Posted on by Anne Sandler · 26 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #245: Environments

I love where I live even though I came here kicking and screaming. Sacramento and its proximity to beautiful environments like rivers, forest, farms, ranches and cities makes this a great location for photographers. In fact, I’ve blogged about it many times and have shown beautiful images of my favorite spots. So, in response to Tina’s challenge, I’m going to show you a recent new environment I traveled to.

Lifou Island “is the largest, most populous and most important island of the Loyalty Islands, in the archipelago of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. With a total area of 1,207 km2 (466 sq mi), Lifou is located east of Australia at 20.9°S 167.2°E. (Wikipedia).”

Among our choices for a ship’s tour of the island was “Luecila Beach and Scenic Drive,” and that’s the one we picked. Our drive to the beach was a little more than one hour. We did see flowers and traditional houses as promised in the tour’s description. Photographing through the bus window was nearly impossible. I can describe the area as beautiful, lush and green. What amazed me were the houses with huts in their yards. I asked the guide about the huts. He replied that they were for guests who come to visit. Hospitality?

The beach was worth the long drive. It was beautiful. When we arrived, I was hungry and tried to purchase a piece of papaya fruit. The women in the kiosk didn’t take credit cards or American dollars–just francs. They ended up giving it to me without payment. It was delicious. I thought they were very gracious.

Sandy and Peg didn’t want to walk on the beach so I discovered its beauty on my own. Here’s a gallery.

Our bus.
An old church near the beach.
Before going down on the sand.
On the beach.
A woman showed me a shell she found.
Yes, it’s time to get back to the ship.

I’m so glad to have walked this beach since I was sick and couldn’t see Mystery Island. I spent two days in our cabin. That’s life!

This was one of the new environments I experienced during my trip to Australia. Please remember to link to Tina’s original post when you respond and use the Lens-Artists tag. I’ll be sharing more of my trip on my blog. I enjoyed your responses to Siobhan’s challenge of Glowing Moments. Your interpretations were varied and creative. Next week, Patti will present the challenge so look for her post.

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

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 36 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #244: Glowing Moments

There are some moments that take our breath away, and it usually involves the sun. When it’s not shining things look dull and our mood is affected. When it is shining especially at sunup and sundown, our photographic juices get going. Guest host Siobhen of Bend Branches encourages us to post images of glowing moments that are special to us.

You know I love flowers. My friend Ray and I went to photograph a small tulip patch recently. I wanted to practice with my new lens. I’m doing better with it and think there’s just one more hurdle to overcome. I like how the sun makes the leaves almost transparent in places and highlights the flower.

The sun’s glow also helps create shadows. Notice the glow and shadows on the house and on the lawn. These were taken in Luray Virginia.

A trip a few years ago was special for me because we were with my cousins in Palm Desert. The sun is so special in the desert. The giraffe, with its special glow, was taken during sunset at the Living Desert in Palm Springs and the other two in the Painted Canyon, Mecca Hills.

My last examples are of waking up to a sunrise on a blanket of snow in Reno. These were taken in December last year at my son’s home. What a treat!

It was fun going through my archives to find glowing images. Thank you Siobhen for this relaxing challenge. Please remember to link to Siobhen’s post and use the Lens-Artist tag in your response. I enjoyed everyone’s interpretation of tricks last week. They were imaginative and beautiful. Thank you Donna. Next week Tina will be challenging us, 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. 

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 15 Comments

The Adventure Continues: Sydney Australia

What I described as my dream come true began here in my LAPC challenge post. My dream was to visit Australia and Leanne Cole. But my journey didn’t end there. My friends (who invited me to tag along with them and their family) had arranged for us to visit Sydney and Cruise the South Pacific, visiting New Caledonia. My previous post showed you Melbourne and sights along the Great Ocean Road from Melbourne to Port Campbell.

From there, we flew to Sydney to begin another adventure. Our adventure began with not being able to hook up with Uber for a ride to our hotel. We ended up taking a taxi to Bankstown where we stayed for a few days until it was time to board our cruise ship. One day was spent in a shopping center, picking up items we needed. Another day was spent doing laundry. My friend Sandy caught a cold. You get the idea. We relaxed and rested. We did get into Sydney one day and took a Hop On and Hop Off Tour Bus.

My friends and their family had already been to Sydney, so I was eagerly looking out the window. They didn’t seem to want to get off and I didn’t see any reason to do so. Here are pictures taken through the bus window while it was moving! Again, like in Melbourne, the buildings were amazing. There were many small parks scattered throughout the city.

The Australian Museum
The Harbor Bridge

We did get off to see the Opera House, and we weren’t the only tourists there!

So that was our one day visit to Sydney. I was impressed with the amount of parks and the beautiful buildings. I also appreciated the rest we received after a whirlwind week in Melbourne. Seeing wild cockatoos and hearing other types of birds was also a treat.

Next we board the Carnival Splendor and head for New Caledonia. Stay tuned.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 17 Comments

I finally got away: Shenandoah National Park

I had the good fortune to be invited by friends (Ken, Sandy and Peg) on an 8-day New England Cruise and a week in Virginia prior. It was a great trip, and I’ll be showing you pictures as we I process them. This first batch is from Shenandoah National Park (Part of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

When my husband and I went across country in 2013, we missed seeing this area, but did see the Great Smoky Mountains NP. So this was a great opportunity for me to see more of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I can’t say I was disappointed; the mountains are beautiful. But the scenery is pretty much the same at one turn out to another. I’m sure if you can or are into hiking, you’d see more. However, four seniors (Me the oldest.) weren’t into, or could do, either. Walking is our thing.

Here are pictures taken from behind the condo we stayed at.

We stopped at every road going through the Park. It was foggy, and I worked to alleviate much of it with Lightroom. The scenery is lush and green; a welcome change from what we have in drought ridden California.

Ken

Our next stop is at the Luray Caverns. There’s a lot of images to process, so memories of this trip will be interspersed with local outings.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 32 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #215: Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Memories, looking back at past trips and the fun they were. John is encouraging us to do just that, including how we got there.

When the kids were young we camped. We started with a small truck and camper, then graduated to a larger camper, then an 18′ trailer and then this 31′ 5th wheel.

This 5th wheel morphed us from camping to RVing. My most pleasant memories are of our travels in a small camper, cot set up for the baby over the dinette, the older kids out in tents, and totally enjoying a shower when one was available. RVing came when we were empty nesters. I will admit having the ability to shower whenever, having a full kitchen and not having to climb up into bed had it’s advantages. This trailer took us across the U.S. and many other places. I enjoyed the freedom RVing offered. Now we have an 18′ trailer that Richard uses for his astronomy trips.

Planes. In 1959 my mom and I traveled from NYC to LA, non-stop, on a prop ( Not sure if it was a prop jet?) plane in just 5 1/2 hours! (We were seated on the wing and as a teen, I watched the propellers.) But remember, we’ve made progress with our jet aircraft. It now takes maybe 12 hours to get across the U.S.! Sorry, just had to gripe!!

The most memorable plane trip was in 2014. It was the first plane trip for my younger set of grandkids. We were on our way to Disney World in Orlando with them and my son and daughter-in-law. It was great to experience the trip through the wonderment of their young eyes.

It was also their first trip to a Disney park. We had them by ourselves for a day. They are now 14 and 12 years old.

One type of transportation John left out of his title are ships. When I got my first camera, we took a cruise to Mexico with our friends, Sandy and Ken, on the Carnival line. Talk about a photo wonderland. That ship was so glitzy and I had so much fun.

A bonus to this cruise was spotting the Queen Mary, now a tourist attraction and hotel, docked nearby. What a great ship with an amazing history.

In less than 2 weeks, I’ll be joining my friends again for a New England Cruise. Richard has chosen to stay home, so I’ll be bunking with Sandy’s sister Peg. I can’t wait. I haven’t been away since 2014.

Thanks John for this trip down memory lane. Sometimes I think those are the best trips because we can keep reliving them over and over. When you respond to John’s post remember to link to his and use the Lens-Artists tag.

Also thanks for sharing all your favorite finds with us. It’s always fun to see other’s treasures. Next week Sofia will be presenting the challenge, so look for her post.

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

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 26 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #157: Getting Away

We all need a respite of sorts. It could be an afternoon of shopping or a long trip. We we did some travel overseas, I didn’t have a good camera or the ability to take good photos. I keep saying I started photography 20 years too late!

The trip I chose for Rusha and Bert’s challenge is our Cross Country Trip in the summer of 2013. This was to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary, and took us 3 months. I could have traveled for 6 months, but Richard is not the traveler and was doing the driving.

I’ve always wanted to travel across the U.S., visiting as many National Parks as possible. So we headed out in our 5th wheel trailer and dog, Gem. Gem is a home body, preferring to be at his house and not anywhere else. Notice I said his house! He also doesn’t like the rumble of the diesel truck engine. I had also just bought my first DSLR a Nikon D3100 which also went with us.

We chose to get to the east coast via the southern route so we could visit my cousin in Plano Texas. Here are some places we visited.

If you’re traveling on Route 66 in Arizona, stop in at Seligman. It’s a delight.

We continued through Arizona and into Texas.

As I looked through my pictures, I realize how much I’ve learned since that trip and that I need to make the trip again!

One of our stops was Little Rock Arkansas so we could visit Beale Street in Memphis. We also stopped in Nashville.

  • This pizza restaurant was amazing. If they didn’t have the pizza you wanted, they would bake it and bring you the whole pie!
  • Beale St. on bike night!
  • The original turntable stage from the Ryman Auditorium, now at the current home of the Opry.
The Great Smokey Mountains National Park

Let’s jump up to Washington D.C. I really didn’t get good shots of what was important, but I did get a good shot of the Metro station!

Richard wanted to go to Times Square while we were visiting family in New York. We paid about $30. to park!

Now for Niagara Falls. How does a new photographer take a picture that’s different from all others taken so far. You can’t! But I was happy that I got all three falls in one picture!

We went as far north as Bar Harbor Maine. On our morning walk, Gem and I came upon a lobster fisherman unloading his baskets.

Let’s finish up with the USS Constitution in Boston and the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado (summit at 12,000 ft.).

There were many more highlights during our 3 month journey. I totally enjoyed it and would repeat it if given the opportunity. Thank you Rusha and Bert for this reminiscing challenge.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 6 Comments

Lens-Artist Challenge #109: Under The Sun

I’m not fond of waking up in the dark to catch the golden hour in the morning or going to bed late in the summer to catch the evening blue and golden hours. So that leaves me mostly under the mid morning sun for most of my photo outings. No, I’m not going to post all my photos taken under the sun, just the ones that resonated with me when I read Amy’s challenge for the week.

There have been a few times when the timing was right on for me. One was at the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert, California. We caught the afternoon golden hour when the sun cast a beautiful glow on plants and animals. We were vacationing with my cousins in December 2016 . They are the couple walking out of the oasis.

The next set of images were taken during my favorite time of day, mid afternoon sun! (It’s not really!) My friend who lives in Sun City, Lincoln brought me to a tree where herons and egrets and other birds nested. I didn’t have my long lens with me, so I returned on my day to pick up my grandkids from school. My kids also live in Lincoln. Again, I seem to use the opportunity rather than make the opportunity! I’ve named this tree “The Nesting Tree,” and have brought other photo buddies to shoot there. Taken April, 2019, you can see the sun casting shadows on the birds bodies and feathers.

This last set was taken during a Yolo Art & Ag outing to Capay Valley Ranches in February, 2019. Every summer, Yolo Art invites artists and photographers to various ranches, farms and orchards to record country life. We were there mid morning (usually from 9 to 11 a.m.) Here, again, the sun created beautiful shadows.

While I may not get up before dawn, I still enjoy getting out in the sunshine. Thank you Amy for this great challenge.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 4 Comments

Good bye: Kauai, the last day

It’s raining, sometimes really hard, in Sacramento. It’s the perfect time to reminisce about our Kauai vacation, especially our last photographic expedition. Funny, that day I began to be able to walk without too much pain. And, the day we left–no pain!

My grumbling is over. On our last day, we played catch up, going to places we missed or wanted to see again. In order of exploration, we visited Fort Elizabeth also known as the Russian Fort, mouth of the Wimea River, Kalalau Lookout, Pu’u o kila lookout, the Captain Cook sculpture in Hanapepe and the Kauai Garden nursery.

That was a full scenic day of taking photos. When we returned to our condo, we ate dinner, looked at our pictures and packed so we could go to the airport early the next morning.

My first photographic trip was wonderful. And, it was great to share it with good friends. Thank you Laura and Marlene for coming with me. Here’s what we saw on this last day.

  • Fort Elizabeth
  • A small waterfall off the roadside.
  • Kalalau lookout
  • Notice the rainbow
  • Flowers in a nursery
  • Captain Cook sculpture in Hanapepe
Posted on by Anne Sandler · 6 Comments

Getting photos organized: Kauai, Day 4

Who can say no to 250 free photo prints? I can’t. So when Shutterfly posted this freebee with only one and a half days to prepare, I went to town and got the last quarter of 2018 sorted and done. It’s not like they weren’t organized. Lightroom and my desktop system is great for doing that. I just needed to go through them and pick the ones I wanted 4 x 6 prints of, and change the dpi to 300 for printing. Of course nothing is free. Their shipping is pretty high.

You’ve seen a lot of them through this blog, and I’ve printed some out for competition in the Sierra Camera Club. I print 4 x 6 prints for scrapbooking. It’s a great feeling to have 2018 completed. However, 2019 is totally void of pictures! I’ll be going out shooting on Tuesday. Meanwhile, maybe I can learn some of Photoshop this weekend! I’ve been told to delve into Photoshop, I need to shoot less and edit more. That’s a great goal for 2019!

In the meantime, here’s day 4 of the Kauai trip. Going along the south shore, we visited the Spouting Horn and Po’ipu Beach. When we were in the town of Koloa we saw the Monkey Pod tree, the Sugar Mill Monument and ate delicious pizza for lunch. In the evening, we went to Smith’s Garden Luau. The grounds were beautiful and the food delicious. After dinner we sat in the front row so we could have a great vantage point for shooting pictures. But, a crop sensor is just not that adaptable to low light situations where there’s a lot of movement. Marlene’s mirrorless camera did the best.

  • In Koloa
  • Monkey Pod Tree
  • Statute in small shopping center
  • Little gecko lizard.
  • A well worn sculpture
  • Here comes Santa Clause
  • In shorts!
  • Sugar Mill Monument
  • The sculpture
  • A face from the sculpture
  • Another face
  • This little guy joined us for pizza
  • Beautiful tree
  • Near the Spouting Horn
  • The Spouting Horn
  • A wave before it broke
  • Crashing on the rocky shore
  • A resort area
  • Colorful rooster
  • A zebra dove at the Luau grounds
  • The grounds were full of flowers
  • Peacocks
  • Little chicks
  • Unusual ducks
  • A lake on the grounds
  • Starting to unearth the pig
  • Lifting it out
  • The pig
  • The oven with it’s banana tree palms will be used for the next dinner
  • A hen. Notice her pretty colors.
Posted on by Anne Sandler · 6 Comments

Happy New Year: Kauai, Day 3

Good bye 2018! Hello 2019!! Will it be a good year? I don’t have any feelings either way about the New Year. Most years I do. I’m just hoping it will be better world wide. For me 2018 wasn’t without its struggles. Downsizing and moving was horrendous. And, yet, I had two wonderful vacations. You’ve seen my blog post on Sedona and this series on Kauai is ongoing.

Tonight I’m taking you to the north shore of Kauai. We started our day at the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge and its beautiful Kilauea Lighthouse. Actually, we were there before they opened the gates. Just give photographers a day of rest and we’re ready to go the next morning!

After that visit, we stopped at a cute church (Christ memorial Episcopal), two vista turnouts–the Taro field and Hanalei Bay, had lunch and walked the town of Hanalei. On our way back to Lihue we stopped at Anini Beach and park where we saw a guy wind surfing.

Lastly, we stopped to take pictures of the Wai oli Hui la Church. That was quite a busy day, and a great photo taking time!

My next post in this series will be in 2019. Celebrate safely and Happy New Year!!

  • The walking path to Kilauea Lighthouse
  • Kilauea Point Wildlife Refuge
  • Another shoreline
  • The Lighthouse
  • Wildlife
  • Her baby
  • Christ Memorial Episcopal
  • Taro field
  • Taro Field
  • Hanalei Bay
  • Hanalei Bay
  • Hanalei Bay
  • Hanalei
  • Hanalei
  • Wai oli Hui ia
  • Anini Beach
  • Wind Surfer
  • He takes flight