Phoneography Aerials of the Western U.S.

On our last flight from Los Angeles back to Rhode Island, I was able to sneak some pretty cool photos out the window with my new 'droid. At first, I was a little iffy about "phoneography", thinking it was silly to be taking photos with this phone when I had a digital SLR sitting at home. But it's not always practical to have it handy, and this is truly the next best thing. I don't think photography has to be digitally perfected and have a high megapixel count to be beautiful.

Above, part of the desert and canyon landscape I saw about 20 minutes after leaving LAX. I jokingly refer to it as "Area 51".

More gorgeous, reddish canyons cut by fluffy clouds.

I looked off in the distance of the airplane window to see snow-capped mountains.

And soon we were flying right over them. I am not sure what these were- Rockies? the Sierra Nevada is too far North. Maybe someone out there knows and can tell me. Aren't they beautiful?? I have never seen the Rockies, and our mountains in New England are so entirely different- rounded and slightly faded, golden, blue and green depending on season.

A sunset from 30 thousand feet is quite stunning! It looks like an ocean of sky and clouds with thin ribbons of slowly fading colors....

The last few months for me have been a whirlwind. A lot has happened, wonderful, and terrible, things...things I can't put into words quite yet. But I hope in the near future putting some of the events online might help me get through some of it. I have been blog lurking, and not really commenting, and not feeling like myself lately, so please understand my bloggy friends. I appreciate all of you, and have been touched by your messages on facebook, for my birthday on the fifth! Leaving again- this time for Florida- today, and I can't wait to get the camera out again once I get there. :))

Experimenting with abstract style photography

Abstract photography means different things to people, but to me it conjures images of everyday scenes and objects that are turned, by the photographer, into something not immediately recognizable. So, a field of grass becomes a wonderland of huge trees...or bubbles in glass of soda are a mesmerizing blur of circles. I do have some photos which seem to fit that bill, some of them are in my shop, but others I never saw as being very "successful" photos....but perhaps they are...just not the type I normally strive for...and that's ok!

Above:  Canadian geese heading south, during Sundown

Above: reflection of winter trees in the fading sun, seen in a pond

Above: tendrils and plants by the beach

Above: crystal clear water over smooth pebbles

Above: tidal flats cause patterns in the sand during low tide on a Cape Cod beach.

Above: the clear beach water trickles down through the flats at low tide.

Above: Autumn reflections in the river.

Above: watery ripples in Newport harbor right before Sunset.

Above: another watery reflection, of a rainbow colored sail, Block Island.

Above: closeup of sea kelp, Maine.

Above: some type of flower...seen in the Marie Selby Gardens, Sarasota.

Above: leaf on curly branch.

Above: the Margaret Todd sailboat, Bar Harbor, Maine.

ABove: glowing purple summer flower, side of the road, Cape Cod.

Above: dandelion fuzz.

Above: carbonation closeup in my bottle of soda.

So, that's my roundup of some abstract photos from my archives!  I suppose I do tend to see patterns in water ripples, stones, and certain flower patterns. I also like selectively focusing my lens to capture a scene in a more dreamy, blurry sort of way. I did this with some of the scenes I came across in Acadia National Park last summer, when the weather was rainy, misty and foggy and lent to that kind of dreamy landscape. One example of that weekend is the Margarett Todd sail boat above.

I'd love to learn more about this type of photography and how others see the abstract style. It's one of my focuses this year to learn more about the different styles of photography that I tend to shy away from. :)