Sheepherder's Wagon

Autumn Reflections on the Blacksmith Fork River

Fairy Falls ~ Columbia River Gorge Waterfall

I helped my daughter move to Seattle this week, and decided to take the scenic way home through the Columbia River Gorge.  I found waterfall heaven!  I might just have to stay a few more days?  This is Fairy Falls.  It is about a mile above Wahkeena Falls.

The beginning of my favorite season ~ Autumn

Vintage Garden

Gladolia

Moab Sky

Moab, Utah

Raindrops on Lupine

Flower Reflection

As I was watering the flowers in my garden last night, this columbine caught my eye.  It looked like it had bent down to take a drink out of my birdbath.  The evening light made a soft reflection in the water. 

Love...

The Piano

Old and weathered, this piano was an interesting prop for an awesome musician with a bright future! 

Early Spring

Early spring, just as the snow melts and before most of the wild flowers blossom, can be a challenging time to find interesting things to photograph.  Sometimes its the simple beauty of textures, contrast and color that catches my eye.   

Wild Wyoming ~ Infrared

I sat down in the grass below these rocks to take a rest, eat some lunch, and get a little shelter from the relentless and VERY chilly wind.  The landscapes in the Wyoming desert, reflect the harsh elements that exist there.  Wild and beautiful. 

If Shoes Could Tell a Story...

While traveling on some back roads in southern Utah, I stopped to explore an old abandoned ranch house.  It was like stepping back in time a hundred years.  It made me wonder who had lived and worked here?  What were they like?  Why did they leave?  Then, by the door of one of the out buildings, I found this old pair of leather shoes.  If only they could tell a story...

Smoke Wing Fairy

I was photographing smoke this morning, in the sunlight coming through the window.  One of the photographs reminded me of a butterfly wing, so I thought "what if I could make wings out of this photo, and layer them on a person"?  This was the end result.  It's fun to try new things and act on creative ideas!  If nothing else, I had an excuse to learn and practice some new techniques. 

Decisions

One of the hardest decisions for me to make sometimes, is the decision of color or black and white for a photograph.  Most of the time there is really no question of which one that I like best.  On occasion, however, I find that I like both.  In southern Utahs red rock country, the colors undeniably catch the eye first.  But in the black and white photograph of the same image, its the textures, tones and shapes of the scene that make the image interesting.  So which one?  I like both for different reasons.  Even though they are the same image, they both have a different "feel".  This is one of those images that I'll definately make prints of both.

"If you truly love Nature, you will find beauty everywhere". ~ Vincent Van Gogh ~

Such beautiful things are created by wind and water.  I just returned from a trip to southern Utah.  One of my favorite places to explore.  The beauty of the vast landscapes, to the littlest details, are simply amazing to me.    

Antiqued #2

Another image using layers and textures.  I photographed some wrinkled gold material that I had in my studio for one layer.  For the other, I stained some paper with coffee.  Making my own textures to use in my images, has been a fun and creative part of the process.  Then the final images are 100% my own piece of unique art.

Antiqued

One thing about this time of year, is it gives me some time to learn and try new things.  While I love our beautiful winters here in Utah, it's still hard to get out as much as in the fairer weather months.  I have always loved old, worn and antiqued looking things.  I decided to start working on a series of photographs that have that same feel and look.  I guess I chose to start with this image because as the snow is falling outside, it brought back the memories of the day that I took this photograph.  On a warm afternoon in late September, I sat on a rock watching the bees and moths fly from one flower to another.  Sometimes fighting for the same blossom, they seemed almost desperate to prepare for winter.  I on the other hand, was content to sit for hours and observe, relax and photograph them in the warm autumn sun. 

Beauty in the Details