We just did this interesting trek to a historic western past via Rock Art Ranch, east of Winslow.
Check out my post on kritterspaw.com
Aside from a great history, cool old buildings and artifacts… it’s got petroglyphs, and lots of them.
Pretty cool!
First Snow
There is something magical about the first snow fall. I used to hate snow. It’s just too darn cold. That was, until I learned to appreciate it for it’s beauty. It’s so pristine, with it’s virgin white clumps adhering to tall majestic pines; piles lay in the road with nothing more than road tracks or animal prints. It’s breathtaking to behold. So I wanted to capture it’s amazing beauty.
I can’t wait for the next snow fall. I want to go out again!
Wacom Intuos Pro Tablet
Have you seen the new Wacom tablet?
These things were all the rage with the photographers at the Photoshop World in Vegas. I was completely oblivious to this technology and product until I was introduced to them at this conference. Every photographer there seemed to have one. Perhaps it was because they were given to them for free by Wacom (for product testing of course… I’m just guessing), or perhaps because they were just plain cool.
Think of this thing as a mouse. But instead of a mouse, it’s a pen. So if you’re doing Photoshop, this tool is super cool. Using the tablet (mouse pad), you apply your pen to the tablet and you can use your Photoshop tools to apply your adjustments with a fine point. Forget the days of chasing your mouse curser around the screen. By merely applying more pressure you get more affect, or less pressure.. less affect. You can get those fine hairs or into those small corners to apply your adjustments (brightness, clarity, exposure, etc.), instead of waving your mouse around. The back of the pen is an eraser. Cool, right?! It also has programmable buttons for quick access.
They even have devices you can draw directly on the photo itself. These are more like laptop devices.. and much more expensive. For me, I’m not about to give up my 27″ desktop screen. But, I am happy to try one of these beauties. It’s going on my Christmas list!
Winter Fog
We have been inundated with fog these last few days. It has been relentless, morning and evening.
It’s made for eery weather and poor visibility… but cool pix, if you can get ’em.
Deer Families
We sat and watched these two deer families interact. One deer mom had one little one; the other had two little ones. I don’t know what the deal was, but they were none to pleased that the other family was there trying to horn in on their spot.
It seems to me that they should stick together. Goes to show, I have a lot to learn about deer behaviors.
Eagle Perch
Speaking of birds… driving past Morman Lake, I spied this regal guy sitting on a branch watching the world go by. I actually didn’t have my big camera with me. I had my little point and shoot, Panasonic Lumix handy though. That’ll teach me to bring my big camera along, so I don’t miss any such opportunities.
Daylight Owl
I felt very fortunate the other day to have an owl sighting. The owl stayed put long enough for me to go home and get my camera. I think he was just soaking up the sun. Unfortunately, he didn’t stay long, but I was thankful to see him up close and personal. I hear owls occasionally, but this was the first time I got to see one so close… and I got a picture!
Story Telling
I mentioned that I had the fortunate opportunity to have Moose Peterson critique some of my photos. While we was very kind and even called my photos great (woohoo), and suggested that I had good technique an composition, he noted that I needed to work on my story telling. When I think of story telling, I think of portraits… photos of people doing something, action, great expressions, expressing a moment in time. I get that good portraits may use shallow depth of field to blur the background to highlight the subject. But how do you do that in Landscape and Wildlife photographs?
While I am not comfortable taking photos of people, I do understand that they had great depth (sense of size) to a photograph, and tell a story of that place. Here I caught two young adults mid catch at Woods Canyon Lake.
Expressions, if you can capture them, are worth a thousands words. Whether you anticipate and wait for it, or just get lucky. Here you can hear the oohs and ahhs of my friend and husband as they revel over the magnificent fall colors we were fortunate enough to enjoy.
Or the tender moment between a deer mom and her little one.
Thanks, Moose. I’m working on it.
Photographic Style
When I first started this endeavor of throwing myself into my photography and learning, improving, practicing, and publishing, I read a lot about Photographic Style. These books recommend that you choose one. What the heck does that mean? Why can’t I just shoot whatever I want, whenever I want, as it appears to me? I pretty much disregarded the advice.
Now, as I look at my photos, I realize, I didn’t disregard it… I did make a decision,even if it might not have been conscious. I dislike taking photos of people. I am just uncomfortable pointing a photo at a person as I feel it invades their space. That may seem silly, but it’s just not my thing. So I avoid it. (That being said, I am trying to get more into it, as it does add a lot to a photo.)
I naturally find myself taking photos of my environment. Those are the types of photos that inspire me, and make me comfortable. I love capturing the Landscape and Wildlife that surrounds me. I can be at peace with those subjects, take my time, and carefully compose the perfect picture.
So I guess my Photographic Style found me… I’m a Landscape and Wildlife photographer. Hmmm. I’m way ok with that.
Mogollon Rim Sunrise
We did an outing to Mogollon Rim for sunrise yesterday. The sunrise is around 6:30am, so we made our way to the rim hoping for some good cloud cover. I love the layers of color and depth the Rim offer. I found sunrise difficult though, as it was too dark… then too light. Next time I need to scope out a specific area and go back knowing already what I want to shoot… then just wait for the perfect light. And bring my tripod!
Overlooking East Clear Creek
