enjoying photography – Page 4 – Slow Shutter Speed

Posted on June 24, 2023June 24, 2023 by Anne Sandler · 48 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #255: Telling A Story

I have been told that every picture should tell a story. Lately I’ve been looking for the story in images I photograph. I’m working hard at finding the story in a simple, beautiful landscape. Maybe that’s the story! This week, Patti is encouraging us to show one to five photographs that tell a story. I have two single images that I think tell two very different stories, and, no, they are not landscapes.

The first was taken while on a photo outing in San Francisco on the Embarcadero.

I don’t think I need to explain the story in this image. Homelessness is worldwide. It isn’t contained to any one city, state or country. I have more pictures of the unhoused, but this shows the plight of someone who is decently dressed, trying to get along.

My second story is heartwarming to me. My granddaughter was impatiently waiting for her guests to arrive for her birthday party. Her anticipation and excitement was overwhelming.

She kept checking the window near the door for her friends’ arrival. And it was a fun make over pamper party. Having raised three boys, this was a special treat for this grandma.

Two single images telling two very different stories. Thanks Patti for this insightful challenge. Please remember to link to Patti’s post and use the Lens-Artists tag in the reader when you reply to this challenge. And thanks to Tina for last week’s spirituality challenge. I was amazed at all the different interpretations you all offered.

Next week we will welcome five guest hosts for July’s challenges. They are:

July 1 Ritva Sillanmaki asks us to explore INSPIRATION FOUND IN THE KITCHEN.
July 8 Philo of Philosophy Through Photography looks at SIMPLICITY.
July 15 Dawn Miller of The Day After leads with FENCES.
July 22 Dan Fenner of Departing in 5 Minutes invites us to join his UNBOUND SUMMER.
July 29 Janet Webb of This That and The Other Thing will explore OVERLOOKED.

Please look for their blogs and challenges. I’m looking forward to see all your responses.

The Lens-Artists team will be back in August with Ann-Christine hosting on Saturday, August 5. Look for her post on Leya at noon ET. Take care and enjoy your July activities.

Interested in joining the Lens-Artists challenge? Click here for more information.

Posted on June 20, 2023 by Anne Sandler · 32 Comments

Lens-Artists Challenge #254: Spiritual Sites

Oh Tina, what a trip you’ve put me on with this challenge on spiritual sites. My mind went to spirituality right away. My spirituality is very personal and would take up more than just this post. But turning spiritual into someplace peaceful and contemplative helped me focus. Going through my archives I did find some places where I’ve found peace and was able to focus.

First, let’s start with Sedona. As you mentioned this special place has calming and energetic vortexes. I’ve been there three times and have found this to be true. I knew I needed to go to Sedona after my son was killed. There, I found peace and closure. My favorite spot is Red Rock Crossing, a calming vortex.

Sedona

**My favorite spot at Red Rock Crossing**.

Water has always been soothing for me whether it’s a still, calm lake in Waterton National Park, Canada; the splash of a wave hitting a wall in Pacifica or first light on Yosemite Falls.

And doesn’t a foggy sunrise bring you to that sense of peace? The sun never fails to shine through.

Let’s close with sunset. Which is always a reflective time on whatever may be troubling you or making you happy.

I close this post with a sense of calm. Thank you Tina for leading me on this spiritual trip. When you respond to this challenge, please link to Tina’s original post and use the Lens-Artist tag in the WordPress reader. I enjoyed reading all your fragmented posts last week. They were creative and amazing. Next week Patti will be presenting our challenge, so be sure to look for her Pilotfish blog.

Posted on June 3, 2023 by Anne Sandler · 30 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #252: What’s Bugging You?

Talk about a loaded question! There’s a lot about life that bugs me, but I’m sure Donna of Wind Kisses meant strictly nature’s kind when she presented this challenge. When I’m out and about with my camera, all bugs are worthy of a photo, but if they should come into my house, they need permission first.

When I lived in Florida as a child, my mother had a daddy long legs spider living behind a dish in a cabinet. She never killed it and told us to leave it there because it ate other insects and unwanted bugs. We never had bugs in our kitchen.

In one visit to the WPA Rock Garden, Marlene and I (really Marlene) spotted this wonderful and big spider.

Also on this same outing, Marlene spotted a couple of praying mantises. It was amazing that when they feel threatened, they just stay still. The green mantis wasn’t camouflaged on the white flower, but the brown one had a better background on the brown leaves.

On another outing my friend Linda and I went downhill to photograph ladybugs. Unfortunately we had to climb up the muddy steep hill to get back up. It was worth it though.

One insect we always try to capture with our cameras is the dragonfly/damselfly. I honestly can’t tell the difference. Their colors are simply beautiful.

And what would we do without our busy bees. I give them lots of room since I’m allergic to them. I’ve found if you just let them do their work, they will leave you alone. We have an understanding, the bees and I.

I saved the most beautiful for last, the butterfly.

Some bugs are beneficial like some spiders and bees, but they are not welcome in my home. They never ask permission first!

Thank you for responding to my Buildings and Structures challenge last week. I enjoyed seeing all of your responses that were varied, educational and well photographed. And, thank you Donna for letting me reminisce about my mom and her spider. When you respond to this challenge, please remember to link your post to Donna’s and use the Lens-Artists tag.

Next week, our guest host is Brian of Bushboys World. Be sure to look for his post on Fragments.

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

Posted on May 24, 2023 by Anne Sandler · 18 Comments

It’s all happening at the Zoo

Oh my, we were late in getting to the Sacramento Zoo and the small parking lot in William Land Park was almost full. And, the big yellow school busses were dropping off school aged kids. It was going to be a tough day of photography! I’m guessing the big cats already enjoyed their bones, because the ones that were in their enclosure were just about to nap.

One cheetah had begun to rest when the other one came over and this happened.

When we got to the giraffe enclosure, Cheyenne, the new young giraffe was out in the yard. What a treat!

All in all, it was a pretty good morning at the zoo after all. Next we went to the WPA Rock Garden, and I’ll show you that in my next post.

Posted on May 20, 2023 by Anne Sandler · 40 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #250: Skyscapes or Cloudscapes

As photographers, we appreciate a sky full of clouds, dark foreboding clouds and even a lightning strike, what we don’t like is a plain blue sky. Sometimes I enjoy the large amount of blue in my pictures. But. I admit that plain skies are not as pretty as big puffy cumulus clouds. This week, Amy challenges us to post some beautiful sky or cloudscapes.

I noticed while going through my archives, that great skies are not the norm in California. It’s a rare night that a sunset is worth photographing. If I’m lucky, I have my camera with me and I’m able to get it. Sometimes I hear people talking about that great sunset that I totally missed!

But I didn’t miss all of them. Read to the end!

Here are some random skies that I liked.

Some skies are moody and dark when the sun isn’t shining.

**The reflected sky enhances the dark mood.**

Sometimes a beautiful sky is the result of post processing. The following two images were processed in NIK Color Efex.

And what would a post about skies be without a sunset. Fortunately, I was out and about for these.

Thanks Amy, I’m going to be more aware of the skies now when I photograph landscapes. I also noted as I roamed through my archives that unless I’m thinking landscape, I tend to photograph tight, eliminating the sky. Please remember to use the Lens-Artists tag and link to Amy’s post when you respond to his challenge.

I totally enjoyed seeing all the public art around the world that was posted last week. They were colorful and happy posts. Thank you John! Next week, I’m presenting the challenge so stay tuned!

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

Posted on April 6, 2023 by Anne Sandler · 27 Comments

Testing a new lens: The Sacramento Zoo

I had two motivators for visiting the Sacramento Zoo recently. 1. I was gone for almost a month and hadn’t seen the new baby giraffe now named Cheyenne and, 2. I wanted to test out a new lens. With my Nikon, I had an 18-200mm lens which was a perfect walk-around lens. Unfortunately, Fujifilm doesn’t make a lens with that type of zoom. Recently Tamron came out with an 18-300mm lens for Fuji and Sony. So I bought the Fuji mount. The only drawback is its lack of an aperture ring on the lens. I was told that I could assign that function to the front dial and use the top dial to change the aperture.

When I purchased the lens, I was told that Fuji would make the switch automatically and when I put my Fuji lens back on it would revert back. I played with it while at the zoo and didn’t quite do it correctly. I ended up with sharp but noisy images. Thank heavens for Topaz!

The zoo didn’t disappoint. The cheetah was walking around; not running.

The red panda was walking the branches instead of sleeping.

The giraffes were being giraffes. Have you ever seen a two-headed, six-legged giraffe? We did get to see Cheyenne, but she was behind a fence and quickly went back inside with her mother.

The river otters were in their hammock.

And the lions were preparing for a nap.

One of the Okapi was out eating.

I almost forgot the alligator.

So, this was my morning at the zoo with friends Marlene, Laura and Ray. It’s good to be home and doing photography with friends.

Posted on February 15, 2023 by Anne Sandler · 7 Comments

Still Feeling the Storm’s Aftermath: Sacramento Historic City Cemetery

The sun may be shining, but the devastation is still being cleared. The front entrance to the Sacramento Historic City Cemetery was closed because they were still clearing the trees that were downed in the recent wind and rain storms. Also, access to that area was mostly closed. That’s what we found during last week’s photo visit.

We did manage to get in via a side entrance and decided to stay in the back area of the cemetery. It looked newer but there were some beautiful headstones, statues and trees. I’ll put all the pictures in a gallery for you and caption where necessary. Oh, the ground was still a bit muddy and soft.

**I liked the shape and texture of this headstone.**

The sun is still out and we are enjoying dry but windy weather. I’m so glad this cemetery didn’t get any more damage. These statues and headstones are so old. You can’t replace history.

This is my last post for about a month. I’m going on a dream vacation. You’ll find out who, what, where when I return. Take care and stay safe.

Posted on January 25, 2023 by Anne Sandler · 5 Comments

Going indoors!

During our three-week rain, we were needing to get out with our cameras. So, we decided to re-visit our favorite indoor venues: The Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento and Antique Trove in Roseville.

We’ve been to the Crocker Art Museum many times so as I walked around I was looking for new art and maybe a new slant on things. I settled on shadows. Here are some art and shadows.

Some walls and indoor architecture were interesting also.

We are in the new building which is attached to the old building across the courtyard. This is their dining area. The cafe has been closed since the Pandemic.

The Antique Trove always has new items and booths to explore. I was attracted by the neon signs. Of course all of them were advertising beer.

Here are some other items I found interesting.

Where do you go when it rains and you want to take your camera out? We have more museums to explore in the greater Sacramento area. We do need some more rain to get us out of this drought, but maybe not those atmospheric rivers we had. If I had my way, it would rain at night and the sun would shine during the day!

Posted on December 3, 2022 by Anne Sandler · 46 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #228: Diagonals

This is a great morning here in the Sacramento California area. It’s raining and it’s a steady rain. And, I’m also excited about Patti’s challenge on diagonals this morning. She compared diagonals to leading lines that lead to the focal point of a photograph.

Here are some of my images showing leading lines.

I also enjoy photographing objects on a diagonal just for the fun of it, and was recently to the California Museum where I found great diagonals.

Sometimes shooting a picture on a diagonal adds interest. This clown’s face is more interesting on the diagonal rather than straight on.

And when we compose a picture, we may end up with a visual diagonal, leaving some negative space.

Here’s my last fun photograph on a diagonal.

Patti, I hope I didn’t take your great challenge too far from your original intent. This was fun and thank you for brightening up a wonderful rainy morning. Please remember to link your reply post to Patti’s and use the Lens Artists tag. It’s supposed to rain off and on through Monday. Yay!!

We enjoyed all your responses to last week’s challenge. I got to see many places I’ll never be able to get to. Next week is Ann-Christine’s turn to lead this challenge. I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us.

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

Posted on November 20, 2022 by Anne Sandler · 37 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #226: Textures

Guest host Jude of Cornwell in Colours picked the perfect challenge for me because I love textures. I don’t mean the nice blended textures you put behind your subject ( Which I can’t do yet!). I mean the texture of your subject. We are drawn to color and texture.

For instance I love the colors of rust and its gritty texture. You’ll notice as it ages, the colors change and the metal degrades, adding to its beauty.

I also find texture in old non-rusted metal. This old worn large propeller from a ship shows lines and textures when photographed close up. You can just feel how its been worn during its use.

Each year Sacramento hosts Chalk It Up where artists draw with chalk or liquid chalk on a sidewalk square. The grit of the sidewalk and chalk create a texture no other canvas can duplicate.

A lion’s mane has texture although you wouldn’t want to get close enough to feel it!

Wood is another favorite texture of mine. It can be tree bark or siding on a building. It draws you in with its variation of color and natural design.

Last, plants give us the feeling of texture in their form, color and shape.

There are many more examples of texture, but I’ll stop here. Texture is all around us. Take it in, feel and experience it. Thank you Jude for helping me realize how important texture is to photography. When you respond to this challenge, please remember to link to her post and use the Lens-Artists tag.

Thank you all for responding for my challenge last week. I enjoyed learning about your amazing local wildlife. We saw birds, foxes, porcupines, bears, deer, squirrels and some small insects and bugs. It was great. Next week Tina will be leading the 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.