Mt. Timpanogos Between Fall and Winter

Mt. Timpanogos Between Fall and Winter

Same place, earlier in the afternoon, and a different spot up the road from my last post. I thought of this quote by John Muir on the day I was taking these photos: "The mountains are calling and I must go."

Mt. Timpanogos, Utah

Mt. Timpanogos, Utah

We've had some wild weather here in Utah for the last few days, but after the rain, the wind, and the tornadoes, (yes, here in Utah), Mother Nature gave us this!

Duck Creek Village, Utah

Duck Creek Village, Utah

Inclement weather and a drizzly, cloudy, foggy, dark day....great for showing off fall yellows and creating moody, misty photos.

Aspen & Sheep, Cedar Breaks, Utah

Aspen & Sheep, Cedar Breaks, Utah

Just got back from a great ATV trip with friends, and drove home by way of Cedar Breaks, hoping to get a few photos of the spectacular fall foliage. Unfortunately it was raining and windy, but the sheep didn't seem to mind! I have seen a lot of aspen trees in fall, and this is about as good as it gets!

Fall in Utah

Mt. Timpanogos 

Fall color is GLORIOUS in Utah mountains right now. This is what I call the 'backside', (north facing view I think), of Mt. Timpanogos. This view is about a half hour drive from home. Lucky me!!! (For you Utah photographers, I just discovered this shooting location and I love it!)

Where's Karen?

Where's Waldo? Or in this case where's Karen??? This front door shot became one of my rare selfies. (It was taken in Santa Fe where we spent a few days celebrating our 46th anniversary.)

Peach Pie

I don't like to cook, but I do. I used to bake bread and make pies, but not so much anymore. But once a year, every year, I make a fresh peach pie from scratch for my husband, with peaches from our own trees. And today was the day. It is truly a time consuming labor of love for me, as I manage to dirty every mixing bowl, every measuring cup, and end up with flour and pie dough on most of the drawer and cupboard knobs and all over the floor! So after all that, I had to treat myself with a taste just to make sure it turned out alright, before serving it to my family for Sunday dinner. (That's my story and I'm sticking with it). And it turned out delish, even if I do say so myself!! And the best part....... left over peach pie for breakfast!!!

A Bird in the Hand......

Nice being out in nature, just me and the birds.....well not exactly. The location where I took this photo might be a bit misleading. This little swampy area sits in between a shopping mall parking lot and an 8 lane freeway. The birds love it!

Tahiti - Moorea

Tahiti - Moorea

This is a weekend where many of us are able to take a break from the everyday routine, and travel away to places far or near, while some of us take 'staycations' and travel to far away places in our minds! I'm completing a photo book of our 18 months in the South Pacific Islands several years ago, and ran across this photo. There is nothing more spectacular than sunsets in the South Pacific. This was taken from our hotel in Tahiti, looking toward the beautiful island of Moorea, my favorite tropical paradise.

Busy Bee!

Look closer to see how busy this little bee really is!

Magnolia

"Softer Than a Summer Night" 

That phrase just popped into my head when I was looking at this image. Who remembers what song this line is from??

Pink Cosmos

The humble cosmos looks lovely when surrounded by a beautiful summer garden.

Salt Lake Temple

Salt Lake Temple

Backlit by Hot August Sun

I'm always looking for unique compositions of the Salt Lake Temple, and if it includes some sun flare, that's icing on the cake. Love how Angel Moroni looks like he's floating. Took this today while I was on Temple Square late this afternoon.

Another Beautiful Summer Garden

Ashton Gardens at Thanksgiving Point

It's hard to get excited about putting in the work and expense of cultivating my own garden when I can drive 5 minutes away and enjoy scenes like this!!!

P.S.  I have had several people ask if I add saturation to this image.  Here is a comment I made on facebook where I have lots more viewers than here on my blog:

Several people have asked if I 'photoshopped' my last post to make the colors so......well, colorful??? This is probably the most common question landscape and nature photographers get asked regularly! Read on to find out my answer..... Many die hard traditionalists feel that anything done to a photograph outside of the camera is cheating, (even though we know that early photographers also regularly manipulated their images, even the great Ansel Adams). But what if the manipulation comes in the camera before the shot is taken, such as using special filters or lenses or camera settings to create unique 'looks' that are not what the eye would normally see?? In the days before digital, even the film a photographer used would change the look of an image. Portrait and wedding photogs would often use Provia film which produced neutral, soft colors that would enhance skin tones, whereas landscape photographers would use Velvia film which produced vivid, saturated, bright colors. My current digital camera love, a mirrorless Fuji xt-1 has settings that simulate the 'look and feel' of those most popular films. So when I shoot colorful scenes, like the one here, I often set my camera to the Velvia setting to bring out the colors. So for you traditionalists out there, is this in-camera selection of a specific setting to achieve a specific look, cheating? Of course photography has always been about combining art and science into personal interpretation, (I'm not talking about journalistic photography in its strictest form). But today, because of modern technology, the lines between photography, graphic art, paintings, drawings, and other art forms continue to blend and overlap, and the traditionalists who try to keep those boundaries separate and apart are in a losing battle. For them, it sometimes becomes more important to base their opinion of the value of an image on how it was created, rather than whether the image itself is beautiful, meaningful, uplifting, informative, evocative, etc. I wonder how many people who love the work of Monet thought to ask what type of brushes he used, or the brand of paint he preferred!! (For those who missed my photo in question, here it is again.) P.S. I do have to say, when I compare my photos on my computer with how they appear here on FB, they often look more saturated. Not sure if this is a FB thing!

Summer!

This is why I LOVE summer!

My Grandson Finn!

My Adorable Grandson Finn!

I usually don't post family photos here, (I have a different blog for that), but sometimes I just can't help myself!!!

A 'behind the scenes' shot with Finn's father blowing bubbles.  We had so much FUN!

Golden Hour at Lilly Lake, Utah

Lilly Lake, Utah

This is why photographers call the time of day just before sunset, the "Golden Hour'. This is Lilly Lake in Utah's high Uintas. A beautiful time to be out fishing in a little red canoe, or on the shore enjoying the view with a camera!

Provo River Falls, Utah (2)

Near Provo River Falls

Here is another beautiful spot near the main falls.  I sat on this rock and enjoyed the view until it starting getting dark.

Provo River Falls, Utah

Provo River Falls

For you non photographers..... the soft, dreamy look in the water is created by using a tripod and slowing down the shutter speed in camera. Is that cheating or artistic impression?

Provo River, High Uintas, Utah

Provo River Falls

Twilight in the high Uintas. I took this last night in between vertical 'drops' of the Provo River Falls.