Lens Artists Challenge #251: Buildings and Other Structures

I enjoy photographing buildings. Why? They don’t sway in a breeze, fly away or wilt. They reflect images and scenes; have angles, leading lines, and other geometric patterns; and are often works of art. I’ll see a building and think to myself, “Wow, look at those lines and reflections!”

My fascination with buildings began in 2013 in Dallas Texas. I saw reflections in buildings that were reaching for the sky.

And it hasn’t ended there. This week, I’m asking you to look at buildings and see their beauty. There are many types of structures from which you can choose.

For instance, I found these amazing architectural structures in Melbourne Australia during my recent trip.

Of course, during my photo outings of the nearby countryside, I find many abandoned barns and stately old farmhouses. There is a different message emanating from each: of being left behind and being loved and well cared for. Yes, buildings do speak!

What does this modern museum say to you? This is the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art in Davis California. Its modern architecture is just an indication of what you’ll find inside.

Old towns have buildings that tell fascinating stories. On the left, this street in Locke California tells us the history of how Chinese immigrants built this town which is now known as the Locke Historic District. On the right, this hotel in Port Costa, which was a stop for the Central Pacific Railroad, is still hosting guests today.

And, there’s more history. The East coast of the U.S. is steeped in historical architecture. Just picture old cars being driven down these streets in Portland Maine.  What do you think about those Wedgewood looking windows?

My challenge for you, this week, is to find your own fascinating structures that capture your attention, tell a story or are just beautiful. You can capture new scenes or take a trip down memory lane in your photo archives. Remember to link to this challenge when you post and use the Lens-Artists tag. I want to see all your artful structures.

Many thanks to Amy and her challenge of Cloudscapes and Skyscapes last week. I love skies and enjoyed the beautiful images that you all posted. Next week Donna will be hosting LAPC. So, look for her exciting challenge.

If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info. 

Lens Artists Challenge #232: Looking Back

I have a lot to look back at; but, at 79, I prefer to look forward! However, Sophia is challenging us to look back and see how things have changed. I remember having a party-line phone when I was a kid, and now I have a phone, small enough to hold in my hand and it’s all mine!

But getting back to photography, my New England trip showed me old architecture and new. Here in Boston one side of the street has old buildings and the other has new.

I found the same in Portland Maine.

Sacramento also shows old and new. Here’s a building in Old Sacramento and another on Capitol Avenue near the State Capitol building.

Also in Sacramento I found old and new escape routes. Fire escapes (But, maybe not as I’m looking at them now. They may just be terraces, but we can pretend they are fire escapes!) and a stairwell. They used the Fire escapes instead of stairs and the stairwell instead of the elevators.

Now on to the Crocker Art Museum. The old home was gifted by the Crocker family to be used as an art museum. You are only seeing the outside, but the inside is beautiful. A new additional building was added on and is the main entrance. The two buildings are connected and can be accessed inside.

My last trip down memory lane and back is the Peanuts comic strip. During my recent visit to the Charles Schultz Museum in Santa Rosa I photographed a couple of Schultz’s early strips.

This is what the strip looks like today as Classic Peanuts after Charles Schultz’s passing.

Sophia, this was fun! Thanks for the journey. I am happier with my cell phone then a party line

We all enjoyed seeing your 2022 fabulous favorites last week. When you respond to this challenge, please remember to link to Sophia’s post and use the Lens Artists tag. I’ll be leading the Challenge next week so stay tuned!

If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info. 

Lens Artists Challenge #229: Perfect Patterns

As photographers, we are drawn to patterns probably without even realizing it. It’s an integral part of composition. This week Ann Christine helps make us aware of these patterns by challenging us to look for them in our photos.

I’ll start with patterns found in architecture.

Nature offers patterns of her own.

And, how about fabric!

Here are some more examples of patterns we find as we photograph.

Finally, we can make our own patterns in post as we have fun processing.

Thank you Ann Christine for challenging us with this fun topic. Please link to her post if you have yet to find and show us your own patterns and use the Lens Artists tag. Last week, we had fun seeing your creative diagonals. Tina will be challenging us next week. Be sure to look for her post. Stay safe this holiday season.

Trip’s end: Portland & St. John’s New Brunswick

It has certainly taken me longer to blog about this trip then the trip itself! So here we are at the end. Two things are true: (1) The port cities look very much alike. (2) You can’t take good photographs from a moving bus with dirty windows.

Portland. We walked this city to the point of exhaustion. It was fun, but we should have stopped for a snack or lunch. I loved the old buildings and noticed that the electric wiring was still above ground. I thought this added to the charm of the city. There were a few parks within walking distance. Here are some photos and captions.

St. John’s New Brunswick. While the “Hop on and Hop Off Busses give a great overall tour, it’s difficult to take pictures. Most places didn’t warrant getting off.

So, this is the end of my trip. I had a great time. I loved the ship’s food and was careful not to eat too much. I would have liked to go further into the cities, but there’s not much you can do in one day and a limited amount of energy. Would I do it again? YES!!

What a museum: California Museum

Grab a cup of coffee or tea and relax because there a more than my normal pictures in this post. I was surprised and amazed at the amount of information and presentation at the California Museum. Two hours wasn’t really enough to absorb everything especially when you are photographing the exhibits.

Here’s the introduction to the place in the gift shop.

The visiting exhibit, Celebrate Women, was geared to women and young girls, helping them understand that they can aspire to be like many of the famous role models. Each exhibit had a view screen with more information. You can see how inviting the exhibits were. Because I was busy taking photos, I didn’t look at the exhibit screens and probably missed a lot. What we do for cool images! Writing this blog, I know I have to go back, without my camera.

The stairs offered us photographic opportunities too!

We will get back to the inside exhibits, but we did go outside to the back courtyard. I should say the beautiful back courtyard. One wall was artistically done with encouraging statements, and architecturally all the buildings surrounding it blended.

Various nationalities have left their impact in California. We know the Chinese and Mexicans certainly left their imprint in California. A lot of space was given to these nationalities showing and explaining their contributions to what California is today.

We’ve learned that the Chinese helped build the railroads and more. But, how about the food we enjoy today.

Mexicans brought their culture and holidays like Día de los Muertos, Day of the Dead. Below are three-sided cards made by school children to honor the holiday. The painting struck me as amazingly detailed.

What I wasn’t prepared for was the Filipino influence on California history. It is described in this exhibit.

Of course, the entertainment industry had and has a big impact on California. Here are three showcases honoring the entertainers and the industry.

One hallway, honoring our Native American cultures, which I think was a permanent exhibit. Artifacts were behind glass and the hallway was dark. Meaning, difficult to photograph. I did get some pictures from the ceiling. The beautiful paintings ran the entire hallway.

We can’t forget about health. A considerable amount of space was dedicated to healthy eating.

Before we left, the last exhibit I saw honored the nurses who helped us through the darkest days of the Covid pandemic.

I’ll say it again, The California Museum was amazing. I will go back!

Sacramento’s buildings

Sometimes architecture calls, especially for photo buddy Richard. I don’t object, because I like it also, especially when there are great reflections. Here are the results of a recent downtown Sacramento outing. Some images have descriptive captions. There are more than my usual picks, so have fun!

You can see there are a lot of new buildings in Sacramento. One of our outings must be focused on the old structures in Sacramento.

Lens Artists Challenge #199: Mechanical/Industrial

When I first read this week’s challenge from John, Journeys with Johnbo, I immediately thought of the Folsom Powerhouse State Historic Park in Folsom. It wasn’t our destination, but we came upon it while visiting the Old Town of Folsom. And just our luck, the docent was on his way down to open the facility.

The Powerhouse is located on the American River. Here’s how it looks on the outside.

Before I take you inside, please read this brief summary of the Powerhouse history from our favorite online encyclopedia–Wikipedia. It says it better than I can.

Folsom Powerhouse State Historic Park is a historical site preserving an 1895 alternating current (AC) hydroelectric power station—one of the first in the United States.

Before the Folsom powerhouse was built nearly all electric power houses were using direct current (DC) generators powered by steam engines located within a very few miles of where the power was needed. The use of rushing water to generate hydroelectric power and then transmitting it long distances to where it could be used was not initially economically feasible as long as the electricity generated was low-voltage direct current. Once it was invented, AC power made it feasible to convert the electrical power to high voltage by using the newly invented transformers and to then economically transmit the power long distances to where it was needed. Lower voltage electrical power, which is much easier and safer to use, could be easily gotten by using transformers to convert the high voltage power to lower voltages near where it was being used. DC power cannot use a transformer to change its voltage. The Folsom Powerhouse, using part of the American River‘s rushing water to power its turbines connected to newly invented AC generators, generated three phase 60 cycle AC electricity (the same that’s used today in the United States) that was boosted by newly invented transformers from 800 volts as generated to 11,000 volts and transmitted to Sacramento over a 22 mi (35 km)-long distribution line, one of the longest electrical distribution lines in the United States at the time.”

Leave it to me to photograph close ups of wheels and gears once inside. This is just part of my fun.

Now for the rest of the inside. I wish I understood more about the use of all the equipment. If you want, you can read more about it here.

Let’s go back outside for the final photograph. Here you can see the transformers that sent electricity all the way to Sacramento.

Thank you John for giving us such an interesting topic. I’ve already read some of the replies and have been captivated. When you post your reply, remember to link to John’s original post and use the Lens Artists tag. Next week Next week, it’s Amy’s turn to host our challenge, so be sure to visit her site. If you’d like to join in our weekly challenges just click here.

A promised post: Manetti Shrem Museum

I didn’t mean to tease, but various challenges had me show pictures from the architecture of the Manetti Shrem Museum on the campus of U.C. Davis in Davis. I promised more images in a forthcoming post. Well, here it is!

The building is amazing with its curves, lines, angles and shapes. So lets look at the outside. Notice how the shadows created by the building are art in themselves.

Next post, we’ll take a look inside!