In retirement, Anne is pursuing digital photography--her new hobby. She found, when taking photos to accompany her feature articles, that photography was fun. Of course, those were in the film days! Now she's accepted the challenge of learning shooting the digital way. This blog is called Slow Shutter Speed because that's how she feels her photographic journey is proceeding.
What catches your eye and makes you stop, gaze and press that shutter button? Tina has it right–shape and design. In this week’s challenge, she asks us to post images that showcase shapes and designs taken during our photographic journey. This is the first of the “Looking Back” series. See her full post here.
I’m glad to have the opportunity to post on this challenge since I hadn’t discovered the LAPC community until much later. I’m always on the lookout for shapes when I’m out with my camera whether it’s a graceful tree branch, a lazy river or building. Here are some of my finds.
I might be drawn to circles.
Designs
Part of a mural in Downtown SacramentoArt installation at the Crocker Museum of Art Sacramento SculptureBike Rack? Sacramento
Shapes
Winery StaircaseSculpture in RosevilleGallery Doorknob
As the elephant doorknob shows, we also look for the unusual. Thanks Tina for helping us realize how we choose subjects to photograph. When you respond to her post, please link back to hers and use the Lens-Artist tag.
I totally enjoyed your rejects last week. I’m left wondering why they were rejected! Next week Beth will be challenging us so look for her post. In the meantime stay safe and be resilient!
Wow, what a tough topic Egidio has given us this week. You’d think the way I hold onto clothes, I would do the same with pictures. But I don’t. I tend to toss the pictures I don’t edit or think I would post. So here I go twisting again. I went back to when I began taking pictures–more as a tourist than a photographer.
This taught me three things. 1. As I said, I don’t keep pictures. 2. I do minimal edits because I don’t have the technical ability. 3. You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear! At least I can’t. I can be out all day photographing, but rarely take more than 10 minutes in the editing process.
My examples today were taken from 2010. My camera at that time was a tiny Lumix, 10 mega Pixel camera with a zoom lens. I didn’t get my first SLR until 2013. In my mind, these images prove that gear does matter! I now use a Fujifilm XT3. These were edited in Lightroom Classic just for this post. They were not edited before.
This first two photos emphasis size with a giant sequoia and small boy. I think I had some sense of composition back then. I edited it to bring out color and sharpen.
In the next two, I tried to un-center the cactus by cropping and did some sharpening.
For the next examples, I cropped and worked with the lighting. I put more light on the deer, uncentered it and darkened the background.
Finally I took out most of the foreground twigs in this picture. To be honest, today I probably wouldn’t have even photographed it! Now that I’m looking at the pictures, I see that they are different?? Somehow after finding the picture, Lightroom couldn’t find it again. But, you can see that I did the editing work.
So, there’s my rejected photos. Will I change my lazy ways? Probably not. I enjoy photographing images more than editing them. Thanks Egidio for helping me realize that I need to get it mostly right in the camera. 😊Please remember to link to Egidio’s original post when you respond and use the Lens-Artists tag.
Last week I loved seeing all your minimal photos in black and white in response to Ritva’s challenge. I’m a fan of both, so it was a treat. Next week Tina will be leading the challenge, so be sure to look for her post. In the meantime stay safe and be resilient.
My world is definitely black and white today, or should I say gray. We have a dense fog that just won’t lift. So I guess the time is right for Ritva’s black and white (B&W) challenge.
I enjoy black and white photography. However, the environment has to be right. Sometimes when I’m out with my camera, I know the timing is right for B&W images. Other times, I see the opportunity during the editing process.
However, this week Ritva is combining minimalism with B&W. Now that’s a challenge! I was surprised going through my archives that I had quite a few images that met those requirements. Because my back is just not liking today’s damp weather, I’ll make this a short post. Here’s some of what I found.
Thanks Ritva for this challenge. When you post your response, please link to Ritva’s original post and use the Lens-Artists tag. Last week I had so much fun seeing what you found Around the Corner. Next week Egidio will be leading the challenge. In the meantime, stay safe and be resilient.
Have you ever gone out on a photo outing and not seen anything that would have your camera saying, “Pick me up and help me take this picture.” I have a theory that there is always something to photograph. It may not be an award-winning photo or attractive to your photographic eye; but, take the risk and find something about it that may prove worthy of your attention. In August, I was on such an outing with a photo buddy. Actually, it was more of a lunch date, but we did have our cameras with us.
We were in Old Roseville—not to be confused with Downtown Roseville or Roseville proper! I’m still confused about the separate names for this Placer County city. After lunch, we decided to walk off the calories consumed. That’s when I saw this building. Its texture and peeling stucco was eye-catching, and a closer look was even better.
I was still looking for something substantial to photograph when I saw this fence lined flower hedge. “Oh, I’ll just take the shot and see what it looks like on the computer,” I thought.
It looked better up close with the lines creating interest.
Then we turned the corner, and I saw something worth photographing.
What caught my eye? The green door and textured wood covering something and a lonely chair. It’s more of a story than a prize-winning image.
And right next to this scene was this door. What stories were hidden behind it? It looked like something out of a horror movie.
I encourage you to take the block less traveled—with your camera. Look around, and using your imagination, what do you see? Please keep this to the same walk and the same block—that’s the challenge. I’m looking forward to seeing what you find. And have fun!
When you respond, please link to this post and use the Lens-Artists tag. I enjoyed seeing all your favorites before our holiday break. I’m sure that was a difficult challenge for all of us. Ritva will be leading next week’s exciting challenge, so watch for her post. In the meantime, stay safe and be resilient.
Three days ago we said good bye to 2025. I said it happily. Yes, sometimes a year isn’t a spectacular one. But, I did find some favorites and I’ll tell you why I chose them. To celebrate, the entire Lens-Artist team is hosting. Have fun!
My longest lens is 300mm. Even with the extra length a crop sensor camera gives, it is still limiting. So when I can catch birds, I’m happy. My first picture is of a sandhill crane. Fortunately, it was in a pool of water closer to the road. Usually they are too far away for me to get a good picture.
Next is a swan trying to sleep if only the photographer would let it.
Finally we have an egret coming down into the nest carrying a twig.
My next picture shows us how creative we can get. I love to people watch when I’m in Old Sacramento.
My first, and maybe only, rodeo shows the punishment on both the humans and animals. Why?
While visiting my Reno family, my son took me to see the wild horses. I saw this mare and colt just after he was born.
You know how much I love to photograph flowers.
I love the zoo animals, especially the giraffes. This is mom looking after her young one.
These are some of my favorites. It was a difficult task to pick out just a few from a whole year. My back injury has prevented me from processing pictures from my cruise through the Panama Canal, and right now it is telling me it’s time to visit the couch!
What wonderful last chance photos you all posted two weeks ago. It’s great to be given a last chance! I look forward to seeing your 2025 favorites. I’ll be leading the challenge next week. How exciting, a new year and a new challenge! Stay tuned. In the meantime, stay safe and be resilient.
When I look back at my photographic experiences in 2025, I can’t get too excited. Except for my Panama Canal Cruise (which I haven’t been able to process yet), it was a repeat of places we had been before. So, I just picked a few that I liked. I’m sure I posted pictures of the outings from which these were taken, but these were not edited or posted.
Let’s start with the one image I processed of the Panama Canal. This is of the lock just before entering the lake.
Next are pictures of birds. It’s difficult for me to get pictures of Sandhill Cranes because I don’t have a super long lens. I got lucky with this one being closer to the road. The next image is my first of a pheasant. Too bad it was a super foggy day.
You know I enjoy photographing flowers.
I love trees. They are so expressive.
My back is telling me to end this post, and I must listen. Thank you Beth for encouraging us to spread our wings last week. Have a wonderful holiday and happy New Year. I’ll see you in 2026! In the meantime stay safe and live in gratitude.
I’m plagiarizing Patti because she said it so well:
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One good aspect of being housebound this year is there is no holiday stress! Yesterday, I drove for the first time in a month and I’m at my computer right now! I’m headed in the right direction!!
This week Ann-Christine is asking us to share some holiday fun. We are now a blended family, celebrating Chanamas or Christmacha! Here’s a picture from one of our Chanukah celebrations on the eighth night. I’m missing the Christmas celebration in Reno.
Each year, my photo buddies and I go out to capture the beautiful holiday lights. The first indication that it’s Holiday time are the displays in the store windows, including reflections.
Next to find a festive store display and a picture within a picture.
What would the Holiday be without tree displays. First in Old Sacramento and next in front of the Sacramento Capitol building. I had a bit of with that tree.
It’s that time of year to look for snow. Yes, I like to look but not play in it!
No matter what or how you celebrate, the holidays are a time for gathering together–friends, family or neighbors.
Last week, we spread our wings with Beth’s wonderful challenge. Your responses sure brightened my week. Next week, we’ll host our annual Last Chance Challenge, inviting you to share any photos you took in 2025 that haven’t been part of our earlier challenges! Time to take a deep dive into your archives. Until then, stay safe and live in gratitude.
I’m flying! At least it feels like I have wings–I’m able to sit at a chair for a while. A month ago I fell and hurt my back and have been going from the couch to the bed. Each day I tried more standing up movement. So here I am ready to do a short post on Beth’s wonderful challenge of wings.
Most of my wings are of birds in flight.
Hawk ready for flight.
In flight at the annual Sacramento Chalk it Up.
Crop dusters in rural Yolo County.
Even the Sacramento Zoo had flights in fantasy for a while.
That’s it for my short post today. Next week Ann-Christine will lead us into the Holiday season. I’ve been enjoying all your posts for the last month, especially how all of you expressed mysterious. I’d better not push it. Thank heavens for laptops and a couch that reclines. See you next week. In the meantime stay safe (I need to listen to my own words.) and live in gratitude.
Oh, it is tough to get back into routine after a vacation. Almost over a sore throat, I checked to see what outings I hadn’t shown you before we left for our Panama Canal trip. I found this delightful winery in the Delta region sponsored by the Yolo Arts and Ag Project.
It was delightful because of the photo and artistic opportunities the Heringer Vineyards offered. There were many photographers and artists in attendance. Although late in the season, some grapes were still on the vine and beautiful against their colorful leaves.
All wineries have tasting rooms and beautiful grounds. Being in the Delta, the Sacramento River is nearby.
And there were many painters sketching and painting the beautiful scenes.
Let’s not forget the traditional old and rusted farm equipment.
My camera always leads me to plants, and that morning was no different.
I think this was the last outing planned by the Yolo Arts & Ag Project for 2025. They will start again in Spring 2026. I do appreciate the opportunities they offer us.
One of my joys in my photographic journey is to visit small towns and stroll their streets. This is when I look for details that I may not find in Sacramento. In fact, I’m seldom in downtown Sacramento. One-way streets drive me crazy. So, I’m happy that Ritva chose this subject for her challenge.
Doors always catch my eye. Here are three that caught my eye while on photo outings.
And where there are doors, there must be windows!
Sacramento used to be known as the City of Trees until it became The Farm to Fork Capital.
Now for some street scenes from my wanderings.
Thank you Ritva for encouraging us to see as our cameras do and to pay attention to details. When you respond to her post, please link to Ritva’s post and use the Lens-Artist tag.
I’m sorry to have missed Ann-Christine’s and Sofia’s challenges, but I did have an enjoyable time cruising the Panama Canal. And it’s great to be back. Next week Tina will be leading the challenge, so stay tuned.
Slow Shutter Speed 