I took some time a few days ago to take some abstract macro shots of lilies. I added a couple textures for that painterly look I love- and the first one I also took into Topaz Simplify. Truthfully, because of the shallow depth of field, it looked pretty painterly already, but I love to fiddle around with my images. It is my form of a mindfulness meditation and satisfies my childhood ambition to be an artist when I grew up. 🙂
Even though we only spent two full days there, I still have Tucson photos to share! Here are two views of the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains taken from the balcony of our hotel room.
Double rainbow and rain!
Sunset
Music to read blogs by:
Taking cherry photos, editing cherry photos, EATING cherries, and listening to Neil Diamond SING Cherry, Cherry!
Lensbaby Sweet 35 (with macro converters in first image)
Textures and painting with Topaz Simplify in first image
One of the areas we enjoyed the most at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum was the aviary- mostly because of the hummingbirds. As we wandered around the paths, we were able to catch glimpses of many of these cute little guys.
Probably the highlight for me of our trip to Tucson (beyond lying by the pool and having guacamole with every meal) was seeing the Sonoran Desert. I now get why people love the desert. The landscape there is different from what we’ve seen around Phoenix and definitely not like the high desert climate we live in- it is BEAUTIFUL and full of life. I would love to go back and see more.
This view is from when we stopped the car on the way to the museum.
This is the view next to the museum.
I can only imagine what this looks like at sunrise or sunset (these were around noon. . . and it was SO HOT! ). Beautiful country!
Since we moved to Arizona, I’ve wanted to visit Tucson’s famous Barrio Viejo, the historic district of quaint and VIBRANT old adobe buildings. We managed set aside a morning out of our anniversary trip last week to stroll through the area and take photos- MANY photos. You will be seeing many more photos like the ones in this diptych in future posts!
I’ve just returned from a wonderful, quick midweek getaway to Tucson, where we celebrated our 44th anniversary at a beautiful resort. We did a couple excursions in the mornings and then spent the afternoons relaxing by the pool- my kind of vacation! I always say (correctly so) that I am not a landscape photographer- I don’t have all the best gear, I hate to use my tripod out in public, and I don’t like getting up early to get the best light! But recently it dawned on me that, when I travel, I always take landscape photographs anyway- usually without a tripod and never in good light- even though I KNOW BETTER. I decided that on this trip I would take my tripod and perhaps even use it in public if appropriate. Since we had a view from our hotel room of the mountains, I decided to get up early one morning and do it right. The night before, I put the camera on the tripod, attached the cable release, and adjusted the settings. I set my alarm and got up well before the sun came up; I haven’t counted the photos but I clicked that cable release many, MANY times over the course of an hour. I really like how the rays of the early morning sun peek up over the horizon in this image.
I also took my tripod along when visiting the Mission San Xavier del Bac- but you’ll have to wait for those photos!
Our very sweet and un-self conscious Henry loves to watch the bluebirds flying in and out of the birdhouse. When the birds tweet, he tweets back. It is difficult to keep a straight face while this is going on, and it is highly entertaining (at least for the humans- not so sure about the birds)!
Here is Henry enjoying watching the birds.
And here is his tweeting face!
Overwhelming cuteness!
One of the recent prompts in the studio is BERRIES, which I have photographed many times and never tire of, so I thought this theme would be a good one for me to do to get back into the swing of still life. As usual, the simpler compositions worked best for me.
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.
Miles was fascinated as well.
I am hoping this is the last time I photograph anything related to snakes.
My wonderful son-in-law drove me and my sweet and very patient family through a section of Yellowstone to see some beautiful country- and mostly so I could take some photographs. Although it was midday and therefore not the best light, the sky full of white puffy clouds made a beautiful backdrop- and there were wildflowers everywhere!
These were all taken on Blacktail Road. The Gallatins were behind us; the predominant mountain is Electric Peak.
The star of the show this trip, was undoubtedly three month old Penny; she entertained us every moment she was awake (and sometimes while asleep). The puppy cuteness was overwhelming! Miles is her biggest fan; Henry is somewhat of a puppy himself, so he loves playing with her.
I struggled with taking photos of her, because, although she is generally well-behaved, she is a puppy, after all, and in constant motion. One evening after dinner, I looked out the window to see my son-in-law, Justin putting Penny through her paces out on the grass (the elk were off somewhere- yay!). The after sunset light was beautiful, and Penny will do anything Justin tells her to do- this was a perfect opportunity for some puppy portraits!
She’s a beauty, isn’t she?
Penny, the puppy, isn’t the only baby around here. As usual, the house here at Mammoth is surrounded by elk for a good part of the day, and there are quite a few babies in the herd. This one was getting ready to follow its mother across the road.
By the way, yesterday’s and today’s photos were edited on the iPad with Snapseed and posted using the WordPress app.
I still have photos I haven’t posted from Santa Fe! Here are two Lensbaby shots taken during the golden hour of this magnificent building by the square.
melinda anderson photography 