small town photography – Slow Shutter Speed

Posted on January 2, 2023 by Anne Sandler · 18 Comments

Happy 2023: Day two in Bodega Bay

Happy New Year everyone! Each year we wish that this brand new year brings health, happiness and prosperity. I’m wishing for good health. Health brings happiness and a prosperous attitude. Above all, let’s keep smiling through this year! Smiles are catching and have a healing quality.

We did a lot of smiling during our brief stay at Bodega Bay. On day two, we went to the beach. Again we had cloud cover with a hint of sunshine. Almost sounds like an ice cream sunday, doesn’t it. Yum!

Here are pictures from our beach visit. Here a seagull found its best photographic side.

Learning how to fish.

The beach.

Beach views from the top of the hill.

A colorful kite shop in town. I resisted buying the candy.

This was a great way to end 2022. What will 2023 bring us? I gave up predicting years ago. I also gave up making resolutions. I just try to be the best me that I can be.

Right now it’s still raining in the Sacramento area, and that is good even though some areas are flooding. Our lakes are filling up and we will probably get a good snow pack in the mountains that will give us water during the summer.

Take care everyone, and I wish you the best this year.

Posted on November 22, 2022 by Anne Sandler · 6 Comments

We continue: Bar Harbor Maine

For those of you in the United States, Happy Thanksgiving! Eat responsibly and enjoy!

Bar Harbor is a picturesque tourist town. I’ve been there twice and never did get beyond the tourist area except to visit Acadia National Park. This trip we walked the quaint shopping area and around the beautiful shoreline.

Here’s the shopping area. I seem to leave hats at home, but this time it was on the ship. Oh well, hat collections are good! Yes, I bought a hat.

These colorful kayaks were placed in a position that no photographer could pass up.

The shopping area.

Walking around the shore. The path led to a hotel and then back to the town. We passed a lot of bed and breakfast type accommodations.

Back in town.

These small towns gave us enough time to eat lunch aboard the ship and rest. It was great to just sit and enjoy reading a book.

Next stop is Portland Maine where we walked forever. I needed the rest in Bar Harbor.

Posted on July 16, 2022 by Anne Sandler · 38 Comments

Lens-Artists Challenge #208: Summer Vibes

Summer Vibes? For the last three years here in California we’ve been locked in because of Covid or the extreme heat! No yearly visits to the sunflower visits and long day trips to the ocean. So when Andre of Solander asked us to show him our summer vibes, I went back to 2016 when outings were plentiful and Covid was unknown. Remember those times?

Here are my 2016 summer vibes. Each year we would visit the sunflower fields and the Mezger Family Zinnia Patch and 2016 was no exception. I love how the sunflowers smile cheerfully and attract the bees. The zinnia garden is planted each year by the Mezger family who encourage visitors to cut the flowers, put them in vases that are provided and give this gift to someone who needs encouragement in their life. What a wonderful gesture.

2016 was also the year that my friend Linda and I spent three days in San Francisco. We stayed at the hostel at Ft. Mason near Fisherman’s Wharf. Have you ever stayed in a hostel? It is fun. We had a private bedroom and shared a kitchen and bathroom with a young family from England. Neither of us used the kitchen! I found it a wonderful experience, giving us the ability to meet many people. The Palace Of Fine Arts was a great place to visit at night. It is lit up and it’s reflection is beautiful in the water that surrounds it. Of course, everyone must take a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge.

I did mention road trips, and the following images are from one my photo buddies and I took. I truly don’t know where we ended up. This must be the trip where I feel asleep, woke up and asked where we were. Nobody knew! I do miss those trips, but with gas prices the way they are, they are somewhat impractical. What I like most about road trips is the variety of pictures you can take.

I’ve enjoyed reviewing my summer vibes of 2018. Thank you Andre! When you post your challenge please remember to link to his blog post and tag Lens-Artists. And thank you Jez for a great reflective challenge last week. We have more July guest hosts: Tracy at Reflections of an Untidy Mind, and Sarah of Travel with Me. The Lens-Artists team will be back in August with me hosting the challenge.

If you would like to invite a friend to join us in our weekly challenges, it’s easy just click here to find out how.

Take care everyone and stay safe!

Posted on July 10, 2022 by Anne Sandler · 37 Comments

Lens-Artists Challenge #207: Seeing Double

When I was a kid, seeing double meant we were crossing our eyes and creating that double vision. Now, that I’m enjoying photography, it means reflections causing an exact duplicate or double of the original image. Our guest host Jez Braithwaite of Photos By Jez, presents us with a challenge to post the reflections we’ve photographed and enjoyed.

And I do enjoy photographing them.

A natural reflection is the capture of birds in water. Here the water is shallow giving a fuzzy double image.

When I see a good building reflection, I just have to photograph it.

Like Jez, I enjoy using a crystal ball at times.

Still water is a great reflective surface for landscapes. Whether bridges and rocks, a lake view or a sunset on a pond, these reflections are beautiful.

Surfaces like a mirror or metal also offer reflections.

And how about California’s illusive rain puddle.

Let’s end with one of my favorite reflections–windows and doors.

It was fun going through my archives and reflecting on seeing double this week–without looking cross eyed!

Thank you Jez for this fun assignment. Please be sure to link your reply to his post. Thank you Aletta for having us do a treasure hunt last week. It was fun to see all the varied treasures from all over the world. Next week our guest host Andre of Solander is thinking of Summer Vibes. Be sure to look for his post. We continue July with:

July 23, Tracy, who posts at Reflections of an Untidy Mind, has chosen Surrealism.

July 30, Sarah Wilkie, who hosts Travel with Me, asks you to share Three Favorite Images.

And I will continue the LAPC rotation on August 6. Until then continue having a safe and fun July.

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

Posted on June 19, 2022 by Anne Sandler · 28 Comments

Lens-Artists Challenge 104: Doors/Doorways

I dug deep into my archives to find images for Sylvia’s (My Colorful Expressions) challenge. I just wanted to see what my earliest photos looked liked. And this is what I found: little or no editing, lots of HDR, and hardly any cropping. Through Sylvia’s challenge, I could see how much I’ve learned.

When I started photography, HDR was the BIG thing. That’s the reason I moved up from the Nikon D3100 to the D7100. The D3100 didn’t do auto bracketing. Looking at the photos, I can see that NIK Color Efex does a much better job of creating that type of image.

I love to photograph doorways and doors. The more rustic the better. And if the door is red, wow! Anyway, here they are, photos from 2014 and 2015. I did a small amount of editing. I just couldn’t help myself!

Let’s start with a couple of HDR taken from the Sacramento Delta.

**Reflections of me and my late photo buddy Greg. Why do I look so wide and he doesn’t?**

I do love red doors, actually anything red!

**St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Downtown Sacramento**

Here’s a unique door knocker in Fiddletown and a double door entrance in Jackson.

Take a look at this old structure in Amador County.

And this one from Bodie, a ghost town. This was another HDR.

Another HDR image from the Sacramento Historic City Cemetery. I like the reflection and iron work in the door.

I’ll end with this barn at Gibson Ranch. The sun was situated just right to shine through the open doors. Oh, yes, it’s red!

Thank you Sylvia for giving me this opportunity to go through old photos. It’s amazing how much you can learn when look at where you’ve been. Remember to link to Sylvia’s post and use the Lens-Artists tag.

It was my pleasure to challenge you last week, and we enjoyed all your wonderful local vistas. My son is on his way to recovery and feeling better. Thank you all for your kind thoughts regarding his well-being. This is truly a wonderful and caring community.

Next week Tina will be presenting the challenge, so be sure to look for her post.

If you, or any of your photo friends, would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, just click this link and join us: https://photobyjohnbo.wordpress.com/about-lens-artists/

Posted on March 9, 2022March 9, 2022 by Anne Sandler · 10 Comments

Almond blossoms and rust: Winters California

Mother nature is fickle. Wind, rain and all sorts of weather can ruin crops and cause financial distress for the growers. It can also cause disappointment for photographers. Last year a BIG wind storm blew almond blossoms off trees, rendering them bare. It was a tough year for the growers. This year, I got sick the week we were to take advantage of a Yolo Art and Ag visit to an almond orchard. We went the next week knowing we couldn’t get on the property, but thought we could photograph from the road. However the blossoms were almost gone. What a difference a week can make!

I tried photographing through the fence. This is what I saw.

But we did see a field of old, rusted equipment. Now, I do love rust and its texture, photographing close up.

Not rusted, but if you like lines and angles, power line towers rule.

Always looking for something to photograph, we found these on the way to Winters for lunch.

After lunch, we walked about the town.

Will 2023 be the year we photograph almond blossoms? I hope so. If not rust will never disappoint!

Posted on October 2, 2021 by Anne Sandler · 42 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #168: Seen Better Days

It’s tough getting old. In fact, this week, it’s been painful to walk the dog because of problems in my right foot–arthritis. I know I’ve seen better days. In fact Richard and I always talk about it. “Remember when we…….?”

But I don’t think that’s what Tina had in mind when she challenged us to post pictures of items that have seen better days. Over the years, I’ve taken many, a lot, an enormous amount, zillions of pictures of things that have seen better days. It was difficult to find them in the archives, so I picked two from each year. I love texture, rust and anything old. Here is what I found.

When I first started photography and going on outings we frequently passed this house that became more dilapidated each time. The boat “The Point Reyes” was another draw for photographers. However one group decided to do steel wool photography on the stern and caught most of it on fire. Imagine lighting steel wool on an old wood boat! This was particularly sad because the boat had rested there a long time. She’s still there, minus much of her back.

Apple Hill is a Fall favorite of ours, and one of the farms has old trucks and equipment. A small town off the I-80 has an old hearse and the garage that housed it.

On one of our farm trips, the buildings, except for the family home, were left to do their natural thing. Here are steps of the interior of a building and the window of another. Also the “Spirit of Sacramento” has been left to die a natural death. She’s usually on the dry ground, but at this point it was a rainy winter and she’s in a large puddle.

The small town of Rough and Ready may have been rough, but they weren’t ready for Marlene and I to visit. We couldn’t find a parking place and residents weren’t friendly. We did find some old stuff to photograph. These may not be that old, but they’ve seen better days.

And, last, on a more recent outing we came across this old house on our way home.

As we remember the days behind us, let’s make the most of the ones ahead! Thanks Tina for this fun challenge.

Posted on September 11, 2021 by Anne Sandler · 19 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #165: Going Wide

Sofia had us looking up and down. Now, Patti has us looking all around. She is challenging us to go wide, opening up our vistas.

Being lazy and not liking to change lenses in the field, I shoot my wide angles with 18 mm + lens. I do have a 10 to 20 mm lens for my Nikon, but seldom used it. When I bought my Fujifilm, I didn’t purchase an ultra wide lens. For today’s challenge, I’m going back to 2018 for some different kind of wide angle shots. These were mostly shot with my Nikon D7100 and 18 – 200 mm lens.

Let’s start with a 9/11 Flag Tribute which is more than appropriate today. This is arranged in West Sacramento on a vacant lot each year. I’m going back today to experience this once again.

The Grand Canyon (South Rim) screams for a wide angle shot. But not all wide angle shots are taken outdoors. Here I have the beautiful canyon and also the amazing Desert View Watch Tower (Which would have been perfect for the looking up/down challenge!). All were taken at 18 mm.

Each year Sacramento hosts the Wide Open Walls festival where artists from all over the world are invited to paint murals on buildings. The Johnny Cash mural was shot at 27 mm, and the monkey was shot at 18 mm (both) in a vertical format.

I’ll close with landscapes of Downieville a small resort town north of Sacramento. When we arrived, the weather turned on us and looked like rain. We’d sure welcome it now! I do love clouds and sometimes feature them in the landscape image. These were taken at 17 mm so I must have used my 17-70 mm 2.8 lens.

Today, when I go visit the 911 Flag Tribute, I’ll be using my 18-55 mm lens and get more wide angle images! Thanks for this challenge Patti!

Posted on August 30, 2021 by Anne Sandler · 35 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #163: Keep walking

Amy wants us to walk. I don’t have a choice! I walk 1 1/2 to 2 miles each morning–unless the weather doesn’t permit. I do this to keep Gem, my dog, happy. He leads the way, has his various routes around the community, knows the other dogs and knows the humans who have the treats! We have a small lake and there’s always something going on with the geese and ducks. Too bad I don’t bring my camera with me. This is his joy and my exercise. Okay, I enjoy it too. It helped me feel less alone during lockdown.

My joy, is walking with my camera. My photo group goes out once a week, and sometimes to our favorite places where we can walk, talk and take photographs. One of my favorites is the Effie Yeaw Nature Center. It’s on the American River and supports a great deal of wildlife. Here’s a few photos taken during a 2019 walk.

We also like to walk the Sacramento Zoo. The animals sometimes put on a show for us. Here again is a 2019 visit.

And how about the Sacramento Historical City Cemetery! We go there about once a year. It’s so peaceful to walk about, there is so much history to be found. One year they were going to take away the flowers, saying they weren’t there when the cemetery was first started, and they wanted to keep the cemetery original. Everyone protested and we won.

And you know we go to Old Sacramento, along the Sacramento River. Here are more images from 2019. Yes, I limited myself to that year.

I’ll close with an image from an outing to the Folsom Farmers’ Market that moved me–our flag in glory.

So, how do I feel about these photo outings? I enjoy them and look forward to them as much as Gem does his morning walks. It’s good exercise and a good time with dear friends.

Posted on August 25, 2021 by Anne Sandler · 10 Comments

A return trip: Locke

I’ve been to the town of Locke a few times, but never on the weekend. This time we went on a Sunday and some stores and museums were open. My challenge was to photograph something different or from a different angle.

Known as the Locke Historic District, CA (U.S. National Park Service), Locke was originally a town built for the Chinese immigrants who came to work the farms and orchards. For a full history, click on the link above. The town remains basically the same as you can see from the pictures. It hasn’t changed at all in all the years I’ve visited.

By going on a Sunday, we found many residents home and working in their yards or just relaxing. A couple of stores were open too. It’s a very small town and main street is a far cry from a typical small town thoroughfare. Two restaurants serve the town. It’s about a mile to Walnut Grove, also founded as a need to house Chinese workers, where you can find more restaurants, etc.

My neighbors joined us for this expedition and just weren’t prepared for how the town was kept as original as possible. Even the toilet bowl garden hasn’t changed or the old barn with all the wheelbarrows