventures. We drove to Manchester to visit the family graves and the site of the old burnt out family home, as we always do, but this time we decided to add an additional cemetery to the itinerary. Lonnie’s great-grandmother Carrie Funk Wolfe, who died when his grandmother, Irene, was only twelve years old, was buried in the Catholic Cemetery in Vine Creek, only 7 Miles from Manchester. I don’t remember how long it took to get there (an hour? 2 hours?), but what were listed as roads on Google maps, turned out to be narrow rutted dirt roads. Despite us having been raised in Kansas (Lonnie) and small-town Chico (me) and living in Arizona, which is full of dirt roads, we felt like city slickers in this area. The closer we got to Vine Creek, the more confused we became, but we got there! However, we chose to go a different way back (why?), and the directions on Google took us to a road not really there and a road ending in a gate. We basically followed our noses and eventually found a main (dirt) road that was familiar and took us straight to Manchester and the highway back to Wamego, only a half hour late.

I love the scene above which shows the beauty of Kansas farmlands. I took it to my weekly photo group and talked about converting it to a black and white, which everyone agreed would not work. Because I have been working with black and white film recently (details eventually in another post), I have been experimenting with converting more photos to black and white, as well as editing my film photos- so here is my moody version:

I think I like it better in some ways than the color version, although the color image is certainly more true to the scene.

Tern in the Rain

When we were in Alaska, we managed to get out as often as we could despite the rainy weather. We strolled along the wooden walkways at Potter Marsh and were thrilled to see this Arctic Tern perched above the water. From time to time it would fly down to fish, but was mostly hunkered down on this stump, as the rain grew more intense. I had only seen one in the air, never on land, so it was a thrill to be able to get a photo, even this far away. I was also amazed that you can see the rain in this shot; the rain was intense!

Rainy Day on the Turnagain Arm

We have just returned from a trip to Alaska to visit our daughter’s beautiful family. Like on our first trip eight years ago, it rained most of the time. My husband and I love the views of the Turnagain Arm along the Seward highway, so did not let the rains stop us from driving on the beautiful stretch of highway between Anchorage and Girdwood. We stopped at Beluga Point and Bird Point as usual, but the rain started getting more intense and it became more and more difficult to get good photos and keep my camera dry. I ended up using the Slow Shutter app on my iPhone to capture a series of ICM images through the car window as we drove along. The raindrops on the window added interesting patterns, and I ended up being very happy with the resulting impressionistic images. This one is one of the least abstract and is one of my favorites.

Fragments Exhibition

I realized that I have not yet posted a link to the Fragments Exhibition from Find Your Voice! Above is “That Morning”- the image they selected from the three I submitted. We were told that they would not be choosing our “best” or “strongest” image, but one that would fit with others in a grouping on the virtual walls.

I guarantee you will be blown away by this virtual show! Abstract or expressionist art tends to evoke reactions from the viewers- ranging from “I don’t get” it to “That’s beautiful” to “I would/wouldn’t hang that in my living room” to just pure admiration! There are so many that inspire me- I hope you feel the same!

Here is the link. After you enter, just click on arrows to move around and click on the art pieces to view more information. Enjoy!

https://assets.artplacer.com/virtual-exhibitions/?i=15829

Lazy Hazy Days

Our weeping willow branches created a natural hazy texture over the roses and leaves in the background as the branches swayed in the breeze in front of my camera. Ahhh, the lazy hazy days of summer. . .

For Love of Rust

Like many photographers, I love the old and decaying details I come across. Give me an alley, a rusty old truck, a weathered fence or a crumbling wall- I can be happy all day! I won’t go into how much I love barb wire. . .

Secret Chord

I’ve heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord

Alleyways are always wonderful sources of images for photographers! This one is a composite of two shots taken in a Petaluma alley- and then it became something else. Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah was going through my head as the final image came to light.