Posted on by Anne Sandler · 55 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #364: Quiet Moment

Oh boy, I’m so glad Ritva’s challenge is a quiet moment and not more than a moment! I left that joy behind when I was raising three boys and numerous dogs. I have since found solitude at my computer, when writing or processing pictures; when I’m walking with my camera, gazing at nature’s beauty or any kind of non-thinking down time reading or watching TV. I’ve started to turn off my cell phone ringer during these times. It can ruin just “being!”

Since this is a photography blog, let’s concentrate on walking with my camera. Dirt paths often lead to solitude. I walk slowly so I don’t miss a photo opportunity for the small things. As I walk, reality becomes distant.

Fog is a weather phenomena that urges me to stop, breathe and relax. I love walking through the mist. The thicker the better. Maybe it brings me into the mystery of a different existence.

Water, whether waves crashing on rocks or a serene lake, makes me stop, look and listen. At the ocean, I listen to the waves as they rush in and hit the shore. At the lake, I listen to nature if there are birds or even nothing but quiet. How relaxing are both experiences!

The beauty of flowers quiets my mind. How gorgeous they are in full bloom. I have to concentrate to get the macro images. This is a quieting experience for me since I’m taken away from reality.

Animals at the zoo also quiet my mind and body, especially when I see a flamingo sleeping–maybe in an awkward position!

Okay, I put that in just for fun. Let me close with a simple country scene that I can be in all day and not want to leave.

These days, it’s difficult to find quiet. When we find a quiet environment, can we quiet our minds? Thank you Ritva for helping us remember we do need to practice quiet mindfulness. When you respond to her challenge please remember to link to her original post and use the Lens-Artist tag.

Wow, did we have fun last week during our scavenger hunt. You sure kept me busy with your amazing and inventive responses, and I loved it. Egidio will be leading our challenge next week. Be sure to look for his wonderful post. In the meantime, stay safe and live in gratitude!

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 54 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #302: Artificial Intelligence and Photography

I was excited when I first read John’s post on AI because it’s something I wanted to become familiar with–maybe not use fully, but become familiar with. Two things I didn’t count on were: 1. my technical inability and 2. catching the worst ever cold.

This cold has me with a fever and typical cold symptoms. So my lack of technical ability is made worse by my fuzzy thinking right now. But I’ll persist on.

I’ll admit to using AI when I take unwanted things out of a picture and doing a sky replacement. However, I found early on that I don’t have the artistic ability to do a sky replacement correctly, meaning the light source in the sky has to follow through to the ground.

I didn’t see any distinct lighting in this sky replacement so maybe I’m okay.

Lightroom Classic has just come out with some new AI features like Content Aware. So I figured how could I miss with my favorite LR. My goal was to take out the bush to the right of the swan and increase the water in the lake. But, I ended up with three swans a swimming. I don’t know how that happened. I was really too sick at the time to figure it out.

Then I heard that WordPress would do AI when given a prompt. So for my first prompt I asked for a swan in a lake just showing the lake. My second prompt was for a lighthouse just showing the cliffs and wildflowers. AI wasn’t listening too well.

You can’t say I didn’t try! I’m not too fond of AI beyond simple edits. After all the great photographers dodged and burned their way into producing amazing images. But when you can create full images just on a simple command, I don’t think that’s entirely right. If you do use AI beyond simple edits, please say so. You don’t have to worry about me doing that; I haven’t really figured out how. I don’t think I want to.

If you haven’t responded to John’s challenge yet, please link to his post and use the Len-Artists tag. I enjoyed seeing all your beautiful floral post last week and look forward to seeing what Donna has in store for us tomorrow.

Take care everyone and stay away from this cold!

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 8 Comments

Strolling along Putah Creek: UC Davis Arboretum

Camera, check! Lenses, check! Waist pack for when walking, check! Hat, check! All ready for a nice stroll with photo pod buddies along the trail at the UC Davis Arboretum. It’s been a long time since we’ve been to this end of the arboretum, so I was especially excited to see scenery I hadn’t seen in a couple of years. The arboretum didn’t disappoint.

There’s a lake where Putah Creek widens. It’s simply beautiful and one tree drew my attention.

And here’s the lake from the other side.

In the Spring, there are more blossoms on trees, but the bridges and pathway colors were beautiful.

One bridge had locks fastened on its wires.

    It was serene and beautiful. People were relaxing like this young couple.

    We did drive to the other end of the arboretum. We couldn’t walk because part was closed off. This was the end we were more familiar with. The flower garden was almost bare but the light on the gazebo offered great shadows and patterns.

    Just as I checked everything before I took off on our walk, I checked it all again as I put the camera, lenses, waist pack and hat in the car. It was another great photo outing.

    Posted on by Anne Sandler · 2 Comments

    A farm tour: Dr. Heather’s Goat Farm

    It’s amazing how history repeats itself. Just a year ago, in June, my Chiropractor, Dr. Heather Rosenberg, Roseville Disc and Pain Center in Roseville, hosted an open house at her farm. I brought my young grandkids, Ryan and Olivia, and friend Linda. It was a fun morning visiting the animals, other guests and Dr. Heather’s family. We totally enjoyed the morning that was complete with samples of goat cheese and goat milk ice cream. You can re-visit that post here.

    Now, back to the present, photo buddy and patient of Dr. Heather, Lucille suggested we take the photo group to visit the farm. Dr. Heather liked the idea and up to Auburn we went early one Saturday morning in May.

    This was a different sort of visit. When we got there, Dr. Heather had just finished milking the goats and was cleaning out the machinery. We began by taking pictures of the goats in the barn. Trying to simplify her life, she sold her egg laying chickens. We were told to roam around and soon she would take us on a tour.

    The tour consisted of a walk around the small lake, after which, we were free to roam with our cameras again. For me, this visit was totally different and more focused on photography. Are the pictures different? I think so. Take a look and let me know!

    Posted on by Anne Sandler

    Gibson Ranch near sundown

    What I love about the “Shoot Or Go Home” photography meetup group is the small, close to home opportunities they offer. Tuesday we ventured to Gibson Ranch (about 10 minutes away) for a photo walk and sunset shoot. I wasn’t feeling well, but I needed to do something I enjoyed after losing the trailer and missing out on a weekend away.

    Gibson Ranch is a park where people board horses, organizations hold events and individuals picnic. It was a Sacramento County park, but is now being run by a private company. I think the County still owns the park but has leased it out. We met at 6:30 p.m. and proceeded to walk the area around the stables. It was a small group, so I had a chance to meet some of them. Mary and “Goose” helped me with my prime 50 mm lens. I’m still having troube getting the exposure correct. After enough frustration, I switched back to my zoom lens.

    The setting sun created a challenge for exposure no matter what. I’m so glad I’m learning Lightroom. We all gathered at the small lake to shoot the sunset. This was my first time shooting a sunset for HDR, The sunset wasn’t all that spectacular, but I had fun processing the HDR and was pleased with the various results.

    So, here are some of the images captured Tuesday night with the “Shoot Or Go Home” photo group.