I didn’t mean to tease, but various challenges had me show pictures from the architecture of the Manetti Shrem Museum on the campus of U.C. Davis in Davis. I promised more images in a forthcoming post. Well, here it is!
The building is amazing with its curves, lines, angles and shapes. So lets look at the outside. Notice how the shadows created by the building are art in themselves.
Next post, we’ll take a look inside!
While I don’t enjoy driving on curvy roads, I do like photographing these roads that meander and bring our vision into a photograph. This week Ann-Christine is asking us to post images of curves. I look for curves in most of my compositions.
I’ve chosen to sort through my 2020 archives. I love trees and the way the trunk bends, branches bend and leaves hang.
At Mare Island I saw all types of curves.
Next we have three different types of curves: A different kind of cucumber, a sculpture wheel and a hillside of poppies that curves on the horizon.
And a beautiful curvy road near Sugar Pine Reservoir.
My exception from 2020 images is this one taken recently at the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art. This museum’s architecture is amazing with curves and lines. You’ll be seeing more in coming posts.
There are curves, man made and nature made, all around us. Thank you Ann-Christine for helping us become aware of the softness around us. When you post your curves please link to Ann-Christine’s post and tag Lens-Artists so we can find you in the reader. Amy will be presenting next week’s challenge.
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, we have easy to follow instructions. Just click this link and join us: https://photobyjohnbo.wordpress.com/about-lens-artists/
Let’s hope you see more birds once I get my new Fuji 100 – 400 mm lens. To do most wildlife photography, I’ve been using my Nikon D7100 and an old metal F/4 300 mm prime lens. It was almost impossible for me to hold until Ray made me a short monopod that helps hold the camera and lens steady. The other problem is the Nikon itself. It’s not very good in low light. So photographing in cloudy and overcast days was difficult.
So, I finally decided to try the Fuji lens which I hope is lighter. It’s coming tomorrow. Meanwhile, Laura and I recently went to our local wildlife area in Yolo County, just across from Old Sacramento. The Yolo Bypass is a favorite for local photographers.
I was lucky to get a series of a great egret hunting for what ended up being a cricket, beetle or some other bug.
There were also some other birds.
And then two cormorants.
Get ready and fly.
I’m not sure what bird this is but….
And here are some landscapes taken with my Fuji.
Now, I’m anxious to test out my new lens, but we will have to wait!
I’m happiest when I have my macro lens on my camera. Yes, I love macro and close up photography. But Patti is correct in this week’s challenge of getting close and closer. Getting close to the subject changes the story slightly. My images are cropped sections of a larger area, but I believe the feeling is the same.
To begin, we visited the Manetti Shrem Museum, an art museum on the U. C. Davis campus. More than what’s inside, I love the exterior. All the lines and angles. They can also be found inside. The first image shows some of the exterior as seen from the hall in the museum. The second photo is cropped in to show more of the detail in the metal. The shadows also add design to the image.
The second set shows a winter scene at Donner Lake. Photographed from the roadside, the long, curved driveway invites the viewer toward the home. I drastically cropped in the image to show the window and its reflection which creates a design of its own. I’m glad we can crop in a photo and respect the owner’s property.
Next we have a path at Fort Ross on the California Coast. Uncropped it shows a winding path leading through a tree umbrella. Cropped, the focus is on the detail of the trees.
Last we have an old farm building. This was taken at one of the Yolo Art and Ag Project farm visits. In the landscape a photographer is taking a picture of the same building. In the close up, I focused on the window. Processing it in black and white added a more realistic quality to the age of the building. Do you think the photographer was doing the same thing?
Thank you Patti for showing us how getting closer can change the look, feel and story of an image. And thank you Tina for encouraging us to find our oddest ends last week. Next week, Ann-Christine will lead our challenge. Please remember to link to Patti’s post and tag Lens-Artists so we can find your post in the WordPress Reader.
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, we have easy to follow instructions. Just click this link and join us: https://photobyjohnbo.wordpress.com/about-lens-artists/
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!
This challenge is a challenge for me because I don’t typically keep photos that don’t make it into my blog posts. Maybe I’m too good of a housekeeper! But, I do have one, only because I did a post, forgetting that I hadn’t finished editing. So for Tina’s challenge this week, here is a macro image of an orchid from Green Acres Nursery.
And I did find this one of a flamingo’s rear that I don’t think made it into a Sacramento Zoo post. Let’s just call it “art!”
And here are some true odds and ends I did find in my archives. First the lumber jack from the LumberJacks restaurant and a metal chicken sculpture nearby. These were taken while out with my friend Marlene. We were looking for a metal horse sculpture. Never found it.
I must include these photos from 2020 just before the pandemic hit because I haven’t been able to get good photographs of almond blossom trees since. In 2021 we had a BIG wind storm before we were supposed to go out to photograph an orchard, and all the blossoms were blown off the trees. This year we were one week too late.
I’ll end with an iris from my garden. The plant bloomed one year in 2020 and never again!
Thanks Tina, from now on I’ll leave some Odds and Ends as I process.
Thank you all for participating in Karina’s (Murtagh’s Meadows) Special Places challenge last week. It was interesting to visit your special places. Next week Patti will host the challenge.
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, we have easy to follow instructions. Just click this link and join us: https://photobyjohnbo.wordpress.com/about-lens-artists/
I’ve not been feeling well, but I wanted to get our with my camera. Where to go that’s close? Maybe somewhere I can do macro photography. Of course, Green Acres Nursery in Citrus Heights! And it’s about 10 minutes from my home. I met Marlene there and we set out for some photo penicillin.
I like this particular Green Acres because their flowers are under shade and easier to photograph. We stayed about an hour and then went out for lunch. A short but sweet visit. Here are some images from that trip.
It’s great to have such a wonderful garden nursery nearby that allows photographers to take photos. Thanks Green Acres!
Oh my, how do you choose your special place and why is it special? Karina of Murtagh’s Meadows is asking just that.
After thinking and thinking I realized a place that is so special to me that I want to return. Disneyland! Yes, Disneyland!! I just love that retreat into a world of fantasy and wonder. I even did a speech at my Toastmasters club on it. Let’s go back to the beginning of my fascination with Disneyland.
My introduction to this fantasy world was at age 15 1/2 in 1959. Mom and I had just moved to Los Angeles from the Bronx, NY. My aunt took me and my cousins to see this magical place. Now, just imagine my world had just been a few square blocks in the Bronx. I had no idea of what was beyond. We did get to the Bronx Zoo and Botanical Gardens but that was about it. If Los Angeles gave me culture shock, just imagine what Disneyland did!
At that time, it was still new and much smaller, but I was on overwhelm and was hooked. As a mother, I took my boys out of school once a year to have fun at Disneyland. We got there when the park opened and left when they closed the gates.
My love for the park never changed. One sweet memory was when Richard and I went on our own in 2006–no kids. I had to see Mickey Mouse. My collection of Mickeys is a story for another blog. We stood on line outside Mickey’s house in Toon Town with all the other parents and kids. After what seemed forever, we got to Mickey. “Where’s the kid?” His helper called out. “Here I am,” I yelled. This is the result.
Later that year, I went to the park again with my oldest daughter-in-law and grandkids. This time we stayed at one of the Disney hotels. No waiting on line to have my picture taken with Mickey.
In 2010 my friends Sandy, Gloria and I went to Disneyland. It was a 2-day stay which was long enough for us. My interest in photography hadn’t taken hold yet but I did get one reflection with my point and shoot.
Now for the trip of a lifetime for a Disney fan–six days at Disney World in Orlando. In 2014, our kids were attending a trade show in Orlando for the family company. With Richard retired, he and I entertained the grandkids once the trade show started. I was armed with my D3100 and enjoyed taking pictures of the grands. It was a long time since I saw a Disney park through a child’s eyes.
While Disney World was unforgettable, Disneyland is still my favorite. I keep talking about going back, but I also keep getting older. The park is also getting more expensive! But, whether I get back there or not, Disneyland will always be my special place.
Thank you Karina for bringing me back at least in spirit. When you tell us about your special place, remember to link to Karina’s post and use the Lens-Artists tag to help us find you. Next week Tina takes the lead with her Odds and Ends challenge.
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, we have easy to follow instructions. Just click this link and join us: https://photobyjohnbo.wordpress.com/about-lens-artists/
Sometimes the spirit is more willing than Mother Nature wants to give us. Recently Laura and I went to the U.C. Davis Arboretum, in Davis, to photograph the red buds and the wildlife it attracts. Yes, our spirits were willing to take the images, but there were hardly any red buds and birds. We did find some.
I’m guessing there might be more now. But we did find some nice scenery. I had my 55 – 200 mm lens on my Fujifilm XT3 so I did a lot of stepping back for some of these landscape shots.
We did come across a group of cormorants sitting on the shore of the creek. I focused on this one.
And, I couldn’t resist photographing flowers and more in close up.
When I needed to rest, Laura went further while I sat on a bench and people (and dog) watched.
So, our red bud search gave us a beautiful walk and a lot of photo opportunities even if we didn’t see many red buds on the trees.
Just think about the photographs you’ve reviewed lately. I bet a lot of them include either a foreground or background of water. Water enhances our photos, adding impact. Photographing it is also fun and sometimes a challenge. My dear friend Jean, who passed away recently, loved to photograph anything water. In fact, many outings were diverted because she saw a sign saying there was a lake or other water nearby. This was taken on one of Jean’s detours.
The San Francisco Bay near Port Costa.
Water is featured in many landscapes. This ocean picture was taken in Pacific Grove.
This Folsom Lake image was taken before the drought hit last year. The sailboat is the focus, and the water gives it location.
Bridges usually go over water and in Sacramento County we have many that help us get to the other side of the rivers. I took this one recently of the Rainbow Bridge, a Folsom landmark, and the American river. Reflections in the water add a certain dynamic.
Water can also be the focus of our pictures. Waterfalls, from the great Niagara Falls (the American and Bridal Veil falls), to the small falls at our local Dry Creek are focus points. At Dry Creek, I was handholding the camera and trying to show water as silky by slowing down the shutter speed. I’ve yet to master that because I don’t often carry my tripod! One day I will get up early, plant myself at the ocean, put on my neutral density filter and photograph beautiful waves as they hit the rocky shoreline.
Here’s another handheld close-up image of water coming out of a pipe. This just shows that water of any kind can be fun to shoot. Next is a macro image of a water drop on a leaf. I had a lot of fun taking that one. Finally, the last of this trio shows simple drops of water on lotus pads.
Oh, the last bit of water I’ve had fun with is the snow. Fortunately, here in Sacramento we don’t live with the snow, but we can visit it. Here’s an image of a home in Blue Canyon one hour up the interstate. The second image is of icicles (And their reflection in a window) on a cabin at Donner Lake which is 1 ½ hours away.
I’ll end my show and tell here, but what water fun have you had? Please show us your water fun and tell us about it. Go through your archives and retrieve some memories or find new liquid delights to photograph this week. We’re anxious to see your images. Please remember to use the Lens-Artists tag and to link to this post.
Thank you for participating in Sophia’s challenge of “Low Light” last week. Next week we are pleased to have Karina of Murtagh’s Meadow as our guest host. I wonder what she has in store for us.
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, we have easy to follow instructions. Just click this link and join us:
https://photobyjohnbo.wordpress.com/about-lens-artists/
Slow Shutter Speed 