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!
Lately, I find that I’m usually choosing one lens to put on my Fuji camera when I go out for a photo outing with my friends. We are usually gone for few hours. I carry nothing else except for an extra battery. I mostly use my 18-55 lens which covers landscape and close ups. I’ve taken it to Bodega Bay to catch ocean scenes and to the Antique Trove to capture some indoor close ups.
When I go to the Sacramento Zoo, I always take my 55-200 mm lens. It does a great job of capturing giraffes and also gets me up close and personal with an orangutan.
You know I love Macro. When I need a lift, I take my Fuji and macro lens to the Green Acres Nursery. There I find many macro-opportunities.
Macro lenses are great for photographing other things like this bird. I was in the Rose Garden and saw it above me.
And then there’s my old trusty prime F/4 300 mm lens I use on my Nikon D7100 for bird shots. I don’t use it often but when I do, I appreciate it. Actually, this lens is why I’m holding on to my Nikon.
If I know I’ll be gone on a longer photo outing and not near my car, I’ll put on my waist pack containing an extra lens giving me a total of 18-200 mm in length. It also carries extra batteries, filters, water, lens cloth and tissues. My problem is, I don’t like changing lenses in the field. Maybe that’s why I challenge myself with one lens each outing.
My challenge for you is to take a lens for a walk. Yes, choose a lens and walk. You can also use your cell phone or point and shoot camera and see what you can do with it. Another trick, when you’re using a zoom lens, is to pick an aperture and stay with it. If you don’t have time or the weather isn’t cooperating, then delve into your archives. Look for images that represent one F stop or close to it. Most of all, have fun! Remember to link to this post when you take us on your one-lens walk and use the Lens-Artists tag.
We all enjoyed looking back with you during Sophia’s challenge last week. I thought your responses were unique and interesting. Next week our newest team member Donna Holland of Wind Kisses will be leading the challenge. Be sure to look for her post. Have a great week!
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.
How do you narrow down your favorite finds, especially when you’ve already shared some of them? So, I’m switching things up a bit. Ann-Christine wants us to share favorite finds at museums, nature; anything that filled us with awe. My twist is to share a few from favorite outings and pictures that you may not have seen.
In Sacramento we have hot days where we look to photograph indoors. I’ve shown you some from IKEA. But it’s been a long time since we’ve visited a museum. They closed down in 2020 and have been slow to reopen. We enjoyed the Aerospace Museum in North Highlands. The old aircraft and space exhibits had a lot to offer us photographers.
Stores are another place we’d take our cameras to. The Antique Trove in Roseville was also closed during 2020. We’d take our time going through the small stalls, finding unique items. They also have an outside area that would, of course, be closed during rain storms. We could use one of those storms now. How would you like one of those cameras? It’s now a lamp. The windmill could give your yard a farm feel. And could you give a hoot?
Another museum we used to enjoy is the California Automobile Museum in Sacramento. One complication was the ropes that stopped us from touching the vehicles. My way of getting around that was to photograph close ups. While we still have horns, we’ve done away with lamp lighting. We’ve also done away with hood ornaments.
And new to me were barn quilts. I found out about The Rio Linda Elverta Quilt Trail Project, a group that put together a barn quilt route. A barn quilt is a painted wooden quilt pattern or replica of a sewn quilt. The women would meet in a garage and cut, saw and paint. They would do this for anyone who asked for their art. Along the route, we saw the quilts on houses, businesses and barns. Photo buddy Jim is standing behind the sign outside their garage.
And to finish up, I’ll show you Peggy Sue’s Diner in Barstow. Out in the California desert, in the middle of nowhere, is Peggy Sue’s. It’s worth the wait to go inside. I remember being amazed when we walked in. It was decorated with 50s and 60s movie and entertainment memorabilia. And the food is good too.
These are just some of the places we found to photograph, and I would love to go back now that they are fully open. Thank you Ann-Christine for having us concentrate on our favorites. Remember to link to her post when you respond and use the Lens-Artist tag. We’d love to see your post. And thank you all for your beautiful rays of sunshine in Amy’s Here Comes the Sun challenge. Next week John is going to have us concentrate on modes of transportation, so look for his post.
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.
It’s either go out super early in the morning or go to a museum when it’s hot. In June we chose the museum–The Sacramento History Museum in Old Sacramento. As many times as I have been to Old Sacramento for various things, I never knew of this museum. I had my doubts as to whether it would be worthwhile. Was I surprised!
Not only did it give a great view of Sacramento’s history via pictures, text and artifacts, it was a photographer’s dream.
Just to give you a bit of the background, Sacramento was founded during the gold rush. You can read all about its history here. Being me I did all my photography before I started reading about my State Capitol’s history!
Here are some images of the lobby area.
The town’s newspaper, the Sacramento Bee. has a rich history in the area and is the newspaper I read daily. Of course, I now view it online. Here are exhibits dedicated to this newspaper.
As we were walking to our car, we saw a docent in period dress leading a tour and coming down to the museum. I thought this was a great museum to learn about Sacramento. It’s going to be a hot summer, so get ready for more museums!
October 28! We had to get to the Gibson House in Woodland before Halloween. Why? We raced against time because the historic home was decorated for the holiday and on November 1, the decorations would be taken down.
I had never heard of the Gibson House and wanted to see it decorated. So, Marlene, Diane and I went off to photograph it. The house is on the National Registry of Historic Places, is a Yolo County Park and is operated by the Yolo County Historical Museum. The house and grounds were restored by the county and is now a hub for regional art displays, programs and more.
The outside of the house.
The inside was furnished to represent what it might have looked like when the Gibson family owned it. Of course there were a few visitors on display too. We were not allowed to go upstairs.
The blacksmith shop was closed, but the barn had been turned into an art gallery. The museum reaches out to area students for participation. They painted this mural.
We also found a beautiful old, rusty tractor.
This ended our trip to the Gibson House which is a treasure in Woodland. Maybe they will decorate it again for Halloween!
In Sacramento California, the weather forces us indoors during a triple digit heat wave or lots of rain (We could sure use some of that now!). When we can’t take photos outside, my photo group wanders inside. Most commercial retailers don’t mind if we come in with our cameras just as long as we don’t use tripods and a flash. These activities are perfect for Ann-Christine’s challenge this week.
One rainy season had us float into Ameigh’s Hardware Store. They were great about hosting us. I found a few treasures in their garden section to focus close up on. They were fun to photograph, and helped me create some abstracts too. The ambient lighting in this store was ample.
The Antique Trove is another of our favorites. I tend to shoot close up at these venues. I get distracted by all the enticing things around me and can’t separate them from each other. There have been a few times when I’ve moved something, but I put it back the way I found it. Price tags also get in the way and the lighting is not super bright–up goes the ISO!
We also go to museums which have recently opened up again. One favorite is the Crocker Art Museum. The Crocker has an old wing (building) that was cleverly attached to a new section (building). I love the architecture and warmth in the old wing. This wing houses the ballroom and lovely staircases and ceilings. The lighting is not as bright here as it is in the new wing.
The ceiling in one of the small exhibit rooms.
A mirror image of the pillars in the ballroom.
You can see the entrance to the new wing.
This stairway is in the old entryway.
And, we always have IKEA. I can’t create a still-life, but when I see the opportunity, I use it. The ambient lighting is brighter here.
Last we sometimes shoot in the dark, especially at our State Capitol building during the Holidays. I love the way the rotunda is bright with the tree showing its lights. And, of course, I have to zoom a bit!
I mostly choose to photograph in ambient light rather than use a flash and enjoy the challenge of doing this indoors. Thank you Ann-Christine for this fun challenge.
I’m just going to be blunt–It’s been a lousy summer here in Sacramento California. Our triple digit days outnumber our double digit days. And, then there are the fires that are raging in our forests. Our homes in the Sacramento Valley are not in danger, so I won’t complain about the smoke that blows in from the fires. All this means we take our cameras inside. One of our favorite places is IKEA.
We visited the IKEA store in West Sacramento on a recent Sunday and had a great time. Yes there were more shoppers than during the week but the place had a different vibe. I was looking to photograph something different than I had in the past. Fortunately displays had changed.
All the pictures below were shot with my macro lens which was the only one I brought in with me. I like the challenge of photographing with just one lens. This lens is an 80 mm so I got up close to take pictures of just a part of my subject.
Here are some of the images. Can you tell what they were?
After taking photos, we dined in the IKEA café. The food is great and the prices reasonable. My choice was a smoked salmon, potato salad and green salad plate. Yum! I guess I should have taken a picture of it!
With Sacramento County opening up, we took the opportunity to visit the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento–not once, but twice! We wanted to see and photograph the Tiffany Glass exhibition from the Driehaus Collection.
Even though they are open, you have to reserve your spot. We were lucky. Our small camera group got tickets for the once a month free museum day in Sacramento! But our luck ran out because the Tiffany Glass exhibition wasn’t due until the following week. But the Museum is interesting in itself. It has two distinct parts: original and old and new and modern.
Here are pictures of the original and the new buildings. They are cleverly joined together so patrons can walk from one to the other without going outside.
Now I’ll show you some of the architecture inside the buildings. First let’s look at the old side. Rich wood and ornate moldings bring you into a page of history.
The ceilings are ornate.
Another ceiling in the ballroom.
Looking into the ballroom.
The ballroom.
Beautiful staircase.
Entry.
Beautiful furniture and art.
Now for the new more modern addition.
Sculptures in the main hall.
View from the second floor.
If the cafe were open, people would dine here.
This is a projected, moving image on a stairwell wall.
Chandelier in the entry way
But what about the Tiffany exhibition? We did go back the following week. Paid to get in and were told after we took a few shots, that we were not allowed to take pictures! At least the guard let us get some pictures before he shut us down.
I’m going to end this post with a painting I thought was amazing. I don’t think my photo can convey the emotion it evokes and its artistry.
Thank you Patti! This challenge made me stretch beyond my normal type of photography. What I finally came up with are a few things around my house that bring me joy.
First are my bamboo wind chimes. I love the sound they make even in a slight breeze. As you can see, they are old and cracking, but they still sound beautiful.
Also outside are my red chairs. I saw two red chairs during a visit to Volcano, a very small town in the gold country, and was instantly drawn to them. When I repainted the house I had to get some. They are a perfect accent for my gray and charcoal color choice.
One thing about me that you may not know: I’m a huge Mickey Mouse fan and love almost everything Disney. So Mickey is in my house big time. One Mickey treasure is my toaster given to me by dear friends. It’s really not good to use since the outside gets hot. So, it sits as a decoration on top of my kitchen cabinet. Who could not enjoy that first cup of coffee after looking at Mickey!
My fondest Mickey treasure is a big puzzle my older grandson, Christopher, made for me. Each piece is a scene from a Disney movie. He framed it and it hangs at the end of my hallway. Here’s the puzzle and a close up so you can see the puzzle pieces. It’s amazing.
And finally, my dog Gem. He’s a Schnoodle and is 10 years. We walk every day, so I guess he’s an everyday thing!
I’m still here! I just haven’t been shooting for fun lately. It’s been so hot and I’ve been lacking the incentive to go outside to take photos except for real estate shoots. I’m enjoying those, and I do a good job now. Practice makes perfect!
It seems we went from rain right into the summer heat waves. No Spring! Hopefully Autumn will be better. Last week we ended August at the Haggin Museum in StocktonCalifornia.
The outside was simple and pretty:
It was a lovely museum. The exhibits were well placed and accessible. The interior was sleek and very photographic.
We went there to see a black and white photography exhibit, Masters of American Photography, but we weren’t allowed to take pictures of it. The exhibit was outstanding! The collection featured images from Eadweard Muybridge, Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange and others spanning from the 1880s to 1980s.
Since shipbuilding is Stockton’s oldest industry a Stephens Bros. Boat Builders exhibit was locate in one of the galleries.
On loan from the Smithsonian Institute, an exhibit explored Dolores Huerta’s public life as an activist and showed the multi-ethnic aspects of the labor movement.
There was also an exhibit of J. C. Leyendecker’s work for magazine covers and advertisements. This gallery was cleverly placed in the hall spanning the entire circle upstairs.
The museum has three levels. The bottom level showed store fronts as they looked in Stockton’s early days.
They also had small galleries featuring rifles, etc. and American Indian items.
They also had vehicles, agricultural machinery, old fire engine and European Art. One of my favorites was the globe clock.
I also tried to shoot through glass windows without a tripod or polarizing filter!
And, a museum featuring famous photographers would miss a great marketing opportunity if they didn’t cater to photographers in their store!
Slow Shutter Speed 