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.
When you’re a suburbanite, driving on various country roads that are labeled County Road __ or __, can be confusing. And you can never count on your GPS to get you there. That’s why I appreciate directions given by the organizers of the Yolo Arts & Ag visits! The visit to the Pollock Farm in Woodland was no exception.
Fortunately, we only had one wrong turn. This farm is 137 acres of olive trees. The owners Lynnel and Herb Pollock have left the original structures dating from 1861 – 1872 to decay at their own pace, giving photographers and artists a wonderful opportunity to capture those times. They live on the property in a 1950s house.
Here’s a glimpse of what we saw.
An artist chatting with a photographer.
I love how carefully the wood is chopped and stored in this last photo. Might we expect a cold winter? That would be great!
You can’t live in today’s world without needing a recharge. Our bodies get run down, we become tired and we emotionally need to find peace. Guest host Egidio of Through Brazilian Eyessays he turns to nature to rejuvenate and asked us how we recharge our bodys’ batteries. I love nature and landscape photography, but my immediate thoughts went to the Sacramento Zoo.
Why? The zoo is small, I’m familiar with the animals, there are new animals coming in and animals are conceived and born at the zoo. Yes, I have my favorites like the red pandas, the orangutans, the giraffes, and more. I enjoy walking around and watching the animals. Some are so funny like the giraffes when they make their funny faces.
The zoo offers a respite from the world’s troubles and lets me relax. We usually go out to lunch afterward also. And, if we have time we make a stop at the WPA Rock Garden. There I take out my macro lens for a different kind of fun photography.
Here are some pictures from the Sacramento Zoo.
Cheetahs GiraffePelican (He’s missing a wing and is a permanent resident.)Snow Leopard Red PandaMeerkatWolf’s GuenonBlack Crowned CraneDuckRed River Hog (No longer at the zoo.)Red PandaOkapiFlamingoSumatran Orangutan
These animals are fun and offer us great photo opportunities. Why don’t you chill out at a zoo near you!
I think everyone had fun with Donna’s challenge last week. I enjoyed seeing all your interpretations of TIME. When you post the way you recharge, please remember to link to Egidio’s post and use the Lens-Artists tag. Tina is set to present next week’s challenge so be sure to look for her post.
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.
One morning, I was feeling the need to take my camera for a walk; maybe a macro walk. So I put on my macro lens and went over to my local Green Acres in Citrus Heights. I like walking through their garden and they don’t mind me taking pictures.
Here’s some of what I captured that morning.
With my macro need taken care of, I felt much better and the day seemed brighter.
Where did the time go? Wasn’t it just yesterday…….? When you’re a senior senior, (That second word was for emphasis!) time goes by so fast. And when you’ve graduated to become the matriarch of your family, you think of how fast time has flown by. Donna’s challenges typically send me on an emotional trip of some sort. Her Time challenge has me thinking of family, and most recently of my grandkids.
Wasn’t it just yesterday the younger set were:
And now they are:
Olivia and Ryan are now in middle and high schools. I remember picking Ryan up from elementary school and Olivia from preschool.
I also remember the older set of grands coming to my house before and after school. Here is Madison posing with her then boyfriend before her prom. And then at her wedding this year. Just 10 years apart.
And here is Christopher at his High School prom and at his sister’s wedding party.
Yes, time flies by. In October Richard and I will be celebrating our 60th wedding anniversary. Here’s the family at our 50th anniversary.
What will October 5th bring? Our family is scattered in three different states now. It’s amazing how time changes things, especially family dynamics.
Nothing can change the dynamics of LAPC when it comes to challenge responses. I so enjoyed seeing all your amazing black and white/monochrome images last week. They were creative and well done. As you respond to Donna’s challenge, please remember to link to her post and use the Lens-Artists tag.
Next week Egidio of Through Brazilian Eyes will be hosting our challenge. Be sure to look for his post. Until then, stay healthy and safe!
It’s nature at its closest: Effie Yeaw Nature Center. This amazing place is on the American River in Fair Oaks, about 15 minutes from my home. This Sacramento County Park has a visitors center and bathrooms near the center. Other than that, it’s up to Nature to make changes. Sometimes when we visit, there are no deer in sight and other times: WOW!
Our visit in August was one of those WOW moments. We saw many moms, their fawns and young bucks. I also got a good shot of a woodpecker and two of the American River.
WoodpeckerWhat’s she thinking?A Jack RabbitAmerican RiverAmerican RiverOlder buck
The deer at Effie Yeaw are used to us humans walking by, but we are still careful not to get too close. It’s all about respect and that this is their home we are walking through.
Is monochrome black and white? Is black and white monochrome? You may be surprised at the answer. I was after I did some research. Here’s what I found.
Black and white is the result of only using black or white and shades of. The shades of meaning grayscale. Here are some black and white photographs.
Monochrome photos contain variations of only one color and nothing else. Meaning, different shades of one color like blue, red, green, etc. Here are some of my examples.
Now here’s something I learned from my research. Since black and white photos contain variants of the color gray ranging from absolute black to absolute white, all black and whites are monochrome images. But not all monochrome, by nature of their dominate color are black and white photos.
Here are some of my photos shot in color, converted to black and white and then I added a sepia tone. This process puts them in the monochrome category.
How do you shoot black and white images? My research suggests that we shoot in color, so we get the additional tonal range that color provides. Then convert your photos to black and white when you process. I photograph in color. If I see a great deal of contrast, I use Lightroom to take a quick look at how it would look in black and white. Then I edit in NIK Silver Efex.
There’s so much more to editing black and white images, but let’s save that for another post. Here are two of my favorite black and white images.
Are you ready to show off your black and white or monochrome images? I’d like to see them. Did you shoot them in color and how did you process them? When you post, remember to link to this post and use the Lens-Artists tag so we can find your wonderful images.
I enjoyed seeing all your photos using primary colors. Sofia gave us such a fun challenge. Next week, Donna will be challenging us. Be sure to look for her post.
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.
I’m certainly drawn to color. Red especially. So, it delights me that Sofiapicked this topic as her challenge this week. On Monday, I was rear ended by a large pickup truck, so I’ll keep this short and sweet. I’m okay.
Red. Let’s start off with my favorite:
Next yellow:
Blue:
I’ll end with some colorful photos:
Thanks Sofia for bringing some color into my life when I need it! Much appreciated. Please link to Sofia’s post when you publish and use the Lens-Artists tag. I totally enjoyed your responses to John’s topic of Faces in the Crowd last week. There was some great images and street photography. I’m up next, so look for my post. Until then, stay out of the way of pickup trucks especially when you’re sitting still at a stop light! Stay safe.
If you want to know more about the Lens-Artists Challenge, please click here.
I just love the Yolo Art & Ag Project. They allow us photographers and artists to visit the most amazing country places. This post is about our visit to the Rumstaller Farm in Dixon California. And this place was amazing!
This is an excerpt from their website:
We Grow Beer. Easy to say…hard to do. Just spend a morning with us! This is where our beer is born, where its soul comes to life. Dirt, sun, rain, wind…sweat. It’s an opportunity to grow the highest quality, most unique tasting beer in the world…not with engineering, or in a lab…but in the Dirt!
Yes, they brew beer, but there is much more. They grow the hops, have walnut and citrus orchards, sheep, dogs, sunsets, bonfires and concerts.
It’s all in one large area where people can relax on their old furniture, visit the bandstand, buy their beer and wine, etc. In fact, you can spend a relaxing few hours viewing the orchards and hops growing areas, or sit in a comfy couch or chair. It’s up to you. Here are some pictures.
I know these are a lot of pictures, but I do have more. This is a wonderful farm that I will visit again–and again!
If you want to see into a person’s soul, just look at their face. One of my photographic goals is to do just that. Candid images capture their story. Once you ask a person if you can take their picture, you tend to lose the story.
For John’s challenge this week, I wish I had more candid faces, but he did open the challenge to include more avenues. And I’m taking full advantage of his generosity. I went way back into my archives to find images I may not have posted before. They were taken at various places, so here goes.
The first two faces were taken at the Crocker Museum in Sacramento. They’ve been there a long time so they must be on permanent display. I picked them because they are so different. I’m assuming the one on the left is a face, and why is the guy on the right sticking his tongue out?
These two are from a Highland Games fair we went to. It was fun to see the costumes and see the participants in the actual games.
Next is a tribute to my friend Greg Morris who passed away in 2015. He was a fun guy who enjoyed taking funny selfies. The first photo is from an outing to Locke, Calif. there was a wooden form of the Mona Lisa with a hole for a face. Greg didn’t hesitate. The second was taken a year later at Bodega Bay where we held a memorial for him. Pictured are some of the photographers there to honor him.
Speaking of photo buddies, here are two taken at the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield, Calif. We wore those hats while on our tour. Marlene is on the left and Linda is on the right. It was an interesting tour, but we went kind of crazy tasting and buying the jelly beans afterwards. They are so yummy!
Every year, Sacramento hosts Wide Open Walls, a mural festival. There is no shortage of faces. We drive around the city each year to capture the new art.
Last, let’s go to the Sacramento Zoo. You know I love that place. Once you get to know the animals, they are fun to watch and photograph. We were fortunate to be there at the right time to catch a tutorial on birds. A keeper had brought out a parrot for us to get a close, not behind the thick bars of the cage, look. The next image is of a giraffe and her calf. I think the baby is Rocket, who at two years was sent to another zoo.
So there you have it, faces maybe not in a crowd, but tell a story just the same. When you respond to John’s post remember to link to his original challenge and to use the Lens-Artists tag. I enjoyed seeing all your framing responses to Amy’s challenge last week. There were a lot of different natural and man-made frames that gave me ideas to work on. Next week Sofia will be presenting the challenge next week, so be sure to look for her post.
If you’d like to participate but aren’t sure how to get started, click here.
It’s a busy day today. Tomorrow we head up to Lassen National Park where we will have no wifi, no internet or cell reception. So, I need to get this post done NOW! Nothing like a little motivation.
But Amy’s challenge of framing a photograph sent me way back (10 years ago) when I started photography. Actually, I wanted to see whether I was framing at that point. My trip back showed me that I was framing, but wasn’t shooting or editing that well. I don’t think I had Lightroom at that time. So, I ran my selections through a quick edit process.
Anyway, here they are. I saw that I used trees as a natural frame.
My next example is using a background as a frame. This is my younger grandson at Disney World. He’s now entering High School.
When does a stairwell become a frame that is leading lines? This was taken in Old Sacramento.
This colorful door is framed by neon and color. Could you resist taking a picture? This is Peggy Sue’s diner in Mesquite Nevada. The inside is just as amazing as the outside. And, oh, the food is good too.
My last picture is of the Tower Bridge in Sacramento. The bridge entrance is framed by street lights. The car light trails make this frame seem like an open box.
Thank you Amy for getting me to see just how far my photo abilities have come. I enjoyed looking back! When you post, please link back to her post and use the Lens-Artists tag. Last week, we all agreed that life is a work in progress, and I enjoyed your responses to Ann-Christine’s challenge. Next week John is presenting our challenge, so look for his post.
Now back to loading the trailer.
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.
Slow Shutter Speed 