Year in Review-Photography

Moon over the Grand Canyon

Photography is one of my favorite things to do.  It's always looking for that right angle or interesting feature.

Christmas lights create an abstract blur that I call, "Holiday Rush"

And it is challenging in many different ways....night shots, moon shots, lightning shots, fire shots, abstract shots, blurred water shots, shooting into the sun(careful) and oh so much more.

Lighting is some of the most challenging.  500 shots later and I finally get the one I  want. There are tricks to this and I don't like being outside while it's all going on.  

Some bloggers love to write and others love photography.  I am the latter of the two.  

Fire.  I love the various shades of this fire cloud  as it is blown into the air at the Arizona Renaissance Festival. 

I love being out in the field.  Sometimes I get stuck doing things I don't always enjoy.  But I always bring my camera and it keeps me occupied. It forces me to find the interesting:)

This particular image captured a scary feeling I had as a child at my Grandparent's house while reading about dinosaurs

The zoo, for example, was one of those places I didn't really want to visit.  So I took how I felt(haunted/sad) and transferred that feeling into the photography.  Then I manipulated the above image to create that look.

I love the colors of the orange and blues.  Taken at the Pima Country Faire

One of my favorite things to shoot are fire dances.  It has a  magical quality to it all.

These fire dancers look to be spirits as they whirl fire in different directions. 

And no matter how hard I try to resist, the moon is always fascinating to me.  While on a bird outing, I spied this plane passing by this large spacial object.

Then there was the sun and moon eclipsing.  Dragonflies, in a wonderful spiritual moment, perched on the branches perfectly as the moon blocked some of the sun and reflected off of their wings.

Night shots can frustrate people but when they turn out, it's really quite something special.....like the fireworks below.

I love this shot below. It was taken at the House on the Rock.  It was drenched in red.  With some selective toning, we were able to distinguish the various shades of red.

Capturing flowers on camera isn't as easy as it looks.  But sometimes.......they turn out magical.  Rosemary really captures the images wonderfully.  Somehow you've got to imprint the human feeling onto the flower to make the pic POP!  Sometimes a flower will inspire me to do those things.  Other times, I just look at the flower and say to myself, "Ooo, that's pretty!".  And take the pic without thinking.  That's where I have my challenges:)

And another feature I worked with on photography was the process of aging a shot to capture that feeling of childhood.  These were some of my favorites this year.  Hope you enjoyed.

Getting My Green On!

So when it's hot, and boy does it get hot here in Tucson during the month of June, it's time to take a trip.  In fact, June and September are my most UNfavorite months to live here in the desert.  Unfortuneatly, I'm working in September to take a trip anywhere but I'm indoors with the A/C during the hot part of the day. 

So we escaped to green green green Wisconsin!!  In several days, I'll be taking you there for some fun visits to a couple gardens, parks and of course some historical insights from my childhood etc.  I'll be capturing a lot of desert monsoon action in the mean time that will hopefully be featured at the end of the month of July.  Today we take you to the gardens outside the House on the Rock. It's the only part of our visit that didn't scare me.  You'll see why next week.  This Japanese Zen garden is absolutely breathtaking.  On our first day there, we just sat absorbing the wonderful weather, sounds and views of this garden.  Swallows were flying around the ponds as were lots of other critters.

12 Spotted Skimmer(Libellual pulchella)

Dragonflies this year have been for me some of the most interesting insects to capture on camera.  Here is yet another variety of dragonfly with blue and black wings.  That's the fun about going to another place....new things to capture on film!!  I think I always have been a photographer at heart because my camera has gone with me everywhere....even before the I purchased the professional one.  But I will note.  This camera has allowed me to carefully observe behaviors in people or animals that I normally wouldn't have seen with my own eyes.....and I think that's where the camera has really made a difference in my own life.  Detail is everything. Birding has made me a better observer. 

And while in the garden, we couldn't help but notice this mature tadpole near the lily pads.

The mosquitos weren't bad and our hikes were wonderful.  Sometimes I forget about all the plants one can grow in the midwest.  I'm not jealous about this, but I did think about something as I was there.   There is so much forest and leaf coverage that it makes spotting wildlife difficult.   Then I think about my own desert home.  I have gotten really good at spotting desert wildlife all around me, but is it because I have been gone away from my birthstate so long that I've lost my ability to see things there?  I think I did okay, but I could have done better.  My ears were excellent at picking up noise but my eyes are terrible at times.  So I had my nephews and nieces to help me out.  But they had to be VERY VERY quiet....and they did excellent playing detective with me.

If you are new to the desert, it's not uncommon to desire a green space.  Most of us get our "green on" in June.  We head to San Diego, the tropics, or back home to visit loved ones.  It's all part of being a transplant to the desert.  The important part is that we all keep those green plants back home and not try them here in our water starved deserts.  So to fix this need, you have to travel and get your green on! Well that's my coping strategy for the nasty heat. I hope you enjoy this series of posts coming up.  There are more chuparosa challenges and property updates from El Presidio.  More tomorrow.....