Once upon a time, a grandmother wanted to see the wild mustangs just outside of Reno while she was visiting her kids and grandkids. Her wish came true.
My son, daughter-in-law, grands and I piled in their SUV and began our trek. Our first stop wasn’t to see the horses. We stopped for chocolate. Oh my gosh–yum! We are going back there when I visit next.
On our way to the small town of Genoa, we spotted a horse family. A mare, her colt and the stallion. Here are some of the pictures I captured.
The final image is where they noticed me and decided to trot away. Their herd was nearby.
So grandma’s wish came true. These horses are just beautiful. I’m sure there will be another visit when I return.
“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.
Where did the time go? Wasn’t it just yesterday…….? When you’re a senior senior, (That second word was for emphasis!) time goes by so fast. And when you’ve graduated to become the matriarch of your family, you think of how fast time has flown by. Donna’s challenges typically send me on an emotional trip of some sort. Her Time challenge has me thinking of family, and most recently of my grandkids.
Wasn’t it just yesterday the younger set were:
And now they are:
Olivia and Ryan are now in middle and high schools. I remember picking Ryan up from elementary school and Olivia from preschool.
I also remember the older set of grands coming to my house before and after school. Here is Madison posing with her then boyfriend before her prom. And then at her wedding this year. Just 10 years apart.
And here is Christopher at his High School prom and at his sister’s wedding party.
Yes, time flies by. In October Richard and I will be celebrating our 60th wedding anniversary. Here’s the family at our 50th anniversary.
What will October 5th bring? Our family is scattered in three different states now. It’s amazing how time changes things, especially family dynamics.
Nothing can change the dynamics of LAPC when it comes to challenge responses. I so enjoyed seeing all your amazing black and white/monochrome images last week. They were creative and well done. As you respond to Donna’s challenge, please remember to link to her post and use the Lens-Artists tag.
Next week Egidio of Through Brazilian Eyes will be hosting our challenge. Be sure to look for his post. Until then, stay healthy and safe!
Memories, looking back at past trips and the fun they were. John is encouraging us to do just that, including how we got there.
When the kids were young we camped. We started with a small truck and camper, then graduated to a larger camper, then an 18′ trailer and then this 31′ 5th wheel.
This 5th wheel morphed us from camping to RVing. My most pleasant memories are of our travels in a small camper, cot set up for the baby over the dinette, the older kids out in tents, and totally enjoying a shower when one was available. RVing came when we were empty nesters. I will admit having the ability to shower whenever, having a full kitchen and not having to climb up into bed had it’s advantages. This trailer took us across the U.S. and many other places. I enjoyed the freedom RVing offered. Now we have an 18′ trailer that Richard uses for his astronomy trips.
Planes. In 1959 my mom and I traveled from NYC to LA, non-stop, on a prop ( Not sure if it was a prop jet?) plane in just 5 1/2 hours! (We were seated on the wing and as a teen, I watched the propellers.) But remember, we’ve made progress with our jet aircraft. It now takes maybe 12 hours to get across the U.S.! Sorry, just had to gripe!!
The most memorable plane trip was in 2014. It was the first plane trip for my younger set of grandkids. We were on our way to Disney World in Orlando with them and my son and daughter-in-law. It was great to experience the trip through the wonderment of their young eyes.
It was also their first trip to a Disney park. We had them by ourselves for a day. They are now 14 and 12 years old.
One type of transportation John left out of his title are ships. When I got my first camera, we took a cruise to Mexico with our friends, Sandy and Ken, on the Carnival line. Talk about a photo wonderland. That ship was so glitzy and I had so much fun.
A bonus to this cruise was spotting the Queen Mary, now a tourist attraction and hotel, docked nearby. What a great ship with an amazing history.
In less than 2 weeks, I’ll be joining my friends again for a New England Cruise. Richard has chosen to stay home, so I’ll be bunking with Sandy’s sister Peg. I can’t wait. I haven’t been away since 2014.
Thanks John for this trip down memory lane. Sometimes I think those are the best trips because we can keep reliving them over and over. When you respond to John’s post remember to link to his and use the Lens-Artists tag.
Also thanks for sharing all your favorite finds with us. It’s always fun to see other’s treasures. Next week Sofia will be presenting the challenge, so look for her post.
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.
This week, John asks us to share anything special about our birthdays. I’ve always had to share my birthday. No, not with another sibling, but a National holiday–Father’s Day! Are there any other June 18 birthdays out there? I sympathize with anyone who shares their special day with a major holiday.
Here’s a photo I have of a shared holiday in 2010. Richard is opening his Father’s Day gift and I’m opening my birthday gift.
Today, I’m sharing celebrations of many sorts. My grandkids have brought me great joy as they’ve grown up. Let’s begin with the older set.
Christopher
Prom 2010Birthday 2011
Madison
Prom 2013High School Graduation 2013
The younger set: Olivia and Ryan
They joined our family when Ryan was 3 and Olivia 10 months. They filled Greg and Jessica’s lives with joy and happiness. Ours too. Here are some fun first times with them.
I love this picture even though it is poor quality.At Christmas. Olivia is wearing her pretty Christmas dress while riding on Christopher’s shoulders.Our first zoo visit. Another favorite picture.Olivia wearing her Christmas dress while riding on Christopher’s shoulders.Ryan decorating his grandfather’s face!
Time moves on. All the grandkids have gotten older. I’m just happy that we’ve had the opportunity to watch our grandchildren progress through life. This is truly a cause for celebration!
Oh, I checked, and in 2023 my birthday will be exactly on Father’s Day!
We enjoyed your earth story posts from last week. They were varied and so interesting. Thank you. Please remember to tag John’s post so we can find it in the WordPress reader. Next week Sofia will host our challenge.
Can one picture really tell a story? It can, but it depends on the person whose memories it jiggles. This week Ann-Christine asks us to post one picture that tells one story. We can post more than one image along with its story. While going through my archives, I found I typically relate stories with people. Here are three from my past photographic adventures.
In this story, meet Greg Morris. We met when I began photography. We were both of advancing age and could easily keep up with each other. We began going on photo outings once a week. He would drive and I would buy lunch. I’d never knew where we would end up, but we took the day to get there and back. This was taken during a trip to the historical town of Locke in 2015. Always posting selfies (Set up in his home studio.) in our local camera group, it was logical that he would pose as the Mona Lisa for me.
Soon after that trip, Marlene joined us for the remainder of our adventures until Greg passed away from brain cancer.
This next story takes place in Palm Desert in 2016. We joined my cousins at their time share. They went there every year to relax, I went to be with them and take photos and Richard (husband) came for no other reason than to be with us. We were at the Coachella Valley Preserve in Thousand Palms near sunset. The desert can be beautiful. This image shows my cousins walking hand in hand. I could feel the love between them. It was so beautiful.
My last image is a shadowed shot of three amigos, me, Marlene and Laura, commemorating our photography vacation in Kauai. It’s Marlene’s practice to take a shadow picture when we go on a shoot. We had a great time taking our photos and eating shave ice. I learned it’s not necessary to carry every piece of camera equipment through the airports. Laura decided it was good to keep a Snicker bar handy just in case I got hungry. Marlene discovered it’s not good to fall and hurt your foot the first day out. I was also introduced to Fujifilm, Marlene’s new camera, and knew I had to have one.
Three trips down memory lane. Thank you Ann-Christine!
Given this week’s challenge by Patti to focus on details, my mind went back to a Toastmaster Photo Club I tried to start and a speech given by a professional photographer in the group. He talked and demonstrated about a different way to focus on details: finding the picture within the picture.
He showed us how to focus on the details of an image to find more images by cropping sections. His example was of a construction site. First he showed us the entire landscape of the site. Then he focused in on a worker, continued with more sections and ended with a pair of shoes. It was an amazing lesson.
Today I’m going to try the same with a landscape taken yesterday at Scotts Flat Reservoir in Nevada City. I was hiking with my daughter-in-law Jess and granddaughter Olivia. Here’s my picture within a picture.
First the landscape.
Next I isolated Jess, Olivia and their dog Hana.
My final capture from this landscape is of a log on the beach.
Although the official Toastmaster group disbanded, a few of us kept meeting until 14 months ago when the pandemic shut us down. We continued to share information, but I will never forget this lesson on details and finding the picture within the picture.
Precious moments are those times that get us through the difficult times. Remembering them fills our beings, making the dark more bright. Amy’s choice of Precious Moments couldn’t have come at a better time. We all need to come out of the dark and into the light.
My precious moments revolve around my children and grandchildren. In this post, I’m sharing images of my wonderful grandchildren. I have two sets and they are far apart in age. I was at the same elementary school for 16 years! After adopting two boys, we had a natural child, a boy of course.
My oldest John, who passed away, left us with two wonderful grandkids. Madison and Christopher. Here are their prom and graduation photos.
Christopher agreed to have his picture taken before he left for his prom. With him right after graduation are his mom, Teresa, and sister.
Madison’s prom and graduation came 2 years later.
Madison and Christopher are now grown with homes and loved ones.
The younger set belong to my son Greg and daughter-in-law Jessica. We were so excited to welcome Ryan and Olivia to our family in 2011. We had a family party in celebration of Olivia’s first birthday. Ryan was three.
Two special moments I was able to capture was at the Sacramento Zoo in 2013.
Although older now, 11 and 9 years, they still are close siblings. Here they walk the zoo hand in hand.
We were across from the flamingos when Olivia noticed the plastic birds. Just from the look on her face, I think Olivia thought they were real.
My last precious moment occurred on Valentine’s Day 2015. The kids were spending the night with us while their parents went out. We prepared a small celebration with some gifts. Ryan used all his stickers on his grandfather. I thought that it was a generous share!
These children are my precious every things. They feed my heart and soul. It’s true, you have children so you can have grandchildren!
This week’s challenge from Tina at Travels and Trifles can send us off in many directions. Treats can be a hot fudge sundae, grandkids, wonderful memories and more. Just let your imagination run free. I was having a difficult time deciding until I read John’s post on flight which reminded me of a special treat my great nephew Daylen gave me when he took me up in his family’s small plane.
I was visiting family in Peachtree City, Georgia, in March 2017, when this amazing opportunity happened. Daylen had just gotten his pilots license (His Dad is a pilot.) and offered me a ride. Wow! It was a small plane. I’m not sure how more than two people could fit in it even though it had two back seats. When I climbed on the wing and looked down into the passenger seat, I remember saying to Daylen, “I can get in, but don’t laugh when I get out!”
It was a wonderful experience. When I asked if we could go higher, he said he wasn’t licensed to fly above the clouds! Here’s my flight.
Thanks Tina for bringing back a wonderful memory and treat!
Now this is a challenge. A surprised moment could be photographed in many ways. I was thinking about this and came up with the idea that sometimes people would be surprised they were photographed candidly. So here goes my interpretation of this week’s challenge by Ann-Christine.
Let’s begin with a most recent picture taken on my son’s boat during an outing to Folsom Lake. This was part of my birthday present. I love to shoot the backs of people. Totally unaware were my daughter-in-law, granddaughter, and grandson. Maybe I should have told Ryan to straighten up his head, but then it would ruin the candid moment. Separately, the kids were also surprised.
Now, we go back in time (2018) to a photo walk along the Embarcadero in San Francisco. In this shot we have a young couple helping their very senior dog into her stroller. This touched my heart.
These next two are of homeless guys. One is asleep and the other is trying to get his belongings into the restroom. More images to touch my soul.
Last, was opening day at Daffodil Hill. This was run by a family who plant these lovely flowers each year and open their property to the public. They closed permanently after the first weekend because of the crowds on the property and traffic mayhem on the road in/out. From left to right: The traffic on the road in, the line for the restrooms, the congestion along a path.
I may have been behind the camera for these images, but I’ve also been on the receiving end of a candid shot or two by my photo buddies! I love candid images.
Slow Shutter Speed 