What happens when you go on weekly photo outings and then get busy with other things? You forget to post your pictures! Yes, I have a few from the later part of 2024 to show you. These were taken at Chalk It Up, Effie Yeaw Nature Center, Rollins Lake, The American River and the Yolo Countryside.
There’s more to come. I’ll post those next week–I hope!
It’s funny that Tina should have us talking about cats and dogs, because it’s raining here right now and at times you’d think it was raining cats and dogs!
Did you have a dog when you were growing up? I didn’t! And we spent the first 7 years of our marriage without a pet. To be honest, we moved nine times in those 7 years–not conducive to having a pet. But when we bought our first house, we adopted our first dog. We’ve had one ever since. Most were adopted; two were purchased.
You’ve probably guessed that we are partial to dogs. They listen better, don’t jump on food prep counters, etc. Mostly they give back love and allegiance. Unfortunately, I didn’t start photography until we got our latest family member, Gem our Schnoodle. He’s 20 pounds of stubborn joy. Here he is as a young dog. I made the mistake of using him as a model while I was doing the 365 challenge. Now he leaves the room when I take out a camera!
He’s now 14 1/2, has a heart condition, and we are doing the best we can for him. He’s even more stubborn in his old age, wanting his daily walk and treats. I have a stroller for him when he tires.
Here are some other dogs I’ve come across during my photo outings.
And there’s always a dog at Chalk It Up!
Now on to the feline subjects of Tina’s challenge. In the past years, I’ve softened my stance on cats, but not enough to own one; or have one own me! Here are some I’ve met.
Then there are the residents of Dead Cat Alley in Woodland, Ca. Well worn ceramic statues adorn a three-blook alley.
And finally at Chalk It Up, I found one of our favorite cat characters.
We’ve come to a difficult decision to not get another dog after Gem passes. At our ages, we wouldn’t get a puppy because we don’t want to leave a dog behind and caring for another senior dog is also something we don’t look forward to. I’m hoping Gem will make it to his 15th birthday. In the meantime, it’s love, love, love!
I enjoyed all the colorful posts last week. Egidio’s challenge put us in a wonderful and complimentary world. I also look forward to seeing your dogs and cats. When you respond, please link to Tina’s post and use the Lens-Artists tag.
Until next week, live in gratitude and be resilient!
I chose to live in gratitude this year, and given the world condition, it’s difficult. So, thank you Patti for reminding me there is always hope and encouraging us to look into our own lives to show what gives us hope.
My rose garden, which I’ve neglected this year and still blooms, gives me hope. I’m not a gardener, but these roses have the resilience to show their beauty without much help from me. Maybe if individually we each show our beauty of spirit we can help bring beauty into this world.
Animals in their own habitat also give me hope. They live life simply and naturally. Some only hunt when hungry and some live off the land.
Holidays and festivities give me hope. For a short while we gather and enjoy, laugh and become childlike. Each year our community has a July 4th parade where golf carts, cars and bikes are decorated. If you’re not in the parade, you’re watching it. This is followed by a good old fashioned hot dog lunch.
Dedication to a passion brings me hope. When I’m out with my camera, I don’t think of other things. I just enjoy. My camera brings me to nature and sometimes artistic festivals where artists display their talents. One such festival is Chalk it Up. These artists paint with chalk, putting their all into it only to have it last a few days. Their dedication to their art and wanting to bring joy to others gives me hope.
I love trees–big ones like our Giant Sequoias and small ones; trees with leaves and those without. Trees are expressive in the way their branches bend, or stand out straight. Trees are strong and have a certain energy. Have you hugged a tree lately?
I’ll end with sunflowers. Just looking at them as they follow the sun, gives me hope. Their determination to blossom every year in the same fields shows that given the right care they will continue to smile at us. Can we give the world the right care and have it smile back?
We may not be able to change the world, but we can affect our small micro world and create hope. We can offer hope to our family and friends by helping and caring for them.
Thank you Patti, for reminding us that there is still hope. When you respond to her challenge, please remember to link to her original post and use the Lens-Artists tag. I truly enjoyed your responses to Tina’s challenge last week of Children (human and animal). What a joy they are, giving us hope. Next week Ann-Christine will be presenting the challenge, so look for her post. Until then, stay safe and have hope!
This is one challenge I’m not twisting and putting my own spin on for John’s Art in the Park. I’m presenting two pieces of public art that I think are amazing. The first is our annual Chalk It Up held every September in Fremont Park. This park is a large square block where chalk artists gather annually to sketch and paint images. The amazing part for me is that these art works will disappear within a few days. To put that much effort into creating a work of art only to have it gone, takes something special from the artists. We usually get there early to avoid the crowds. These images were taken in 2021 and have been posted on my blog. I’m hoping that you will enjoy seeing them again or appreciate them for the first time. The artists paint with liquid chalk or color with regular sidewalk chalk.
My next art in the park selection is dear to me and tugs at my heart strings. It can be found in the World Peace Rose Garden next to our State Capitol building. My husband is a Vietnam Veteran and was a radio operator traipsing through the jungles. The sculptures depict the medics, the wounded and the soldiers who walked through the jungles. They are simply amazing. And it’s a sad day in history that our soldiers came home to such a poor reception. I’m so glad that the wrong is being righted.
I’m happy to share these two pieces of art. Thank you John for this challenge. Remember to link to this post and use the Lens-Artists tag in the reader section. Next week Amy will be presenting a wonderful challenge so look for her post.
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.
For her first challenge as an LAPC Team member, Donna Holland of Wind Kisses has chosen the topic of Messages. I am challenged with this challenge!! When I photograph and later look at my images my messages are in the form of feelings. So I’m hoping my feelings will turn into messages for you.
My first visit is to the Sacramento Historical City Cemetery. This is a very old cemetery, full of history and simply beautiful. When I bring my camera to this cemetery, I’m overwhelmed with sadness and peace. There are family plots containing large and beautifully engraved monuments and/ or statues, and then there is the simple statement of great loss like this one grave marker. I guess the message is to live your life in gratitude.
The cemetery’s beauty is given to us by wonderful volunteers who plant flowers to bring joy for those of us who visit. There are roses, poppies, bushes and other beautiful florals. This rose had a guest and I just couldn’t resist taking its picture. The feeling is joy and the message might be any shelter is a good shelter!
On the topic of flowers, sunflowers always help me smile and feel great. I guess the message I get is “Don’t worry be happy!”
Typically, after we photograph our sunflowers, we go over to Mezger Zinnia patch in Woodland where the family plants flowers each year and encourages people to pick them and give them to someone who cannot come and pick the flowers themselves. They even provide vases. Typically, people will pick two bouquets; one for themselves and another for someone else. What does charity feel like. To me it feels like hope. The message I think is that people do care about each other.
Keeping with the yearly theme, Wide Open Walls happens once a year in Sacramento. In 2020 we found a very special mural dedicated to Ruth Bader Ginsberg shortly after her death. This mural symbolizes her determination to do the right thing while she sat on the Supreme Court. Seeing this mural filled me with pride as a woman. I guess the message is “Yes you can!”
Another image of determination is from the Nimbus Fish Hatchery. Each year salmon swim upstream to lay their eggs. Following their instincts, they do this facing certain death. I’m amazed at nature’s plan for survival. I would call that courage. I’m not sure what message it sends except that you need to do what your instincts tell you to do.
I’ll close with an image from the annual Chalk It Up Festival in Sacramento. Artists from all over gather and create their art with chalk. This art is beautiful, but it can’t last long. After the weekend festival, people will walk on it and sprinklers will spray water on their beauty. Why do the artists put all that effort into it? Do they get pleasure from seeing the enjoyment people get from their effort. I feel grateful that I get a chance to see their art. Maybe the message is to create joy for others.
Thanks Donna for this soul searching topic. At least it was for me. When you post your messages, be sure to link to Donna’s wonderful post. I know she, and the entire team, will want to see all your replies. Oh, be sure to use the Lens Artists tag. Next week it’s Patti’s turn to challenge us and she’s giving us a hint on her theme: Shadows & Reflections in Monochrome.
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.
To be honest, 2022 wasn’t my favorite year. I spent most of it in the blahs with a few exceptions. Now John has tasked us with the challenge to pick our favorite images of what was my blah year! To do this, I decided to pick one favorite from each month.
January: Laura and I went to the Point Reyes National Seashore. The Tule Elk were out. What is this one trying to tell me?
February: An outing to Grass Valley in the Sierra Nevada Foothills yielded this pine cone in perfect light.
March: Ray and I made our yearly pilgrimage to Lincoln to photograph Great Egrets and Blue Herons nesting in three trees.
April: Again another yearly visit to Ananda Village and their Tulip Festival. It’s the same each year and it’s always beautiful.
May: My year can’t be complete without showing you a visit to the Sacramento Zoo. One of my favorites is the pelican who lives with the flamingos. He’s missing a wing and can’t fly. This time he was close.
June: Our yearly trip to the Land Park pond to photograph the Lotus wasn’t as spectacular as previous years, but you never give up.
July: My wanting to get Downtown Sacramento building images ended with me getting a flat tire and the AAA driver getting lost! But I was able to get a few photographs.
August: brought us down the the Amtrak station in Sacramento. I tried in-camera double exposures and got one fairly good shot.
September: Another annual event, Chalk It Up. This artist’s piece of Gene Wilder was amazing.
October: I finally had the opportunity to photograph outside of my local area. I joined friends on a New England cruise. Before the cruise we spent time in Virginia. Here’s an image from the Luray Caverns.
November: My photo buddies and I went to the California Museum. It’s a place I need to return to without my camera. I spent a lot of time photographing angles and lines.
December: We were staying with the grandkids in Reno, Nevada when a snow storm hit. This is a picture of the sun rising on the mountains with houses and Reno below.
So that was my year in pictures. Thank you John for helping me realize it wasn’t a blah year after all. I’m anxious to see all of your favorites. When you post please remember to link to John’s post and use the Lens Artists tag. Next week Sofia leads the challenge so look for her post.
For more information on joining the challenge each week, check here.
Guest host Jude of Cornwell in Colours picked the perfect challenge for me because I love textures. I don’t mean the nice blended textures you put behind your subject ( Which I can’t do yet!). I mean the texture of your subject. We are drawn to color and texture.
For instance I love the colors of rust and its gritty texture. You’ll notice as it ages, the colors change and the metal degrades, adding to its beauty.
I also find texture in old non-rusted metal. This old worn large propeller from a ship shows lines and textures when photographed close up. You can just feel how its been worn during its use.
Each year Sacramento hosts Chalk It Up where artists draw with chalk or liquid chalk on a sidewalk square. The grit of the sidewalk and chalk create a texture no other canvas can duplicate.
A lion’s mane has texture although you wouldn’t want to get close enough to feel it!
Wood is another favorite texture of mine. It can be tree bark or siding on a building. It draws you in with its variation of color and natural design.
Last, plants give us the feeling of texture in their form, color and shape.
There are many more examples of texture, but I’ll stop here. Texture is all around us. Take it in, feel and experience it. Thank you Jude for helping me realize how important texture is to photography. When you respond to this challenge, please remember to link to her post and use the Lens-Artists tag.
Thank you all for responding for my challenge last week. I enjoyed learning about your amazing local wildlife. We saw birds, foxes, porcupines, bears, deer, squirrels and some small insects and bugs. It was great. Next week Tina will be leading the challenge 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.
Each year Fremont Park in Sacramento hosts Chalk It Up where artists claim a sidewalk square and create art with chalk. Some use liquid chalk and some use regular chalk. We went on the last day of the festival. I was surprised at how many artists were still at work. It was to be another triple digit day. So when we arrived at 7:30 a.m.. there were many others trying to beat the heat.
There were many wonderful squares, but you know art, it’s what you like! I narrowed down my many likes and came up with these to show you. First look at some artists at work.
These artists are willing to stop talk and explain their art. Next there were some pictures that were 3D.
Now, the best of the rest!
It was difficult to choose which pictures to show you. Maybe next year you’ll have to do down to see them for yourself. Or, find a festival like this in or near your home town.
Happy New Year everyone! Tina is asking us to post our favorites from 2021. It’s nice to have that in the past! Hopefully this year, we will move on to a more normal situation. What has gotten me through the last 2 years is photography. I’ve enjoyed going on photo outings with my friends, who have remained healthy and COVID free. Our small photo pod goes out once a week. I’m thinking lunch after our shoot is probably what we look forward to also.
And each week I would anxiously wait for our challenge each Saturday. Not only is posting here fun, I’ve learned so much from comments and seeing all your posts. This year, I’m honored and delighted to become part of the Lens-Artists team along with Sofia Alves of Photographias, and John Steiner of Journeys with Johnbo. We are joining Tina, Amy, Patti and Ann-Christine who have brought us fun challenges in past years. Thank you all for your dedication and hard work.
So, back to my favorites. The first two are lotus. Each year the William Land Park in Sacramento brings forth these beauties. I decided to take the chance and do a black & white of one of them. The other is in color.
I entered the McKinley Park Rose Garden contest last year. The roses were turning brown, and I just didn’t think my images would win against other images taken a week before. This rose won first prize.
While at the Mother Lode Fair in Sonora, this clown stuck his face right at my lens. Of course I didn’t send him away. This will be entered in this year’s photo contest at the fair.
Each year Sacramento hosts “Chalk It Up.” This is my favorite from that morning. It seems like the child is actually in the water. The artist is still working on it. The second photo is a slow shutter shot at a small fair in a Citrus Heights Mall parking lot.
Next we have the back view of the Bourn Cottage in the Empire Mine State Historic Park in Nevada City. And also the ceiling in a restaurant that burned down a few weeks after my photo pod and I ate lunch there! I can’t go back for another shot!
Coming into the Holiday season last year, Donna and I, at the last minute, because it wasn’t raining, to photograph Christmas light displays. I do like to have fun zooming. The photos are handheld.
Last are photos from my trip to the Sacramento Zoo on December 30. I’m still in the processing stage, but I thought these were worth posting now. The flamingo is sleeping, but opens its eye. Maybe it felt the camera’s presence?
Thank you Tina for prompting me to look through last year’s outings.
Again it’s a pleasure to be a part of the LAPC team along with Tina, Patti, Amy, Ann-Christine and new members Sofia and John. I’m looking forward to seeing all your favorites. Next week Tina will be presenting the challenge. Be sure to tag Lens Artists when you post.
Remember when you were a kid playing with sidewalk chalk? Each year Sacramento takes it a step further with their Chalk It Up contest held Labor Day weekend. Artists are invited from all over to paint with chalk at Fremont Park. Some squares are sponsored by a business or organization.
Last year, because of the pandemic the 2020 festival was shown all over Sacramento, typically in front of the artists’ homes. In 2021 the show returned to Fremont Park and other venues around Sacramento — a big change for us visitors.
We went to the park early, before the start time, in the morning before the crowds came. Fortunately, some of the artists started early; unfortunately some had their work covered by plastic sheeting.
But there were enough to make the trip worthwhile. Here are some I liked and then I’ll show you my favorites.
Now my favorites.
I’m always amazed with what these artists create with sidewalk chalk and liquid chalk. I can’t wait for next year.
Slow Shutter Speed 