Category: Journal

2019 Retrospective

Posted on by Annie

It’s a new year (and a new decade, whee!) so time to look back at my Vagabond Life in 2019 and celebrate the stats! States Visited Only two new states this year: Montana (three nights in Missoula) and Ohio (a one-nighter at a KOA in transit from PA to CO, but it still counts). So my count is now up to 40 out of 48 states (because I’m never driving to Alaska and the Alto can’t swim to Hawaii). This year’s map includes Canada, since I hit up British Columbia (mostly Vancouver Island). Let’s be honest, though, and admit that…

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2019 Top Ten

Posted on by Annie

At the end of each year, I look back at the photos I’ve taken and figure out what worked and what didn’t. I’m definitely learning; the more photos I take, the better I get. Practice does make one better at something, my piano teacher was right about that! I went all over the place in 2019, from Huntington Beach State Park in South Carolina (above) to the Oregon coast. I camped near the Grand Tetons in Wyoming, using every lens in my arsenal to try and capture the beauty of those peaks. Here’s the rest of my favorite 10 photos…

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52 Frames: Break the Rules

Posted on by Annie

This challenge was harder than I thought it would be: break the rules (like level horizon, “normal” colors, rule of thirds, etc.) to produce a good image. I played with two images, but the first one didn’t really fire up my imagination. It did break some rules (overexposed and not centered or offsides enough to meet the rule of third criteria) but it didn’t really say anything exciting or novel, either. So I moved on to a different image, snapped as I drove by, too late to pull over and get a better shot because towing a trailer definitely limits…

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52 Frames: Water

Posted on by Annie

Last week’s 52 Frames challenge was water and I was initially excited because I was going to be by water all week long. Excellent. Only the fog and rain came. Not so excellent. So I challenged myself to capture the mood of the bay in my images. I experimented with black and white, which gave it a film noir feel. Not quite was I was going for, but I do like how the wharf looks and the little figure at the base of the cliff. In this image I was up high, on my own cliff. In the image below,…

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52 Frames: Abstract

Posted on by Annie

The last few years, I’ve participated in a group called 52 Frames, which runs a weekly photography challenge by giving us a word or concept to explore during the week, then you submit your best image to the group by Sunday night. Last week’s challenge was Abstract so I decided to have some fun with the iPhone and an app called Slow Shutter. I stood on a bridge over the Russian River and looked westward. I walked around the campground, a bit east of the bridge and found another good composition. The sunshine on the hills across from me lit…

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