Posted on by Anne Sandler · 33 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #407: Celebrations

What gives us cause to celebrate? Birthdays, anniversaries, travels, friendships and more. This week Patti encourages us to share celebrations from historical festivals, various travels, religious events and more.

I won’t say that we are not world travelers, but much of our visits to other countries were done when we were much younger and I wasn’t taking pictures. So I’m doing the twist again and celebrating family and friends.

Here’s a blast from the past when our children and their children helped us celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. We toasted this special milestone at the Spaghetti Factory, basically because that was the one place the kids could agree eating at!

This was taken 13 years ago, and we are now married 63 years. Oliva (in her dad’s arms) is now 15 and her brother Ryan (falling asleep on his cousin Madison) is now 17. My how time flies by! My older two grands are now in their 30s. Also in the picture from left to right: daughter-in-law Teresa, her husband Will; daughter-in-law Jessica and my son Greg; Richard and I; and grandson Christopher.

Birthdays are another cause for celebrations. We celebrated my son Jason’s 40th down in Southern California.

Regarding religious holidays, Passover was always one of our favorites. I’d make chicken soup and matzo balls. It being course number three of the celebratory meal. We had to move our living room furniture around to make room for the number of people gathered around our table.

Weddings are a reason to celebrate, especially when it’s your granddaughter getting married and you are playing the photographer. Madison and Ryan!

Last but not least are friendships. Here are 10 women whose friendship I hold dear. Sadly two of them have passed away, but I hold them close in my heart.

I celebrate my family and friends each day. When I turned 50, I remember my Mom saying, “I can’t believe my baby is turning 50!” Well, soon my baby will be turning 50! Another reason to celebrate!

Do you celebrate family and friends? Have you found special celebrations during your travels? I look forward to reading about all your causes to celebrate. When you post, please remember to link to my post and use the Lens-Artists tag. Thank you Patti for this wonderful challenge. Next week Egidio will be leading the challenge. In the meantime, stay safe and be resilient!

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 66 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #406: Summer Daze

My goodness it’s triple digits Fahrenheit here in sunny California. Heat waves come and go during the summertime. We are used to it. When it happens, we go to the beach, find a pool, go to a movie or stay indoors. How do you cool off?

Water is one way to distract our children from the temperatures. It could be a beach where people leave important items, a backyard pool, a water feature for children or a boat on the water.

Summer is also time for camping. We camped when my children were very young. We started in a truck and camper and through the years, graduated to a fifth wheel trailer. I mostly enjoyed the campfires and traveling with our friends. The photo on the right, Montezuma Well was from a camping trip to Sedona Arizona with our friends Sandy and Ken.

And, is there anything more fun or hot than County Fairs. I honestly don’t know why they are always held in the summer. There’s usually a concession selling hand held, battery operated fans! Big attractions are Ferris wheels, merry-go-rounds and bands. The first two images are from the Sacramento County Fair. My last image shows a mother dancing with her young child to a band at the Sonora County fair.

Oh, there’s something special about the foods we enjoy during the summer like raspberries and blueberries.

In addition to our rivers, we have a few lakes to enjoy and are available nearby for short photography trips. My dog Molly (who is now in doggy heaven) loved water. There was no keeping her out of this lake as my husband found out.

I’ll leave you with a smile–a field of sunflowers.

Depending on where you live, summer may be super hot, hot, mild or even cool. What do you do during your summer daze?

Thank you Ann-Christine for taking us on great adventures last week, and to all of you for sharing yours. When you reply to this challenge, please remember to link it back to this post and use the Lens-Artists tag. I want to know all about your Summer Daze. Patti is leading the next challenge, so look for her post. In the meantime, stay safe and be resilient.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 35 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #405: Adventures

There are many ways to look at an adventure. When my kids were young and I got lost while driving somewhere, I would tell them we weren’t lost–we were on an adventure! When something would happen with the truck, camper or trailer when we were on a camping trip, I would tell them that it was all part of the adventure.

Ann-Christine shared her Greenland adventure and wants us to share one of ours. I had two dream adventures I wanted to fulfill: going across the United States in our trailer and sailing through the Panama Canal.

We accomplished the first for our 50th wedding anniversary in 2013. My husband is not a true traveler, but he agreed to the trip. We took the Southern route so we could visit my cousin in Texas. Aside from seeing my cousin before he passed away, Memphis was a highlight. I think I’ve shown you some pictures from that amazing city before.

We then visited cousins in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Long Island. Finally we got to Niagara Falls–a bucket list item for me. It was amazing. Here are pictures of the American Falls at night from the Canadian side and all three falls–American, Bridal Veil and Horseshoe from the American side.

I was in awe of the amount of water pouring from the three falls. We did all the touristy things, including the Maid of the Mist boat ride that took us under the Horseshoe falls.

During that trip I discovered that corn can be “as high as an elephant’s eye” and saw the fantastic St. Louis arch.

My other dream adventure was to go through the Panama Canal. Last summer my friend called and asked if I wanted to do a Panama Canal cruise. I didn’t hesitate; I said yes. Richard even wanted to go on this 16-day cruise. It was exciting to go from the Pacific Ocean, through the locks and into the Atlantic Ocean. Here are pictures of a ship in front of us going through a lock and into the lake separating the two sets of locks. The third is our ship leaving the last lock and entering the lake.

At 83, have I gotten too old for another dream adventure? I’m not sure, but if one should come along?????

Now that I’ve shared my adventures, I’m looking forward to seeing yours. When you share yours, please link to my post and Ann-Christine’s post. And remember to use the Lens-Artists tag. I’ll be leading the next challenge, so look for my post next Saturday! In the meantime, stay safe and be resilient.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 15 Comments

Out and About: Old Sacramento

Don’t you have a place you keep going back to knowing there will always be something new to photograph. For me, that place is the Old Sacramento waterfront on the Sacramento River. They keep making changes like new parking meters 😢, new stores, boats and seals. It’s the people that have me coming back. It’s where I can practice street photography.

So we chose to go down there on a recent Sunday, getting there early for a parking space. We walked around, and when the stores opened we shopped.

One major attraction was the reopening of Evangeline’s, a gift shop and costume rental store. Last year a devasting fire destroyed most of the store. They were determined to rebuild and be a fun spot in Old Sacramento. Here are some pictures of the entertainment outside the store and some fun items inside.

We also went into an area that housed several shops. I was intrigued by the mirrors, reflections and lines.

Now for the street photography and people. This is where I’m still a little timid. Old Sacramento is a great place for me to practice.

I didn’t show any of the waterfront this time, but I have in past posts. I’m sure we will be back again for me to practice. It’s something to look forward to.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 27 Comments

Out and About: High Hand Nursery

Happy Birthday to us–Marlene and Anne! My dear friend Marlene and I have June birthdays, and each year we celebrate with a delicious lunch and photography. This year we chose to dine at High Hand Nursery’s Cafe in Loomis. We made our reservations–yes you need reservations for this cafe–and needed to do it two weeks in advance!

Lunch was delicious and the photography delightful. The only drawback was the high afternoon sun. Here are some of the pictures of the nursery.

Now we’re looking ahead to next year. Destination unknown.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 33 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #404: Subjects That Begin With the Letter B

Do you like playing Scrabble? I do and my set dates back at least 65 years. I recently went through my old set and didn’t find any “Bs” missing; only 2 “Os,” and 1 “R and T,” Fortunately, the Antique Trove, where I take my camera in the rain and heat, has a vendor selling random Scrabble letter. And fortunately, for Beth’s challenge, I have many “B” pictures in my photo archives.

I’ll just make a gallery for you and caption the pictures.

Bath and bench
Bird–Bald Eagle
Big Boy Steam engine–visited Roseville
Bricks
Beer Sign
Bulb
Bolt
Garden Budda
Break dancing
Hedge Bus

Thanks, Beth, for the trip down memory “B” lane. This challenge was totally enjoyable! When you post your “Bs” please remember to link to Beth’s original challenge and tag Lens-Artists. Look for Ann-Christine’s Challenge on July 18. The Team will be taking a 2-week break. In the meantime, stay safe and be resilient.

I’ll be going off to the Antique Trove to find replacement Scrabble letters. Anyone care to play a game?

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 39 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #403: Composition Tools–Perspective, Depth and Scale

Photo composition comes naturally or it can be learned. This week John has a great tutorial for us. For some of us, it’s a new tool and for some it’s something we’ve been doing. However, for some, including me, we’ve been using these three tools without knowing it!

Let’s take depth first. That is most important to help our two dimensional art seem three dimensional. Are you enticed to walk through those open door rooms to the end? Or maybe walk down to the end of the ramp?

Next scale.

We have climbers at a practice rock. That’s still a high climb for me! Their images help show scale in the image. Then we have a reflection showing the scale of this tall building in downtown Sacramento.

Next perspective.

Living in California I would be remis not to show perspective using our giant Sequoias. Here we have a redwood with my friend Jean providing perspective at the Calaveras Big Trees State Park. If you’ve ever visited Sequoia National Park, you’ve seen the iconic General Sherman. This family was taking pictures and I just joined in.

So there you have it, and I posted just the six images allowed. I’m sure we all had more.

Thanks John, for a review and education this week. When you respond, please link your post to John’s original and use the Lens-Artists tag. There were so many wonderful wonders for Sofia’s challenge last week. I enjoyed them all. Next week, Beth will be leading the challenge, so look for her post. In the meantime, stay safe and be resilient.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 37 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #402: Looking Back at Wonder

My camera! No, it’s not a wonder, but it brings me to amazing wonders. This week Sofia has us looking at the moments, places, people that we treasure and cause us to wonder.

I live in a place that brings me and my camera to many wonderous places–rivers, lakes, mountains and parks. Let’s take a look.

You know how much I love to photograph flowers, especially macros and close ups. Whether in a nursery, garden or sunflower field, I love the challenge macro photography brings. It gives me something else to concentrate on, shoving the world out. I become relaxed and happy.

Landscapes are nature’s way of humbling us. Just look at the beauty waiting for us to capture with our cameras–especially sunsets.

Wildlife especially birds are amazing to watch. They are free to go anywhere and mostly travel with friends. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Animals are also wonderous, and zoos invite us to visit many that we normally wouldn’t have the opportunity to see–like this beautiful or handsome Okapi. It’s wondering why I’m pointing that black thing at its rear. Who could resist that beautiful pattern!

And then there’s the funky or maybe artistic photographs that we take for fun and later wonder why to took them!

These are my moments of wonder. Thanks Sofia for this fun challenge. When you post your response please link to her original post and use the Lens-Artists tag. Last week, Patti had us concentrating on our compositional abilities. I enjoyed seeing your many wonderous compositions. Next week John will be leading the challenge. Until then enjoy good health and be resilient.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 30 Comments

Macro Mania: Green Acres

It’s been a long time since I put my macro lens on my camera and took it out for a walk. Last week my photo buddies and I visited Green Acres Nursery in Citrus Heights, Calif. Richard had a cell phone, Ray had a bridge camera and I had my XT3.

Here’s some of what I captured.

I am so grateful to Green Acres for allowing us to come and photograph their beautiful flowers. We do sometimes purchase flowers and other items. It just relaxes me to wander through the rows of florals with my camera, and, of course, lunch always follows!

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 47 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #401: Master Your Photography

Have you ever looked at a photo or painting and wondered where the focus is? This week, Patti has us concentrating on our subject–the focus of our image. She’s showing us five ways to lead your viewer to the focal point and the reason, you snapped the shutter. I’ve chosen selective focus, negative space and leading line to demonstrate how I help lead my viewers to what caught my eye in the first place.

Leading Lines

I love to use leading lines. They don’t have to be straight as in my photos. Think of a curved road leading to a structure or horizon line. The architects of the Cottage in the California State Empire Mine State Historic Park and the Sundial Bridge made use of the leading line theory. Oh, the bridge does have a working sundial at the end.

Negative Space

Negative space does spotlight your subject. Most of my examples involve wildlife. Capturing a great blue heron in flight is no easy task with a 300 mm lens, so I’m happy when I can capture one. An eagle sitting on a branch is a bit easier and so majestic. The sky provides beautiful negative space, especially when there’s no clouds!

Selective Focus

Since I enjoy photographing macros so much, selective focus is a favorite of mine. Using a macro lens to photograph the edges of leaves and their texture is fun. So is going through a farmers’ market where you can zoom in to find vegetables that also have texture.

This was so much fun. Next time I take my camera out for a walk, I’m going to try other types of selective focus. Thanks Patti! When you post your response, please remember to link to her original post and use the Lens-Artists tag. Last week Tina encouraged us to experiment with the Rule of Three. I could tell from your responses you enjoyed creating your posts. Remember to stay healthy and be resilient!