Posted on by Anne Sandler · 24 Comments

Lens Artist Challenge #184: Travel has taught me

Oh my! Every time I travel anywhere, near and far, I learn something. This week Amy has asked us to write about and show what travel has taught us. Instantly, my mind went back to our travels in our various campers and trailers. That’s my favorite kind of travel: where I can take my home with me. I like to get up in the morning, make breakfast, walk the dog, relax, do some sightseeing, cook dinner, settle down for the evening and sleep in my own bed. My food, my itinerary and a familiar/comfortable bed!

Driving across country in 2013 gave us so many opportunities to learn about different states, customs, history, people and historical places. I decided that the east coast has the history and the west coast has more National Parks. So what was my favorite piece of history? The USS Constitution!

I don’t know why, but I fell in love with that ship docked in Boston, Massachusetts. Just its history and the fact that in 2013 she was still in service was amazing. Also called Old Ironsides, she was launched in 1797 and is the world’s oldest ship of any type still afloat. The tour took us below deck and the guide gave us a descriptive history of what life was like during the years the ship was in active commission. Today,  she also participates in public events and education through outreach programs, public access, and historic demonstration.

Here are some pictures I took with my Nikon D3100. I was so new at photography, I didn’t know how to straighten a picture in post! Anyway, they will give you an idea of what a great ship she is.

As we approached .
I liked the beautiful detail.
She looks so graceful.
Looking great from the back.
Below deck.
The gun turrets.
Our tour guide.
Crew sleeping quarters.
Captain’s quarters.

If you visit Boston, Massachusetts, be sure to visit this amazing ship.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 11 Comments

Lugging the long lens: Point Reyes National Seashore, part 1

Cabin fever for me means I have to get away outside my local area to photograph, and I had it. So, when Laura asked me if I wanted to go to Point Reyes National Seashore in Marin County, I immediately said YES! It’s about 2 hours and 20 minutes away, so that was a perfect getaway.

I was armed with my Fujifilm for landscapes and my Nikon and the F/4 300 mm lens for zoning in on the animals. I was not disappointed. In my few trips to Point Reyes, I didn’t see Tule Elk at the preserve. However, it pays to go with a true nature photographer, Laura, who knows the area. She picked me up early in the morning, and we found the elk. A first for me! The early bird does get the worm!!

Next we drove to where the elephant seals were. When we arrived, Park rangers were on the beach and we were able to get a great view of the seals.

Along the shore, we spotted a brown pelican who performed for us: swimming, flying, landing and diving!

So far this was a great adventure, but it’s not over. The rest will be in part 2. Stay tuned!

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 34 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #183: Memorable Events

When Ann-Christine introduced her challenge she admitted it is difficult to choose a memorable event. She wrote: “I had to reflect upon it for some days before I knew what to choose… because life gives us quite some of these very special events, does not it? Happy Birthdays, surprising hikes, meetings with faraway friends, interesting exhibitions, travels to special places…”

It didn’t take me that long! My memories went to our cross country trip in 2013. This was a dream of mine and we decided to do it to commemorate our 50th wedding anniversary. This also coincided with the purchase of my Nikon D3100 and the beginning of my photography journey.

But, what do I pick from a 3-month (not long enough) trip? Memphis Tennessee! But what about Memphis? Beale Street! Just thinking about it brings back the food and music. If you love cat fish, that’s the place to be. If you love music, that’s definitely the place to be.

On our visit, we arrived at dusk to find Beale St blocked off for autos, but not motorcycles, especially when it came to a powder pink cycle with long eyelashes!

Hungry? You just had to step into one of the restaurants where an employee told you of the great food. And it was good.

After dinner, we started our musical adventure. As you walked by club after club, the music streamed out the open doors. Some had cover charges, some didn’t. But, oh my, what great sounds!

Some clubs carried famous names like B.B. King.

In Jerry Lee Lewis’ club, an entertainer played and sang just like Lewis would.

In one club, the singer played a request for me “Walking In Memphis” by Marc Cohen. I could have sat there forever.

All great evenings must end and so Beal Street must close.

I want to go back to Beal St for a few reasons, fun, music and now I know what ISO is!

Thank you Ann-Christine for helping me re-discover this magical night. I enjoyed seeing everyone’s Interesting Objects in response to Patti’s challenge last week, and look forward to seeing what Amy has in store for us next week. Remember to link to Ann-Christine’s post and use the Lens-Artists tag. I want to share in your memorable events.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 22 Comments

The more I photograph, the behinder I get: Sacramento Zoo

I love Thursdays at the Sacramento Zoo because it’s bone day–the day they give the big cats bones to snack on. For a photographer, that means they are likely to be out and chomping. We went to the zoo on a Thursday in December 2021. We hadn’t been for a while and the animals didn’t disappoint us.

The Jaguar was enjoying his bone.

The lions weren’t as cooperative. I had to go back a couple of times to get a good photo of only the male.

The orangutans were out and playful, putting on a show.

The newest zoo addition is Chigüiro the Capybara–the biggest rodent in the world. He’s sort of cute for a rodent!

Did you know that the Okapi are related to the giraffe? You might think the zebra would be a better choice, but no. They are beautiful no matter who they are related to.

One of my favorites, the white pelican, was preening himself. He lives with the flamingos. He has only one wing, and will never leave the zoo. Fortunately, he was facing the right way for me to photograph him. He’s another of my favorites.

The flamingos weren’t doing much. At one point, they were all sleeping. I happened to be talking to a docent about the flamingos when I saw an opportunity to photograph one asleep with its feathers being blown by a slight breeze. As I was shooting, this particular one opened its eye as if to say “Can’t you see I’m asleep!” This image won picture of the night in the open category at the Sierra Camera Club. Patience prevails.

I’ve renewed my zoo membership, so there will be more visits and more blog posts about these animals.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 40 Comments

Lens Artist Challenge #182: Interesting Objects

Of course what is interesting is in the eye of the beholder. What I find interesting are landscapes, macros, architecture but seldom objects. However, sometimes things catch my eye and I can’t resist. This week, Patti encourages to photograph or go through our archives for those objects that we absolutely needed to photograph.

For instance this old bellows camera I spotted at the Antique Trove. The flash has been made into a light source of a different kind.

When taken in context, this sign at the Folsom Prison Museum had me thinking, “Duh!” These old handcuffs must have been totally uncomfortable.

This sign as you enter the small town of Mokelumne Hill will certainly have you slow down!

A restaurant in Napa had a sense of humor when it came to identifying their restrooms.

When we visit farms during the summer months, there’s usually a pile of discarded equipment left to the elements. I love rust and all the colors it gives objects. I think these may have been some sort of stakes.

One of my favorite places to visit is Old Sacramento. On one outing I noticed this gate.

Finally, while these are not unusual; for my photographic eye, they were positioned just right. I’ve posted them in this blog before. So, some of you may know what they are. If you don’t, can you guess?

Thanks Patti for this fun exercise! I had a great time seeing all your double dipping posts last week and look forward to seeing what Ann-Christine has in store for us next week. Please be sure to link your posts this week to Patti’s post and use the Lens-Artist tag. Until next week!

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 9 Comments

Catching up, part 2: Christmas Lights

Yes, I’m still back in December 2021. On the 27th to be exact! Donna and I went out locally to photograph some Christmas lights. The conditions that night were perfect: not too cold and clear.

Last year I had some trouble with my Fujifilm camera. It was the first time using it for this function and I couldn’t get the lighting right. This year I knew it was okay to pump up the ISO. What a difference! This camera handles a high ISO so much better than my Nikon 7100 did.

Here are some of the results. Now pay attention to some of the snow men!

Did you see the great robbery in progress? And the robber’s weapon? If not, look again! As you can see, I also had fun with some slow shutter speed and zooming the lens. Thanks for visiting!

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 16 Comments

Catching Up: Swans at Mather Lake

Things happen and sometimes get us off track. I realized that I haven’t been keeping up with my personal posts that I do on Wednesdays. So….I’ll make up for lost time.

Mather Lake is a small lake, and part of the Sacramento Regional Parks System, at the southern end of Sacramento. It’s a great place to photograph swans and other small wildlife like beavers, etc. So I said I’d go and crossed my fingers, hoping there would be swans more in the middle of the lake so I could capture them with my 300 mm lens.

Again, I will thank my friend Ray who made me a short monopod for my heavy lens. Wow, what a difference! We walked around the lake and I was happy. There were many Mute Swans, and some were by the shore! Here’s some of what I captured.

We didn’t see any other critters, but I was happy with these swans. I think they are so graceful in the water. On our way back to our cars, I spotted a juvenile swan. I looked it up and it was a juvenile. It was by itself so maybe it was mature enough to be on its own.

This is not my “Swan Song.” There will be more catching up posts, in addition to my regular LAPC weekly post, soon.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 47 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #181: Double Dipping

This week Tina encourages us to share photos from other challenges in which we participate or places in which we post. I’m typically not one for taking part in challenges except of course for LAPC. For the last year and a half, I have waited, with joy and anticipation, until 9 a.m. PST for the latest LAPC challenge to be posted. Then I would formulate my response and go through my archives. This was an enjoyable experience as I revisited former outings, bringing back fond memories.

And there I stay. You can call me one-challenge-Anne! But I do post in a few other places. First is the juried competition club Sierra Camera Club. I have gain so much knowledge by having my photos judged and critiqued. I’ve also found critiques of fellow members’ photos invaluable. Here are some of my past entries. With each entry, I choose a picture that will give me feedback in different areas.

The Sierra Camera Club is a member of the Photographic Society of America which I also joined. I quickly joined one of their Projected Image Division groups (PID). Each month we upload two images to be critiqued by the group members. I used the knowledge gained in the Sierra Camera Club to good use while looking at and critiquing the other group members’ photos. It’s all a wonderful learning experience. Here are some of my entries.

And finally, my own group of seniors, Camera Totin’ Days. We go out once a week, take it easy, enjoy shooting our photographs and then eat lunch. Here are some images from our outings.

Now that John, Sophia and I are joining the Lens-Artists team, I’m looking forward to some new experiences.  Patti will be leading our next challenge so be sure to visit her Pilotfish blog or to watch for her post in the Lens-Artists Reader section.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 19 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #180: Favorite Images of 2021

Happy New Year everyone! Tina is asking us to post our favorites from 2021. It’s nice to have that in the past! Hopefully this year, we will move on to a more normal situation. What has gotten me through the last 2 years is photography. I’ve enjoyed going on photo outings with my friends, who have remained healthy and COVID free. Our small photo pod goes out once a week. I’m thinking lunch after our shoot is probably what we look forward to also.

And each week I would anxiously wait for our challenge each Saturday. Not only is posting here fun, I’ve learned so much from comments and seeing all your posts. This year, I’m honored and delighted to become part of the Lens-Artists team along with Sofia Alves of Photographias, and John Steiner of Journeys with Johnbo. We are joining Tina, Amy, Patti and Ann-Christine who have brought us fun challenges in past years. Thank you all for your dedication and hard work.

So, back to my favorites. The first two are lotus. Each year the William Land Park in Sacramento brings forth these beauties. I decided to take the chance and do a black & white of one of them. The other is in color.

I entered the McKinley Park Rose Garden contest last year. The roses were turning brown, and I just didn’t think my images would win against other images taken a week before. This rose won first prize.

While at the Mother Lode Fair in Sonora, this clown stuck his face right at my lens. Of course I didn’t send him away. This will be entered in this year’s photo contest at the fair.

Each year Sacramento hosts “Chalk It Up.” This is my favorite from that morning. It seems like the child is actually in the water. The artist is still working on it. The second photo is a slow shutter shot at a small fair in a Citrus Heights Mall parking lot.

Next we have the back view of the Bourn Cottage in the Empire Mine State Historic Park in Nevada City. And also the ceiling in a restaurant that burned down a few weeks after my photo pod and I ate lunch there! I can’t go back for another shot!

Coming into the Holiday season last year, Donna and I, at the last minute, because it wasn’t raining, to photograph Christmas light displays. I do like to have fun zooming. The photos are handheld.

Last are photos from my trip to the Sacramento Zoo on December 30. I’m still in the processing stage, but I thought these were worth posting now. The flamingo is sleeping, but opens its eye. Maybe it felt the camera’s presence?

Thank you Tina for prompting me to look through last year’s outings.

Again it’s a pleasure to be a part of the LAPC team along with Tina, Patti, Amy, Ann-Christine and new members Sofia and John. I’m looking forward to seeing all your favorites. Next week Tina will be presenting the challenge. Be sure to tag Lens Artists when you post.