Black and White allows texture to come to the forefront. It’s amazing how well we can see the texture in an image once we change it to monochrome. To be really effective there must be enough contrast.
This picture of Lake Waterton in Alberta Canada was a pretty image. However, once I changed it to monochrome (I thought there was enough contrast.) I saw the texture in the mountains and water.
When I’m out with my camera, I see and notice things differently. I mentally compose the picture even before I pick up my camera. So, I really don’t pay much attention to the rules and tools of composition. I do believe I needed John’s challenge today. He has me thinking of how and why I do things regarding composing a picture.
Mostly I look for shape and texture. I do love texture. Anything wood is texture whether it’s a tree, a fallen tree or a barn made from a tree.
Actually, everywhere you look you’ll find shape, form and texture. We can build stores, machines and buildings that show off shape, form and texture.
Rectangles and circles
Squares, triangles and rectangles
Triangle and half circle
Nature’s perfect circles
And my favorite, nature’s freeform.
The next time I take my camera out, I will be more aware thanks to John’s challenge. Thanks John! When you respond, please link to John’s post and use the Lens-Artist tag. I totally enjoyed window shopping with you and Ritva last week. Next week Ann-Christine will be presenting our challenge so look for her post.
We are having blizzard conditions in the Northern California foothills. The Sierra Nevada Mountains are a beautiful white. My children live in Reno and are getting a lot of snow also. We are okay with just a lot of rain and wind here in Sacramento. Take care everyone.
I think my problem with shopping is that I go with an intent and usually don’t find what I want or need. I come home frustrated. I’ve learned to go out with nothing in mind and usually come home with something that I needed or not.
So window shopping is even more difficult for me. But a challenge is a challenge and Marlene and I went out to the fountains, a small outdoor shopping center, to walk and photograph.
Here’s what I found. I enjoyed playing with and capturing reflections.
Fashion in windows. I laughed when I realized that I would never wear some of these clothes, especially those boots. That’s what happens when you’re 80!
Now for some odds and ends.
I am a dog mom and love that little Schnoodle. Windows must be washed for us to do window shopping. This last one is a reflection of across the street with the ghost like image of a male mannequin in the store window. You can see him in the window being washed.
Now it’s time to stop spending money! I just liked this palm tree. Saving buttons instead of pennies.
I do love red umbrellas and shadows!
We followed our non-shopping experience with lunch. Thank you Ritva for getting me out. When you respond to Ritva’s post, please remember to link to her challenge and use the Lens-Artist tag.
Last week, I totally enjoyed seeing how you all portrayed sound in your images. Some were very creative. Next week John will be presenting the challenge, so be sure to look for his post! Take care!
All of our senses are connected. When you see a plate of well-presented food, can’t you taste it before you take a bite? When I’m walking my dog, I can hear a car long before I can see it, giving me plenty of time to navigate to the side of the road. I once interviewed deaf students through an interpreter. I watched their faces and body language to understand their excitement and other feelings.
This week Donna opens the world of sound for us. This challenge helped me understand how we show sound to our viewers through our two-dimensional presentations. Let’s get into my selections.
This Civil War Reenactment image shows the canon being fired. Can’t you just hear the loud boom as smoke fills the air?
And more booms and pops during this fireworks display.
If you’re really into music and you’re in a setting with a wood floor, you can actually feel the music’s beat with your feet. But in a picture we can imagine the sound of musicians and their music.
Waves crash rocks, making a serene sound as we watch a beautiful sunset. Here two senses are working together.
Remember those cars I mentioned. Just stand next to a freeway and close your eyes. You can hear the passing whish and feel the rumble of the cars. But don’t close them now, see the light trails!
I’ve saved the worst image, but most meaningful to me for last–my grandson’s elementary school class’s performance during the holidays years ago. They were singing holiday songs. These performances show that music reaches our hearts beyond what we hear. Ryan is in the second row, right side in back of the girl wearing a red dress that has a white heart on it. Ryan is now 15 years.
When I started looking for sounds, I thought I wouldn’t have much. But I have even more. Sound is all around us and in our images.
When you respond, please link to Donna’s post and use the Lens-Artists tag. We would all like to see your sounds.
Thank you for your responses to my Weather Challenge. I’m so glad you all weathered the week and found amazing images. I also enjoyed that some of you played along with the homophone. One of you even got in wether, admitting they didn’t have a picture of a young castrated ram!
Next week, Ritva will be presenting her first challenge as a team member. So be sure to look for her post.
It’s been a wet winter. Well, wet by California standards. While we want rain, having rain for weeks is something we are not used to. If I had my choice, it would rain every night and the days would be sunny! But I don’t have my choice do I.
So, on a sunny day Marlene, Ray and I decided to head off for the countryside and the small towns of Plymouth and Sutter Creek.
We stopped to photograph a barn along the roadside. We do pull over for photo opportunities.
We haven’t been to Plymouth in a few years. It’s still the same few blocks that it’s always been. It’s nice to know that some things don’t change.
I did find a unique sign that might be new in Plymouth. Here’s the sign and the object it’s talking about.
Now to see the rest of Plymouth.
Sutter Creek is a slightly larger town, and its main street caters to tourists. I’ve seen stores come and go. We like it best for lunch! Here are some new photos.
The highlight of the outing was meeting this gentleman and his cockatoo. They’ve been friends for more than 20 years.
So that was our sunny get away! More rain is coming!
You check the weather forecast to find out whether the weather is good for a photo outing! Yes, it’s rabbit hole time again!
According to Grammarly.com weather can be a noun as in when we make a weather forecast, or a verb as If the team can weather the injuries it has faced this year.
When used as a conjunction, whether is the correct spelling. And did you know that a Wether is a ram or goat that is castrated at a young age. Honestly, I didn’t dig this rabbit hole! It just happened. And these words are homophones–words that have the same sound but different meanings.
This challenge is about the various types of weather conditions in which we photographers find ourselves pursuing our hobby or vocation.
We all look for nice weather. Sunny, nice puffy clouds, or sometimes even a cloudless sky will do. The direction from which the sun hits an object can intensify its color or cast a shadow.
Sometimes those big puffy clouds turn dark and gray. That’s a sign that a storm is coming. Better hurry and take those pictures!
Did you hurry and duck inside or under a shelter. Or, maybe, you just like to photograph in the rain. Just make sure your camera is covered.
After the rain, we are left with puddle reflections that entice children to jump into. Right now, we have a one-day break in rainstorms here in sunny California. That’s okay, it’s better than being in drought.
If its very cold, rain turns to snow that covers the ground with a beautiful white blanket. Just try to keep your children away!
My favorite weather is fog. I love to photograph in the fog. There’s something mysterious and calming about fog.
So, we’ve talked about the weather and now it’s your turn. Do you enjoy taking your camera out in all types of weather? Whether or not you do, I’m sure you have some enjoyable images taken on outings or vacations. And if you have some pictures of Wethers, let’s see those cute little animals too. Okay, I’m done! I promise!! Well, one more thing. When you respond to this challenge, please link to it and use the Lens-Artists tag. That way I can see whether you responded with weather images and stories. I guess I wasn’t quite done!
This week Egidio asked us to show how warm colors can affect our images and the feelings they leave behind. I enjoyed seeing all your amazing responses. Take care everyone and enjoy your weather!
Next week Donna 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.
It’s been raining in California since late December. At first it was welcomed in this normally dry state, but now in February, with two atmospheric rivers passing through, we need a break. We photographers need some sunshine or at least a cloudy day!
Here’s a photo taken this week of the little creek in my neighborhood. It just about crested after one of the storms. Don’t worry it flows into the American River. But this happened overnight! The next day it was at normal flow.
Needing to take our cameras for a walk, we visited our indoor favorite, the Antique Trove in Roseville. There’s always something new to photograph. This time I decided to give myself a macro lens challenge. I photographed everything up close. I did have fun.
Here’s a sample.
We had a respite yesterday with just clouds. That was great. Sun would be even better!
Up first are zoo animals. the giraffe and orangutan are my favorites. They are so expressive. The orangutans are playful, and the giraffes make such funny faces.
My next image is of a squawking cormorant with his yellow beak wide open. I wonder what he’s saying!
I enjoy photographing covered bridges. This one was recently redone. Its shingles are warm colored, blending in with the natural surroundings.
Cool in temperature, but warm in color are the Luray Caverns in Virginia.
You never know what you’ll find when you’re driving down a country road! But you know in October you’ll find pumpkins.
Finally, who says warm colors can’t be photographed at night. This image taken in Old Sacramento has warm written all over it.
Thank you Egidio for challenging us with warm colors during Sacramento’s damp, overcast and rainy weather. When you post your response to this challenge, please remember to link your post to Egidio’s and use the Lens-Artists tag. I enjoyed seeing your days and nights last week, especially the comparisons. Next week I will be challenging you, so stay tuned.
Do you look forward to night photography? It is more challenging, but there are rewards. But daytime gives us more variations of light with which to work. I’ll photograph whenever I can. This week Sofia asks us to show off our day and night photography. So here goes.
We start at the beginning with frozen toes in Yosemite Valley capturing the first light at Yosemite Falls. This was 9 years ago and I was very new at photography. It was a good thing my friend Laura got me out there in the bitter cold. It was worth it!
Pretty soon the sun becomes more intense and we run for shade. It’s nice how the direct sun highlights form and colors. Of course that intense sun can also warm our backs and cast our shadows.
When the sun is low in the sky, it backlights objects, like this giraffe, with a warm glow.
We all love to capture sunsets with their beautiful colors.
During a full moon, like the sun, the moon casts its own light as seen on this lake.
In total darkness we can capture ambient light and also have some creative fun.
As I said, although I prefer the golden and blue hours, I’ll take my camera out any time and have fun. Thank you Sofia for this wonderful challenge. When you respond, please remember to link to Sofia’s original post and use the Lens-Artists tag.
I enjoyed reading your poems and seeing your related images last week prompted by Ann-Christine. Some of you had creative and enjoyable responses. Next week Egidio leads his first challenge so be sure to look for his blog.
“I saw in their eyes something I was to see over and over in every part of the nation—a burning desire to go, to move, to get under way, anyplace, away from any Here. They spoke quietly of how they wanted to go someday, to move about, free and unanchored, not toward something but away from something. I saw this look and heard this yearning everywhere in every state I visited. Nearly every American hungers to move.” ― John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley in Search of America
You never know where a new path will lead you. You never know where an LAPC prompt will lead you. When I saw Ann-Christines challenge for us to illustrate a quote or poem, my mind veered and went a different direction. I immediately went to “Travels with Charley in Search of America,” A book I recently re-read.
I first read this book about 40 years ago and didn’t realize until now that it created the need for me to go across the country in our fifth wheel trailer. I wanted to experience all of my country. It was a glorious three months and I wish it could have been longer. After my re-read, I realized America was certainly different when we went across versus Steinbeck’s crossing, and I’m sure it’s changed in the last 11 years.
Steinbeck traveled across America in a truck and camper with his aging poodle Charley. The book is a great essay on America. In my re-read I could immediately associate with some of the places and people he met.
I’ve posted sights from this wonderful trip in my blog before, but I also had the good fortune to visit family again–some for the last time. It was a wonderful and emotional trip, getting to know cousins again and meeting their families.
It’s those connections that meant so much to me and still do.
Now it’s on to meeting the family. Here are cousins from my Dad’s side. I’m the youngest Horowitz, and the only on the West coast, so I was glad I got to see them again. Ed and Judy live in Florida, but we didn’t go that far south.
Paul and Ruth in TexasMorty and Mary in Long Island
Now for my Mom’s side. Meet the Seidels.
Herb and ElaineBottom : Irene and Neil Top: Anne and RichardRight Karen and Alan Left their children who now have children!
I’d better quit while I’m just one picture over! Yes, there are more cousins who live on the West Coast, and I treasure them dearly.
Thank you Ann-Christine for sending me on this journey even though I went off the path a bit. When you post your response to this challenge, please remember to link to Ann-Christine’s post and use the Lens-Artists tag. We saw a lot of drama last week. What wonderful responses. Next week Sofia will be posting our challenge. Be sure to look for her post.
Slow Shutter Speed 