Spotted in Petaluma- an older couple making their way down the steps. I look at the woman- and she looks like me! She is holding on to the railing and her man for dear life just as I do. Even though my knee has been replaced, stairs do cause me to be extra careful. I recently had a birthday which is giving me pause as I head in the direction of 80 (still a couple years away). I feel young, except when I look in the mirror- or walk down steps!
This is the third image I’ve submitted for the online exhibition. It is an in-camera multiple exposure of the Newport Beach pier layered in Photoshop with some gelli prints and is called “Smithereens”. You can decide for yourself what the image means to you, and, as for the title, I just like the word!
As you may remember, I am part of an wonderful group called Find Your Voice, run by the amazing Valda Bailey and Doug Chinnery. I have learned so much from them and from the photographer/artists who are a part of the group! We create work in the expressionist style, using multiple exposure, intentional camera movement and other techniques to express our vision. It is the time of year when we submit 3 pieces to Valda and Doug who will pick ONE to show in the online exhibition, like we did last year. This year, the exhibition is titled “Fragments” and we are encouraged to use elements of collage in our work, which may be other photographs, painting, cyanotype, or other techniques. Many of the members are also artists in other mediums (not me!), so, as you can imagine, I have to fight off “Imposter Syndrome” at every turn!
The image above is a collage (or composite) of an in-camera multiple exposure layered with parts of several gelli plate printed images. My inspiration was the recent massive heat wave- hence the title, “Heat Dome”. It is one of the three images I am submitting, so may or may not be in the online show.Another image I’m submitting is “That Morning”, which has appeared here on the blog. I will post the other entry later, once I figure out a title!
This started out as an in-camera multiple exposure- and then I went from there! Having fun in photoshop is one of my favorite things!
Photographed on our drive to Bodega Bay a few weeks ago, this barn looms out of a gloomy sky when converted to a black and white image.
Remembering all those who gave their lives for our country.
We went down to the Courthouse Square today for the western art show and watched at noon as the Scottish military group laid the wreath and flag at Prescott’s memorial for all who were lost in war. With bagpipes, an honor guard, and local dignitaries, it was a very small but moving tribute.
I am finally getting around to posting the third in my Merging Realities series! Although I’ve been taking and editing photos, I’ve been super busy and just couldn’t get my act together to post any of them. But summer vacation is here, and my retirement life is going to slow down a bit- so expect more posts soon-ish!
One of our favorite (and almost NECESSARY) things to do when we go back to the Bay Area is to drive over to Bodega Bay, the scene of many memories from our dating and early marriage days. The drive from Petaluma is through rural Sonoma County, and it still looks much like it did over 50 years ago. I loved this view of the curve in the road, the white power poles, and the intense green as we approached a hill and made Lonnie slow down so I could take an iPhone shot through the windshield.
I’ve been having fun combining some of my little moonshadow images (especially the ones on leaves) into abstracts. These are the first three in a little project I’m calling “In the Path of Totality”.
A week ago, I spotted this ladderback woodpecker, all puffed up as it warmed up in the morning sunshine.
When one doesn’t have the high tech gear or knowledge, you make do with what you have- in this case a colander! I heard about this in my photo group today- and evidently it’s a very well known technique- so I gave it a try. I took many shots of the shadow of the moon over the sun as projected through the colander (also a saltine!) on our driveway. Then I tried other places and found it made a pretty good shadow on iris leaves. They look like little hearts, don’t they?
Spotted at Moorten Botanical Garden in Palm Springs a few weeks ago!
We actually saw two nesting hummingbirds while we were there. I’ve never been so close to one before- it was a real treat.
Happy Easter! It has been a rainy and snowy Spring, so I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that we woke up to snow today. But it’s the first time since we moved here in 2013 that we have had snow on Easter. Our plum blossoms have endured several snowfalls this year and are so far surviving. Nature is amazing!
Winter trees + a bit of imagination . . .
We just spent a wonderful week in the Palm Springs area with our daughter’s family- hanging out, swimming and relaxing with our grandboys. One morning, we drove with our son-in-law to a botanical garden and had a lovely time looking at the variety of desert plants. I had fun photographing the curves of the agave leaves, which just seemed to call out for some intentional camera movement. Afterward we had lunch at the amazing Manhattan in the Desert- always a favorite!
melinda anderson photography 