It's been over a year since my last post - a rough year. Several things have contributed to it but mostly losing my cats to cancer. Both losses were pretty devastating but after I lost my Clover last August, I sort of just lost my mojo. I don't think I took my camera out of my bag for 6 months.
I finally started thinking about photography again this spring, but perhaps that was because I was desperate to think about anything other than COVID.
Despite a true love for nature photography, I lacked inspiration. Ideas just hadn't been coming to me like they used to. Then, I remembered something I do when I can't fall asleep. I alphabetize things. I pick a topic, like desserts, and start alphabetizing in my head. . .Apple pie, Baked Alaska, Chocolate cake, . . . I'm usually asleep before "m".
I thought, why not use this method to restart photographing and blogging.
So - here we go: "A" is for Abstract. Hover over any image for additional information, or click on any image to open in the gallery.
Abstracts are awesome because you can incorporate them into any type of photography you enjoy.
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 FlamesI started taking pictures of the flames in our fire pit this summer and got some pretty neat results 
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 Chihuli glassThis is a close up of one of the art installations in the Chihuli Museum in Seattle.
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 Seattle Music Project This building was a lot of fun to walk around and shoot. It would produce very different results in bright light, overcast, or twilight.
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 Tulip detail, Filoli GardensFlowers make for great abstract images
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They are great subjects when it's the middle of the day and the light is poopy.
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 The Wave, Vermillion Cliffs National MonumentThis is one of the lesser seen images of the Wave, but equally as fascinating.
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 Merced River iced overI spent an embarrassing amount of time walking along the river bank photographing the ice patterns along the water.
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 Aerial view of farm landsAirplanes, helicopters, and drones provide a whole new perspective on the world.
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 Monzogranite detail, Joshua Tree National Park The rocks of Joshua Tree provide endless possibilities for abstract images
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They can help move you along when you can't seem to find a good subject or composition.
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 Koi in motionThese koi were very cooperative subjects, slowly moving through the water as I tried ou different shutter speeds to create various abstract images
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 Mosaic Canyon, Death Valley National Park The walls of Mosaic Canyon are unlike other in the park, smooth, with awesome layered patterns.
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 Eucalyptus Tree Bark, Maui Eucalyptus bark makes for some pretty cool abstract art
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 Red Rock Wall, Lake PowellRed Rock Wall, Lake Powell
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They also just look really cool. I think abstracts are more likely to end up as wall art than plenty of great landscape shots.
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 Aspens during autumnIf you pan your camera vertically while on a slow shutter speed, like 2 seconds, you can create some pretty cool abstract images. This is a great option when the light is bad.
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 Wildebeest, Serengeti National Park I really love the lines and shapes these large group of wildebeests created.
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 TafoniTafoni, sometimes called Swiss Cheese rock is so much fun to shoot because there are so many patterns you can capture. Plus it does a good job of occupying you while you wait for sunset.
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 Snow mounds, Yosemite National Park There is nothing better than Yosemite in winter. With fewer people around, you can wander around and capture all kinds of unique images. This is a meadow covered with a fresh blanket of snow.
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Abstracts can be expanded on by playing with some basic tools in Photoshop.
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 Wagon wheel detail, Death Valley National Park Death Valley offers many opportunities for abstract images, including this wagon wheel. This has been intentionally over saturated in Photoshop to lend to the abstract quality of the image.
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 Wave pattern, Lake Powell This has been enhanced in Photoshop to highlight the beautiful canyon and sky reflection in Lake Powell
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 Office building, downtown SacramentoI played with this in Photoshop a bit to bend the lines and make it look more cartoonish.
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 Mussels The colors and texture has been exaggerated in Photoshop to bring out the interesting patterns in this cluster of mussels.
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I hope you enjoyed "A". Now it's time to start working on "B"!
Click here to view this blog gallery.
