IKEA – Slow Shutter Speed

Posted on June 29, 2025 by Anne Sandler · 54 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #355: Looking Back–Creativity

Looking back in our lives helps us see how far we’ve come in the present, especially in photography. It’s exciting that the LAPC team is beginning this new exercise, and Ann-Christine is starting us off with a challenge from 2019 on creativity.

Now, I don’t think of myself as a creative soul. Maybe that’s why when I looked through 2019 for a post on the subject, I couldn’t find one. I wasn’t a team member then.

There are many types of creativity. You find it in science, architecture, art and more. Teachers and parents have to be creative to reach and teach the children. I don’t think of myself as creative. I can’t create art, but I can see it in everyday circumstances and photograph it.

Here are three places where I found creativity.

Gloshoff Sculpture Ranch in Fairfield.

This ranch is an ongoing exhibition of metal sculptures and it grows each year. You know you’re near the ranch when you see neighbors displaying Mr. Gloshoff’s art in their front yard. You need to make an appointment and he doesn’t mind photographers photographing his creations. Here are a few.

I also believe creativity is in the eye of the beholder. I guess how a photographer interprets an object is creativity. Here are some objects from IKEA as I saw them.

Nature’s shadows form creative patterns that photographers can’t resist. At least I couldn’t.

And finally, one of my favorite forms of creativity is signage.

Thanks Ann-Christine for sending me through my archives in search of creativity. I totally enjoyed your responses to my reflections challenge last week. You kept me busy and posts are still trickling in. You gave me a great week and had me smiling. Please link to Ann-Christine’s post and use the Lens-Artist tag when you respond to her challenge.

We will be off next week. Wherever you are, celebrate life and capture creativity through your lens. We will be back on July 12, when, guest host, Stupidity Hole (SH) will present the challenge. I wonder what he has in store for us? In the meantime, stay safe and live in gratitude.

Posted on November 28, 2024 by Anne Sandler · 34 Comments

ICM at IKEA

Happy Thanksgiving for all my USA readers. My table is set and the turkey is defrosted, so I have time to prepare this blog.

Last weekend, because it was raining, we went to IKEA, each of us with different intentions. Mine was to practice intentional camera movement (ICM). I thought I could get away with it because of the store’s subdued lighting. And the designs on pillows are excellent ICM subjects. I also used pictures they had on walls.

Here are some images. I’d like some critiques if you have any.

This last one was a curtain. After processing the ICM image, I used a Photoshop distort filter.

Thanks to IKEA for letting us bring our cameras in their store. Have a wonderful day everyone and take care.

Posted on January 15, 2022 by Anne Sandler · 40 Comments

Lens Artist Challenge #182: Interesting Objects

Of course what is interesting is in the eye of the beholder. What I find interesting are landscapes, macros, architecture but seldom objects. However, sometimes things catch my eye and I can’t resist. This week, Patti encourages to photograph or go through our archives for those objects that we absolutely needed to photograph.

For instance this old bellows camera I spotted at the Antique Trove. The flash has been made into a light source of a different kind.

When taken in context, this sign at the Folsom Prison Museum had me thinking, “Duh!” These old handcuffs must have been totally uncomfortable.

This sign as you enter the small town of Mokelumne Hill will certainly have you slow down!

A restaurant in Napa had a sense of humor when it came to identifying their restrooms.

When we visit farms during the summer months, there’s usually a pile of discarded equipment left to the elements. I love rust and all the colors it gives objects. I think these may have been some sort of stakes.

One of my favorite places to visit is Old Sacramento. On one outing I noticed this gate.

Finally, while these are not unusual; for my photographic eye, they were positioned just right. I’ve posted them in this blog before. So, some of you may know what they are. If you don’t, can you guess?

Thanks Patti for this fun exercise! I had a great time seeing all your double dipping posts last week and look forward to seeing what Ann-Christine has in store for us next week. Please be sure to link your posts this week to Patti’s post and use the Lens-Artist tag. Until next week!

Posted on September 19, 2021 by Anne Sandler · 38 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #166: Artificial Light

In Sacramento California, the weather forces us indoors during a triple digit heat wave or lots of rain (We could sure use some of that now!). When we can’t take photos outside, my photo group wanders inside. Most commercial retailers don’t mind if we come in with our cameras just as long as we don’t use tripods and a flash. These activities are perfect for Ann-Christine’s challenge this week.

One rainy season had us float into Ameigh’s Hardware Store. They were great about hosting us. I found a few treasures in their garden section to focus close up on. They were fun to photograph, and helped me create some abstracts too. The ambient lighting in this store was ample.

The Antique Trove is another of our favorites. I tend to shoot close up at these venues. I get distracted by all the enticing things around me and can’t separate them from each other. There have been a few times when I’ve moved something, but I put it back the way I found it. Price tags also get in the way and the lighting is not super bright–up goes the ISO!

We also go to museums which have recently opened up again. One favorite is the Crocker Art Museum. The Crocker has an old wing (building) that was cleverly attached to a new section (building). I love the architecture and warmth in the old wing. This wing houses the ballroom and lovely staircases and ceilings. The lighting is not as bright here as it is in the new wing.

The ceiling in one of the small exhibit rooms.

And, we always have IKEA. I can’t create a still-life, but when I see the opportunity, I use it. The ambient lighting is brighter here.

Last we sometimes shoot in the dark, especially at our State Capitol building during the Holidays. I love the way the rotunda is bright with the tree showing its lights. And, of course, I have to zoom a bit!

I mostly choose to photograph in ambient light rather than use a flash and enjoy the challenge of doing this indoors. Thank you Ann-Christine for this fun challenge.

Posted on August 18, 2021 by Anne Sandler · 12 Comments

When the heat turns up: IKEA

I’m just going to be blunt–It’s been a lousy summer here in Sacramento California. Our triple digit days outnumber our double digit days. And, then there are the fires that are raging in our forests. Our homes in the Sacramento Valley are not in danger, so I won’t complain about the smoke that blows in from the fires. All this means we take our cameras inside. One of our favorite places is IKEA.

We visited the IKEA store in West Sacramento on a recent Sunday and had a great time. Yes there were more shoppers than during the week but the place had a different vibe. I was looking to photograph something different than I had in the past. Fortunately displays had changed.

All the pictures below were shot with my macro lens which was the only one I brought in with me. I like the challenge of photographing with just one lens. This lens is an 80 mm so I got up close to take pictures of just a part of my subject.

Here are some of the images. Can you tell what they were?

After taking photos, we dined in the IKEA café. The food is great and the prices reasonable. My choice was a smoked salmon, potato salad and green salad plate. Yum! I guess I should have taken a picture of it!

Posted on May 16, 2021 by Anne Sandler · 26 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #148: Spots and Dots

Spots and dots? This challenge from Ann Christine put my lack of creativity to a test. Fortunately, I got some ideas from members who posted before me. They do say that imitation is the best form of flattery!

Animals were shown in a few posts; at least those having spots. So off I went to my Sacramento Zoo archives.

I also found a dog with spots. Not a dog called spot. I spotted him in one of my tours of a small town. Sorry, I couldn’t resist having some word fun.

And you’ll never know what you’ll find at IKEA. With a Photoshop filter, I turned a dotted pillow into a swirl with a center dot.

Every year there are Christmas lights that you can shoot normally or zoom. But they all start out as brightly lit dots.

Finally, you know how much I love photographing flowers. Whether it’s a macro, showing the stamens or a field dotted with golden poppies, I totally enjoy it.

This was a fun exercise. Thank you Ann Christine for the challenge!

Posted on October 31, 2020 by Anne Sandler · 18 Comments

Lens-Artists Challenge #121: Focus On The Subject

I think it’s great that three photographers can be looking at the same scene and get three different focal references. That’s because not only do we see and interpret things differently, but there are many pictures within one scene. This week Patti of P.A. Moed challenges us to look into the various ways we can create focal interest in our pictures.

I’ve chosen a few from her many suggestions.

Framing.

I shot the first image when I first started photography. Out on Angel Island for the first time with my new Nikon D3100 I saw a bicyclist walking her bike under what I call a tree canopy. Taken in May 2013. And, yes, I do love trees. The second image was taken last year in November in Napa Valley.

Patterns:

We have shopping carts from Ikea in West Sacramento, 2019 and Sunflower farm in Woodland, June 2019. Crops can form lines and patterns. I’d need to get a taller ladder to exhibit it better!

Color: Of course I love flowers especially from the McKinley Rose Garden in Sacramento.

Leading lines:

The first image is from North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve, Butte County, a flat volcanic mountain. The second from Capay Valley Ranches in Capay Valley. Trees can also form leading lines.

Thanks Patti for your very educational and fun blog with wonderful image examples.

Posted on March 2, 2019 by Anne Sandler · 9 Comments

Rainy day visit: Folsom Prison

We’ve pretty much exhausted our rainy day photography options. We’ve been to the Antique Trove twice, IKEA once, and last Tuesday we went to Folsom Prison. Doesn’t everyone want to visit a prison?

I was a little disappointed when all we could photograph was the one gate and from a distance. We were also not allowed to take pictures of officers or inmates. The small museum saved the morning. There were treasures in there. However, shooting through the glass enclosures proved to be difficult!

Aside from the Johnny Cash concerts, Folsom Prison was one of the nation’s first maximum security prisons. It was built in the decades following the 1848 California Gold Rush, relieving the overcrowding at San Quentin State Prison.

Today the prison houses medium security male inmates.

Take a look at what I saw, beginning with the outside.

Inside the museum there were many inmate made artifacts.

And there were some weapons made by inmates too!

Some other things at the museum.

There was quite a bit of space dedicated to the Johnny Cash concerts.

Good-bye Folsom Prison!

Posted on September 3, 2017 by Anne Sandler

Photoshop fun: IKEA

Nothing! That’s what I did for a week after we returned from our month long road trip to Montana, Glacier National Park and Weiser Idaho for the eclipse. It took us a few mornings to empty out the trailer so we can sell it. It seems we came home just in time for a heat wave, so we only had the mornings to work.

I did gather up energy to shoot with my Toastmaster photo club, All About Photography Toastmasters. We went to IKEA because of the heat. If you remember, I had been there with my Tuesday group so I chose to shoot with my macro lens for practice. I can’t say I was totally successful, but I did learn. This lens has such a short depth of field, and that made it difficult. It’s a 105 mm so I had to stand far enough back to get what I was shooting in the frame and in focus.

Since the shoot, I’ve been working on the images and found the Photoshop filter panel. What fun! With no effort on my part, the software took my images of patterns and turned them into great abstract designs. I’ll show you the before and afters:

Before: A kite.

After: I think this may have been the zig zag.

Before: the back of a wood lounge chair.

After: the ziz zag filter.

Before: Another chandelier that I tinted green in Lightroom.

After: A tighter swirl pattern.

Before: Fabric on a couch that I angled in post.

After: One of the blur filters.

Before: This was a lamp shade.

After: The swirl filter and a change to black and white.

I may have been able to do more, but I was stymied with my limited knowledge of layers. Now I have to delve into Photoshop now that my energy level is back. I had fun with these.

Posted on February 28, 2017 by Anne Sandler · 2 Comments

What’s your passion? IKEA, part 2

I have two passions: Photography and Toastmasters. Toastmasters changed my life and Photography enriches my retirement. So I decided to combine these two diverse activities and formed a Toastmaster’s Specialty Club: All About Photography (AAP).

At AAP we follow the Toastmaster format, but as our name suggests, we speak on photography and our table topics are on photography. We have photographers of all levels. Last week, I presented my images from IKEA for table topics. The participants were to give a 1 – 2 minute mini-speech on how they would edit these mostly abstract photos. I do crop well in the camera, so they had a difficult time imagining the total scene.

It was a fun exercise, and I picked up a few hints on what I could have done–next time. So what is your passion? What has changed your life? What enriches your life?

Here are my remaining images from IKEA in West Sacramento in black and white.