Playing with Dandelions

I think dreamy macros of flowers, weeds, or leaves are my favorite photos to take. There is something so relaxing about seeing objects so closeup, so different from the way you would ordinarily see them- and then moving the camera or changing the aperture or area of focus just a slight bit to get an entirely different view.  It’s like a mindfulness meditation. And then there’s the editing- so much fun! I used different Lightroom presets as starting points in editing the dandelion macros below- I’m not sure which I like best.

Newsprint, from Clickin Moms Paparazzi Collection:20150606-MMA_6952_melinda_anderson

Documentary, from Clickin Moms Paparazzi Collection:20150606-MMA_6955_melinda_anderson-2

Same photo as above, kk_toucha from Kim Klassen:20150606-MMA_6955_melinda_anderson

kk_light and airy from Kim Klassen:20150606-MMA_6963_melinda_anderson

kk_litely from Kim Klassen20150606-MMA_6967_melinda_andersonAll photos taken with Lensbaby Sweet35 with both macro converters

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Portraits of Kiki

No longer having pets, I was eager to take some lensbaby photos of my inlaws’ 18 year old cat, Kiki. Normally she ignores me, but this time, she kept coming over to me while I was attempting to take her portrait.  I decided to go for a really shallow depth of field and just focus on her whiskers. My favorite is the first one.

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Lensbaby on the Road

I’ve been keeping my Lensbaby on my camera all the time, trying to get as much practice as possible.  When we are on a long road trip, we almost never stop for photos, so it has become my habit to take photos with my phone through the window as we drive along.  On this trip, I started using my big camera instead of my iPhone to take these photos.

One of the assignments in my Lensbaby class was to take photos of objects that are moving (using manual focus, the only way you CAN focus a lensbaby).  Although the subjects of my photos weren’t moving, the car certainly was! As we drove through eastern Colorado, I used the sweet35 optic to capture the scenery along the way.  My favorite photo is this landscape (I love the light), which is NOT in sharp focus. I used Topaz Simplify and some added textures to give it a painterly feel.

20150522-MMA_5591_melinda_anderson-EditThe next day, as we drove through the plains of western Kansas, I used the Edge 80 optic on my lensbaby, which I found fairly easy to focus at 60 plus mph.  The sky was very overcast and eventually gave way to heavy rain as we drove along.

20150523-MMA_5623_melinda_andersonLonnie knows I have a bit of an obsession with photographing grain silos and farms, so he actually took an exit so that I could take photographs of this one from the road instead of from a moving car!

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SHORT walk

Yesterday’s late afternoon walk at Willow Lake turned out to be a very short one due to the HUGE quantity of gnats, no-seeums- whatever they were. We are accustomed to being annoyed by a swarm or two of these creatures on part of the trail, but on this day, at this time, it was ridiculous.  Someone on the trail said they always seem to come out more around 4:00- back to morning walks!

We were happy to see wildflowers and blossoms on the part of the trail that we did- so here are a few (all taken with the Lensbaby and Sweet35).

walk walk2

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Beach Blur!

20150311-DSC_0292_melinda_andersonWe’re not in Arizona anymore! We are . . .  o n  v a c a t i o n !

And these photos are from my brand new Nikon D7100! My camera ended up having to be sent to Nikon after all; the shutter was replaced, but there were still problems.  So, I now have a second camera, which will, of course, become my first camera. It is the newer version of my old camera- basically the same, but with a better sensor and a few other tweaks. It’s on sale right now, because the even newer version comes out next week.

I had so much fun today using my new toy with the Lensbaby Sweet 35.  Of course, many of my lensbaby photos didn’t turn out, but my ratio is getting better. These shots were both taken at Pacific Beach in San Diego.

I love Arizona, but it is sooooo nice to be taking photos at the ocean!

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