Posted on by Anne Sandler · 38 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #282: Dramatic

What makes a photo dramatic? Is it the scene? The subject? The color or lack of it? In this week’s challenge, Patti asked us to show what we consider dramatic and her wonderful images gave us examples. I believe it is the feeling that an image invokes in us. So here are some examples of what I consider dramatic.

Black and White: I love black and white because it helps create drama with certain subjects. My two examples are of Lake Waterton, Waterton NP, Canada and a lotus. In both these examples, it was the editing that brought out the drama for me. The lake brought me serenity. The lotus was a striking monochrome of a flower of colorful beauty that brought me excitement.

Wildlife: The American Bald Eagle reigns supreme over the wetlands, sending smaller birds into flight. They even look regal as they sit on branches. Even his gaze demands respect. To catch a hawk in flight is difficult, especially when your maximum range is 300 mm. When you do capture one through your lens, it is a dramatic result. Both images got excited.

Architecture: When I visited Melbourne Australia, I was in awe of the buildings. They were dramatic in design. I was excited and eager to photograph them. My examples are close ups of two buildings showing what I thought were the unique features of each.

Skies: From sunsets to clouds, skies help us create drama in our photographs. They also accent our subjects. Peacefulness and excitement describe my feelings for the next two photographs.

An environmental act: A tree falling down certainly creates drama especially for the homeowner! What more can I say except YIKES for this. Maybe gratefulness that my property wasn’t involved!

Shadows: Shadows accent structures, especially bridges. I remember being on the other side of the Fair Oaks Bridge and walking down to see what I could photograph from this side. It was then I saw the shadows bringing the bike rider toward me. I was happy that I walked to capture this image.

These images spoke to me and brought me into the photo. That’s why I love photography!

Thank you Patti for having us go deeper into our photographs. When you respond to this challenge please link to her original post and tag Lens-Artists. I enjoyed seeing all your favorites from last year. I remembered a lot of them. Ann-Christine will be presenting next week’s challenge.

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

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 27 Comments

Mother Nature Rules: Rush Ranch

I know there are photographers who choose to photograph in the right light and weather conditions. Me? I take what I can get. Here in sunny Northers California, we’ve been dealing with rain, fog and cold temperatures. I needed to get out with my camera and Richard was willing to drive me. I think he needed to get away too. So off we went to Rush Ranch in Suisun City located near Fairfield.

During the little more than 1 hour ride, he kept questioning me about photographing in the fog which didn’t get better as we headed west. I love fog, and, of course, clouds also add to our pictures. He’s an astronomer and fog and clouds are his enemy.

When we got to Rush Ranch, part of the Solano County Land Trust, the fog had not dissipated. I didn’t care. I had been here before, but this time they had horses, wet grass and mud. What more could you want!

Here are some of the images I took during our short visit.

I’m planning to go back with my photo buddies when the sun is out. I’m sure the ranch will have a different look and feel.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 56 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #281: Favorite Images of 2023

Do resolutions truly work? Which is more important, looking back or moving forward? In our Lens Artists community all three are important. With this challenge we are looking back at our favorites from 2023.

And we are looking forward to 2024 as we welcome Ritva of Ritva Sillanmaki Photography and Egídio of Through Brazilian Eyes to the Lens Artists team. We know they will bring their marvelous photography, extensive travel experiences, and fresh insight to our weekly challenges. Please join us in extending a warm welcome to them. Click on the links to Ritva and Egídio’s blogs at the end of today’s post to follow them and receive all of our upcoming Lens Artists challenges. 

And now for my favorites of 2023. My feelings about 2023 are all over the place. Very positive and enjoyable and then very difficult. Let’s talk about the first part of the year which was wonderful with my trip to Melbourne Australia. My friends Sandy and Peg and I were able to visit and photograph with Leanne Cole for three wonderful days in Port Campbell. Here are some favorites from that trip.

Maist Rest Rain Forest
Building in Melbourne
Twelve Apostles
Web Bridge

And you know how much I love photographing macro subjects. Here are three of my flowers and some of their guests.

Here are some single favorites.

The difficult part of 2023 came in August when I was rearended and suffered a severe whiplash. I wasn’t able to do photography for a few months. And if it weren’t for my wonderful photo buddies taking me to places close and for short durations, I would have gone bonkers. You don’t know how important that camera is until you can’t use it!

January has me looking forward to more photo opportunities. I’m trying to add more time to the outings without traveling far. I don’t make resolutions, but I do pick words. This year is gratitude. Living in gratitude. And, I’m grateful for all of you in the Lens-Artists community and look forward to sharing photos with you in 2024.

Here is a list of our team. Please be sure to follow us so you don’t miss a challenge!

Next week Patti will be leading the challenge, so look for her post. Let’s have a great 2024!

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 42 Comments

Happy New Year! An overcast end to 2023: Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge

To say 2023 ended better than 2022 isn’t saying much. 2022 ended with fog. Laura, Marlene and I went up to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge where we found zero visibility. We thought it might lift in an hour or two, so we went out to lunch at the only place open in Willows on Christmas Day. It didn’t help!

So 2023 proved to be slightly better with overcast weather. So Laura, Ray and I went up to the refuge. Yes, it was better, but still no sunshine. This was a true test of the 18-300 mm Tamron lens. It worked well.

The birds weren’t too happy either. We didn’t see eagles, but there were lots of turkey vultures. Stay tuned for the weather in 2024!

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 46 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #280: Last Chance

It’s not very often in life that you get a second or last chance. It’s like seeing a purse in a store that you like but can’t decide to buy it. You go back to get it the next day, and it’s gone. Today Tina gives us that second chance, and our photos aren’t going away!

I had fun looking through my early years of photography to avoid Tina’s one rule of not having posted the image in LAPC before. Here are my choices.

Big Fork Montana
Bodie California
Coyote Point Lincoln Calif.
Effie Yeaw
Kauai, Hawaii
Having lunch near the Sutter Buttes
Sunrise in Coloma California
Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley
A Yolo Art & Ag Outing

Thanks to Ann-Christine for reminding us that there is still magic in this world in her challenge last week. I enjoyed seeing your memorable, magical posts. And thanks to Tina for this fun challenge. When you respond to her post, please link to it and use the Lens-Artists tag. Right now, WordPress is having trouble with the Lens-Artists tag in the reader, but we are making every effort to see all your posts.

And now for some end of the year news from the LAPC team: After having been an integral part of our team since its inception in June of 2018, Amy of Share and Connect will be leaving the team to begin an exciting new adventure. She and her husband will be traveling more extensively and making some happily-anticipated visits with family. We wish her all the best and look forward to her posts as she continues to respond to our challenges whenever possible.  We are also announcing that this will be the final Lens-Artists challenge of 2023. We will return on January 6 to begin the New Year with our traditional Favorite Photos of 2023. We look forward to seeing you all again then. In the meanwhile we wish all who celebrate the happiest of holidays as well as a peaceful and joy-filled 2024. 

See you in 2024. Have a great New Years and stay safe!

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 35 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #279: Magical

I remember going to the Magic Castle in Los Angeles to watch the magicians perform. Wow, what a treat. But that’s magic created by humans. Ann-Christine’s challenge this week is to find magic in special people, places, things, nature, adventures, childhood memories, etc.  

Mother Nature’s magic is a little different. Well, not a little. She creates weather patterns that we enjoy, giving us sunshine, rain, fog, etc. Sometimes there’s too much rain or not enough. That’s the magic of the Salmon Fall Bridge. It disappears under the Amercian River when there’s a lot of rain and reappears during a drought.

Now a State Historic Landmark, Salmon Falls is a former settlement and gold mining town in on the South Fork of the American River It was flooded by the construction, in the 1950s, of Folsom Lake. Waterfalls were nearby and that’s how the town got its name.

Salmon Falls is usually under water throughout much of the year. However, at low-water levels old foundations, roads, and the old Salmon Falls Bridge are easily accessible. That is when we hiked down to it.

In the following pictures, you can see the bridge in the distance, some of the town’s ruins, one of my photo buddies navigating the stream, and teepees that some kids had fun making.

We’re getting close now. The stone bridge is truly a beautiful structure. I liked the shadows and the reflections in the water.

We’ve crossed the bridge and walked downstream a bit where there is more water. Back upstream visitors had fun piling rocks to form cairns. Will they last through the next flood situation?

They are predicting some heavy rains for this area this winter. I’m wondering what magic Mother Nature has in store for us!

Thank you, Ann-Christine, for reminding us that there is still magic to behold. Please link to her original post when you create your magical experience and use the Lens-Artist tag. I enjoyed seeing your unique responses to Amy’s challenge last week. Tina will be presenting next week’s challenge so look for her blog post.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 40 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #278: Unique

What is unique to some, may not be unique to others. It all depends on your life experiences. This week, Amy is asking us to post pictures of places and things unique to us. Since I began photography as a hobby 10 years ago, I have been to places that were surprisingly different/amazing to me.

Let’s start with the Coachella Valley Preserve in Thousand Palms, California. I had never seen an oasis before, and here was one in the California desert. You can see a large cluster of palm trees in the middle of a desert. As we walked through the preserve, we saw pools of water that fed the thirsty trees.

Have you ever tried light painting? Yes, painting with light and captured with your camera. You can’t do it alone because someone needs to hold the light source. And, of course, it has to be dark. One of my camera groups hosted this unique experience.

I remember seeing a giant sequoia for the first time. That definitely was a WOW experience. The sequoias occur naturally only in groves on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California. They can grow up to 279 tall and have a diameter of 20 to 26 feet. This is one tree you just can’t hug!

Redding California is home to the Sun Dial Bridge. It’s a steel, glass, and granite bridge that crosses the Sacramento River and is simply beautiful, especially at night. This bridge is one of the largest sundials in the world. Its shadow traces an arc that is so big it can record time for only four hours a day, from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. When visible, the shadow moves about one foot per minute.

The Folsom Powerhouse is “an example of the tremendous advance in the commercial application of electricity. H.P. Livermore realized that the water of the American River could turn generators for electricity in Sacramento, 22 miles downstream. With his partners, Livermore built the powerhouse, which still looks much as it did in 1895.” During a docent led tour, of the small facility we learned how amazing this was. And it was certainly unique in that time.

Yes, my camera has shown me many unique places. I’m sure there will be more to come.

Please remember to link to Amy’s post when you respond to this challenge and use the Lens-Artist tag in the reader. Last week, thanks to Patti, we enjoyed seeing many empty spaces and variations on the theme. I appreciated your imagination and photography. Next week Ann-Christine will be leading the challenge so be sure to look for her post. Until then, stay safe this holiday season.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 39 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #277: Empty Spaces

I like that we always learn through LAPC challenges. This week, Patti has taught me the difference between negative and empty space. She challenges us to post images where the empty space draws the viewer’s eyes to the subject, conveys a mood, or creates a more dramatic scene. I’m not sure my images are moody or dramatic, but they bring me joy and serenity.

First, let’s look at how plain blue sky creates an empty space that accentuates the birds I captured. I do tend to crop in, almost too much, but the idea is still there.

The same goes for water. Sandhill Cranes are usually mid-way in fields and difficult to photograph with my maxed out 300 mm reach. But these were in nice blue water. Did I get lucky? The blue empty space helped create enough of a contrast, helping to sharpen the cranes.

I like landscapes. As a compositional tool, I try to find something that will lead the viewer through the image. The grass area, pulls you into the trees, creating a pathway through the image.

Man can copy nature by building roads or pathways that take you across rivers on bridges. Cement provides the empty space that draws us in.

Back to nature, this family is enjoying some empty space at the river’s edge provided by this sandy beach.

A field and blue-sky accent these wind turbines. It also helps that the field has crop lines that lead your eyes into the picture.

My last picture is a sunset that is dominated by a sky leading us down to the setting sun. We then follow through to the reflection in the water.

Thank you, Patti, for teaching us a very useful compositional technique. When you respond to this challenge, please remember to link to Patti’s original post and use the Len’s-Artists tag in the reader. I enjoyed seeing all your ups and downs as you responded to guest host James’ post. He taught us another great tool. Next week, it’s Amy will be leading the challenge with “Unique.”

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

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 28 Comments

Happy Thanksgiving: Some changes at the zoo!

Happy pre-Thanksgiving to all who celebrate! There’s a new animal at the Sacramento Zoo: meet the White Rhinoceros. That’s his keeper behind the fence. She just kept feeding him. I wonder how much he eats in a day! He’s a big guy!

An orangutan was enjoying a snack of romaine lettuce.

The alligator was patiently waiting.

This meercat was the lookout guard at the top of the small mountain.

This raven (I think) caught its meal.

One of the cheetahs posed for me.

The flamingos are back. They are being housed in the former enclosure of the chimpanzees after they were sent to different zoos that had more space for them in a jungle like enclosure. The flamingos are still kept in a glass enclosure because of the avian flu.

What was this zebra trying to tell me?

These are the changes at the zoo. They are planning a move to Elk Grove in a much better location with more space for more animals. It will take about 4 to 5 years. So stay tuned.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 54 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #276: Looking Up; Looking Down

This week James of Jazzibee wants us to look up and down; but in order to do that, I have to look back! Yes, look back in my archives. I chose to look back at 2019. This is what I found.

I try to pay attention to my surroundings when I’m out on a photo outing, but I tend to miss tiny details. So I try to look down for flowers, butterflies and other insects. Looking down I found:

A butterfly and a big black bee. I haven’t seen one since.

From a bridge I saw two people rowing in the river and one person finished for the day.

From a parking lot in Old Folsom, I was looking down on the ice rink. And from a window in the same lot I could look down on the street.

Here are three more: a lotus leaf in a pond, a rusty pail, and a daffodil.

I tend to pay more attention to the scenery that surrounds me, and I look up.

Calaveras Big Trees State Park. Giant Sequoias.

Apple Hill in the Fall.

Culinary Institute of America Napa Valley. Lobby and one of the buildings.

I’ll close with images of a ceiling of a covered bridge, a bird on a branch, and a staircase.

Thank you, James, for urging all of us to be aware of our surroundings when we are on a photo outing. I enjoyed my trip back into 2019.

And I thank you for all your wonderful responses to last week’s challenge. I certainly saw varied frame filling. It was a lot of fun. When you respond to James’s challenge, be sure to link back to his post and put Lens-Artists in the Reader. Next week Patti will be challenging us, so be sure to look for her blog post.