Posted on by Anne Sandler · 40 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #326: This Made Me Smile

There’s nothing more contagious than a smile. Try it. Just smile at a stranger, and they will smile back. You can also wave. For me a smile is hope. And thank you Ann-Christine for showing us that we can still find hope and smile.

So what makes me smile? I’ve chosen five things that help me smile. Let’s start with animals. First, here is my friend Marlene talking with an alpaca; and, second, a zebra at the Sacramento Zoo with an itch.

Now let’s move on to landscapes. I do smile when I see a field of flowers or a mountain covered with wildflowers. Each year the poppies and sunflowers come out, and I try to get capture them with my camera. Because the sunflowers are farmed, they are easier to find. However, to capture a field of wild poppies is more difficult.

How many of you have chuckled when you saw a clever sign? I love that people will pass along their sense of humor to the public. I have two signs to show you. One is outside the bathroom at the Charles Schultz Museum in Santa Rosa and the other at Ruhstaller Farm in Dixon.

Ruhstaller Farm

If you’ve followed this blog, you know I love trees. They are so expressive and bring me joy.

And last, are people. They don’t have to smile at you to have you smile; they just need to be themselves in the moment. Here is my now teenage grandson at the California State Railroad Museum for the first time and a mother and son enjoying the music at a county fair.

Have these images brought a smile to your face? I hope so. Thank you Ann-Christine for helping us smile this week. When you post your response, remember to link to Ann-Christine’s original post and use the Lens-Artists tag.

Last week week Tina prepared us for smiling with her gratitude theme. I enjoyed seeing what you are all grateful for. Sometimes we just need a little poke to help us remember the goodness in life. Next week Sofia will present the challenge, so look for her post.

In the meantime smile and live in gratitude.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 33 Comments

Lens-Artists Challenge #201: Three of a Kind

Today, Ann-Christine challenges us to create a post that has” three separate images that are somehow related.” She also explains that, “There is a special word for this art of three – triptych.” Yes, we learn something new every day.

Now, I don’t usually go on a photo outing with the thought of creating a series of three images that are related to each other, and I thought this would be a daunting challenge. How surprised I was to find, while going through my archives, that I do take a series when there is something interesting. So here are my “triptych” trios.

A ride at the Nevada County Fair. This is a kids ride of cars that starts off slowly and then increases to a rapid spin. Picture one is stationary, two is starting the spin, and three is at maximum.

Sculptured abstract. You’ve seen part of this next trio in our recent “Light and Shadow” challenge. I posted the sculpture and its shadow, but today I’ll add an abstract taken when I got really close with a long lens. This was taken in West Sacramento.

Trains. Now on to the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento. This is always a fun place to take a camera. This old train was sitting on mirrored glass. The mirrors were also overhead and to the side. What fun I had. These are not the only images of this fantastic opportunity I took that morning. First is the train reflected on the glass. Second is the side of the train reflected on the glass above. Last is the top of the train in reflection.

Yard art. For my last trio, I’m taking you to the Antique Trove in Roseville. We go there when we need to be indoors because of rain or heat. It was rainy, but the back part (yard) was open. I saw cute owl sculptures.

I believe if I kept going through my archives, I’d find more trios. I think we instinctively take photos this way.

Thank you Ann-Christine for a fun challenge, teaching us a new word and helping me find more insight into how I photograph.

And thanks to Amy and her “Every little thing” challenge. She reminded me that small joys can overcome large burdens. Next week Sofia will present her challenge on Minimalism/Maximalism–Single or Flamboyant, Plain or ”More Is More”? Intrigued? Look for her post.

Remember, to link your post to Ann-Christine’s and use the Lens-Artists tag.

 If you 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 by Anne Sandler

Too hot outside; shoot inside: The California State Railroad Museum, Old Sacramento

When it’s triple digits, it’s even too hot to shoot in the early morning hours. And even though I had been to Old Sacramento for the Sacramento Music Festival, I suggested the California State Railroad Museum. There were three of us that morning, Jim, Marlene and me from our Camera Totin’ Tuesday group.

Jim went in without flash, but an excellent lens. Marlene went in with a great lens and flash. I went in with my 18 – 140 mm lens and flash. Jim gave me the excellent hint that he was shooting on Aperture Priority. So I tried it out. It worked well. This is where you set the aperture and the camera does the rest. Oh, I didn’t mention that the lighting was lousy: low light with different bulbs, some LEDs and some tungsten. So there were patches of yellow light and some with white light. I found my flash useful in some cases and in others not. This was a great exercise in flash use.

I’ve been to the Railroad Museum with my young grandkids many times, but never with a camera. While we could use a flash, we couldn’t bring in tripods–another obstacle to make this shoot more difficult.

My spirits perked up when I found the mirrors! One of the trains was parked on a floor of mirrors, in front of a wall of mirrors, with mirrors overhead. This is either a photographers dream or nightmare! I had such fun. I’ll show you some of reflections I shot.

All in all, it was a great indoor outing. Followed by an indoor lunch. It’s triple digits again today. It’s going to be a hot summer!

 

The main room of the museum. Just a few cars are open for people to walk through.
I looked inside a passenger car. Look at how brightly it was painted.
They used mannequins throughout the museum.
This is a longer view of the same train.
Looking inside another passenger car.
A working train.
The cab of this steam train is open for people to go into. The last time my grandson visited, he sat in the engineer’s seat. It’s fun for kids.
I’m not sure what this train was used for, but it had a lot of natural light.–maybe too much?
This exhibit features Rosie The Riveter. During WWII many women took the place of men on assembly lines in factories.
Here come the mirrors. This one is a floor reflection.
Another floor reflection.
A wall reflection.
A ceiling reflection.
Another ceiling reflection.
Look at the kitchen in this dining car!
Look at the table set up! They traveled in style.
I couldn’t resist one more mirror. The cattle guard.