Let’s go back 21 years when we moved to Sacramento, there was maybe one week of triple digit temperatures during the entire summer. We’ve already had that many and it’s not even the end of June! The heat stiffles any desire to grab a camera and go out for the day. Enough griping!
Recently Marlene and I took advantage of a morning when the temperature was to max out in the 90s and went to William Land Park in Sacramento to photograph the lotus blossoms. I think they were just as affected by the heat as we were. Also the cluster of lotus were far away from the bank of the pond. Getting super close was not possible. Here are some of the blossoms. The close ups are well cropped.
What truly impressed me was the size of the leaves. They were impressive. The lotus aren’t the only attraction at the pond. There are others:
Also, in today’s world, I always get pleasure from the kindness and friendliness of others. We met three women who saw our cameras and asked us to take their picture with their cell phone. We talked with them. They offered advice on how I could reduce the pain in my hip. They also had us take a picture of each of us and them with our cameras. Here’s the one I took of them and Marlene.
This last picture was taken just before entering the pond area. It’s not a lotus but I liked the lighting.
It’s supposed to be cooler this week, so maybe I won’t be so grumpy! We’ll see what July brings. In the meantime, enjoy your summer and stay safe.
During a photography competition, the judge always looks into the subject’s eyes–whether human or animal. Are they sharp and have a catch light. This week, Tina challenges us to focus on the eyes of a subject. Eyes are doorways into the soul.
I managed to find some images in my archives to show you. Let’s start with one I enjoy looking at. My friend and I were at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge driving the course. Towards the end, a bald eagle was in a branch right over the road. To get this picture, I climbed up through her car’s sunroof. Look at those eyes. What do you think he’s telling me?
Two more animals: The coyote is on the hunt. You can see that he is focused in his eyes. While the parrot, is just being colorful and beautiful.
Burrowing owls are very small, but their eyes are big in comparison. Is he flashing a do not disturb sign with those eyes?
I don’t capture enough candid portraits of people. Here are two that tell different stories. The first gentleman was sitting on a bridge bench. His glasses hide the despair in his eyes, but his body language speaks. The woman is taking a break at the Pirate Festival. Her eyes are narrowed and relaxed. To me she’s reflecting on a good day of fun.
Another of my favorites is this flamingo trying to sleep at the Sacramento Zoo. What is he trying to tell me as I snap his picture?
A dog’s eyes are a true reflection of what he/she is thinking. I think he/she wants attention. What do you think?
Eye focus equals communication. At Toastmasters we teach “eye contact.” Look directly into your audience’s eyes. You can tell immediately whether or not your message is reaching them.
Thank you Tina for this wonderful eye opening topic. Remember to link your reply to her post. Next week we begin our tradition of summer guest hosts during July. Next week Aletta Crouse of Now at Home will focus onTreasures. Be sure to look for her post.
During the remainder of July we have:
July 09 – Jez Braithwaite of Photos by Jez isSeeing Double.
July 16 – Andre of My Blog–Solaner is thinking aboutSummer Vibes.
July 30 – Sarah Wilkie, who hosts Travel with Me, asks you to shareThree Favorite Images.
We invite you to look for and check out their blogs and hope you’ll join us throughout July. The Lens-Artists team will be back in August when I will host, “What’s Your Groove”.
Until then, have a safe and fun summer. Remember to use the Lens-Artists tag.
If you’re dreaming of a wedding set in the country, Pheasant Trek at Dunnigan Hills may be the place for you. A working ranch of olive groves and vineyards, Pheasant Trek, in Yolo County, mostly bills itself as a wedding and event destination. We were invited there through the Yolo Arts and Ag Project.
On the way there we stopped to catch this scene and more.
The actual ranch consisted of buildings, a barn, a water tower converted into a bridal dressing room, an enclosure for a cow and two donkeys. Here are some of the buildings seen from the central part of the ranch.
Here are the animals.
I walked around to the back of the ranch and found these.
Yes, I was a little disappointed, but there was enough to photograph and keep me busy. I’m wondering what Yolo Arts and Ag has in store for us in July? Really, I’m very appreciative that we are allowed to photograph in these venues.
I dug deep into my archives to find images for Sylvia’s (My Colorful Expressions) challenge. I just wanted to see what my earliest photos looked liked. And this is what I found: little or no editing, lots of HDR, and hardly any cropping. Through Sylvia’s challenge, I could see how much I’ve learned.
When I started photography, HDR was the BIG thing. That’s the reason I moved up from the Nikon D3100 to the D7100. The D3100 didn’t do auto bracketing. Looking at the photos, I can see that NIK Color Efex does a much better job of creating that type of image.
I love to photograph doorways and doors. The more rustic the better. And if the door is red, wow! Anyway, here they are, photos from 2014 and 2015. I did a small amount of editing. I just couldn’t help myself!
I’ll end with this barn at Gibson Ranch. The sun was situated just right to shine through the open doors. Oh, yes, it’s red!
Thank you Sylvia for giving me this opportunity to go through old photos. It’s amazing how much you can learn when look at where you’ve been. Remember to link to Sylvia’s post and use the Lens-Artists tag.
It was my pleasure to challenge you last week, and we enjoyed all your wonderful local vistas. My son is on his way to recovery and feeling better. Thank you all for your kind thoughts regarding his well-being. This is truly a wonderful and caring community.
Next week Tina will be presenting the challenge, so be sure to look for her post.
A rose will always be a rose! And I do love them. They are the only plants I personally take care of. I have a small but beautiful rose garden. But today I’m writing about my adventure at the McKinley Park Rose Garden in Sacramento.
Every year they have a photo contest to see which photographer will win the coveted first place prize. Last year, I was lucky enough to win first place. This is the winning photo.
This year I also went down to the garden to take photos. That day, the wind was blowing and the roses were either on their way out or budding. But with my macro lens on my Fuji, I did my best. I used a high shutter speed and hoped for a slight breeze. Of course it was the last week of the contest–no going back another day! You know I procrastinate.
Here are the best of lot. We are allowed five entries. In 2020 I received an honorable mention.
We’ll see what happens and I’ll let you know–even if I don’t place.
There are challenges and there are challenges! This post is late because we need to drive up to Reno last night to help my son who is sick. At 12 pm EST today we were in emergency with him. He will be okay. So let’s get on with my original post and see some local vistas. Thank you for your patience.
Sometimes you need a nudge to realize what’s going on around you. For me that nudge was photography. Before I found this passion, I really wasn’t paying much attention to what the greater Sacramento area had to offer. I was busy caregiving to my mom, being daytime guardian for my older grandkids, running a part-time business and helping in the family business when needed.
But wonderful grandkids grow up, my mom passed away and eventually, I shut down my business. I had a void to fill, and I chose to fill it with photography. And how lucky I am to live in the Sacramento area. There is so much to see, so much to enjoy and so much to photograph.
Here are some of our local Sacramento Vistas
You know how much I enjoy the Sacramento Zoo. It’s going to be moving a little further away, but still in Sacramento County. The cheetah is enjoying his bone and the Wolf’s Gueron is snacking away too.
We have two rivers for our enjoyment. Old Sacramento sits on the Sacramento River. It’s a great place for tourists, families and is home to the Sacramento Railroad Museum. First is a view of the waterfront from the iconic Tower Bridge and then a sunset image of the Tower Bridge.
Not far from Old Sacramento is the Capitol Mall. I think we have a most beautiful capitol building and its grounds include the World Peace Garden. Here is a picture of the Capitol dome on a full moon night.
Moving into Sacramento City, each year we host Wide Open Walls. Artists come from all over to paint bright and beautiful murals on our buildings’ walls. This is a yearly festival, and most building owners keep the murals up. Some are fading already. This one touched my heart last year. It will always be a reminder of the pandemic and its heroes.
Discovery Park is close by and is part of the American River Parkway (A trail that is 32 miles along the American River.) The trail is for bicyclists and runners. It has picnic facilities. The golden hour adds to its beauty.
Let’s move further down the trail to the Effie Yeaw Nature Center which is part of a “100-acre nature preserve with riparian and oak woodlands, shrub lands, meadows, and aquatic habitats.” There we find deer, turkeys, coyotes, raptors, snakes, etc. Here is one of the inhabitants we come upon most of the time.
I can’t end this post without showing you our sister county, Yolo. We leave our suburbs and in just a few minutes we’re in Yolo County or should I say “country!” Here is where we go to photograph our rural scenes and sunflowers.
And we just have to go over the Tower bridge to the Vic Fazio Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area to find wildlife.
Now you can see why I love living here. But I bet you love your area too. What are your local vistas? Where do you photograph when you don’t have a lot of time or are not on vacation? What about your hometown excites you? Is it the countryside, city, gardens, amusement venues? This week, tell us about and show us your local vistas.
Remember to link to this post as you share your local vistas and use the Lens-Artists tag. Last week we all had fun with Sofia’s Minimalism/Maximalism challenge. So many interpretations and creativity came from all of you. Next week our guest host Sylvia Bacon will present a great challenge so stay tuned!
I absolutely love our LAPC community. Why? Because I learn so much about my approach to photography and how I photograph. When I started looking for samples in my archives that would fit the parameters Sofia suggested, I found that I don’t do minimalism. For me, minimalism means a lot of negative space. I tend to fill the frame. I do simple. I also don’t photograph high-key images. That is unless I get my exposure wrong and I discard those!
I did find some images that might fit with negative space.
This lone pelican is surrounded by water that fills whatever space is left.
Some samples of simple but not minimal.
I think this is the closest I’ve come to a minimal image. You can imagine most of the bridge as white space. But even then there’s more going on.
Oh, I did find an image that might do as minimal.
I’ll end with two examples of simple and busy. Or my macro and landscape.
I now will try to do some high/low key with negative space. Isn’t learning fun! Got to love LAPC!!
Thank you Sofia for presenting me with this learning experience. I’ll be hosting next week, so stay tuned. Remember to link your reply to Sofia’s post. Take care everyone.
What can I say. May was sometimes good and sometimes disappointing–for photography. I’ve taken you on many Yolo Art & Ag farm tours and this one of the M3 Ranches in Woodland promised such varied crops like olives, garlic, almond trees, agave plants and more. How exciting! Well, maybe not.
The first clue was there was no greeter to take our names. The roads were open and we drove around them. I’m thinking maybe we missed something???
We did find the almond trees. At least we think they are almonds.
Then we found a pond that they call their oasis.
And now the agave plants.
The grape vines already had fruit.
I think these are the olive trees. Someone correct me if I’m wrong.
I’ll end with some of the vistas I photographed.
Working with the images for this post, I’m thinking it wasn’t such a disappointment after all.
Slow Shutter Speed 