Posted on by Anne Sandler · 50 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #415: Move Your Body

I love my 18 to 300 mm lens. I use it all the time because I don’t like to change lenses in the field. How many of you use a zoom lens? Now what would happen if you had a fixed lens and had to walk forward, backward or sideways to get the shot?

You would have to think a bit more before you decided to squat down. It depends on how difficult it would be to get up! For me, it’s very difficult and not very pretty, but sometimes I do it to get the shot. Your challenge this week is to move your body up, down, forward and back.

Here are three photographs that I bent down and stood up for. This was my first time out with my Nikon D3100 and were taken at a balloon festival. It was the first time using my camera in the field. How excited I was. In the beginning, I laid on the ground, then got up and at last looked up. The first two are the same balloon, the third is not; but you get the idea.

Next, we are going to start close to the subject and then walk back to get a different view. Moving back does tell a different story. These were taken at Ananda Village during their tulip festival that they hold every April.

Now for the lotus blossoms. One was taken while I was squatting so I could get the light on the petals. The other was taken standing over the flower so I could get the bud.

Next at Lassen National Park’s Sulphur Springs area, I walked back for a shot of the Sulphur pool and then came up to the fence and looked over the area for the bubbling Sulphur.

Fortunately, the smell wasn’t as bad as the Sulphur pools at Yellowstone National Park!

These movements are one reason I like photography for seniors. It’s exercise! Younger folks can also take advantage of extra exercise! So, get out there and squat, bend down, and walk!

When you post your response to this challenge, please link it to mine and use the Lens-Artists tag.

We built a lot of bridges with Beth’s challenge last week, and I thoroughly enjoyed the variety. Next week, Ritva will be leading the challenge, so look for her post. In the meantime, stay safe and be resilient!

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 44 Comments

Lens-Artists Challenge #414: Harmony

Such a simple word with different meanings for everyone. Typically, harmony is associated with music. However, Ann Christine associates it with color: Harmony is the combination of separate but related parts in a way that uses their similarities to bring unity to a painting, drawing, or other art object.

I see harmony in nature, and I find joy in capturing it with my camera. During a photo outing a few years ago, we were driving along on curvy Highway 49 and saw this field of golden poppies–the California State Flower. Oh the harmony of orange and green. Add in the rugged rocks on the hillside, it was just beautiful.

I’ve been on that road many years since, but have not been able to find the same scene. I’m so glad I have these images.

We were heading to a town in Gold Country called Jackson, and on the way back we stopped in another small town, Dry Town, to capture some more poppies.

Here it was the placement of the poppies that created a harmonious scene. Again yellow, green and brown. Just lovely.

So there you have my harmonious joy. Thanks Ann Christine for helping us notice harmony in our lives. When you post your response, please link to her post and use the Lens-Artists tag. Oh the bridges we crossed last week. They were just great. Thanks for all your contributions. I’ll be leading next week’s challenge, so stay tuned. In the meantime stay healthy, safe and be resilient.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 40 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #413: Bridges

I’m late! I’m late! But not for a very important date–for my blog post on Beth’s Challenge of Bridges. I was caught by a bad cold, and this is the first clear headed day I’ve had in almost a week.

I don’t have to look far for bridges because with two major rivers, the American and Sacramento, there are plenty of bridges to choose from.

The most famous bridge spanning the Sacramento River is the Tower Bridge linking Sacramento to West Sacramento (which is in Yolo County.)

Here’s a view of one bridge framing the I Street bridge.

Now on the American River we have another famous bridge–The Rainbow Bridge near Folsom.

Let’s take a trip to the city of Roseville to see the walking bridge over Linda Creek. It’s a pretty bridge, especially in Autumn.

My last bridge is the Fair Oaks Bridge in the town of Fair Oaks.

There are more bridges, but my energy is leaving. Thanks to Beth for initiating a wonderful week of bridges. I’ll have a more robust post next week when Ann Christine leads the challenge. In the meantime try to stay healthy and be resilient.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 53 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #411: What is it?

For us older seniors, the best advantage of doing photography as a hobby is that it helps you remember where you’ve been and what you’ve seen! Sofia’s challenge is a prime example. I had to go through many photos and memories to grab what I did!

Let’s start with a sculpture.

This sculpture is located at the Cornerstone Sonoma gardens in Sonoma, California. It is a large, house-shaped outdoor art installation created using hundreds of recycled plastic forks.

Next are two from the Manetti Shrem Museum, University California, Davis

Could you guess that the picture on the left was a curtain covering a door to an outside eating patio? The right image is the fantastic patio cover for the museum entrance that wraps around the building.

IKEA has lots of odd things to photograph. We go there with our cameras when it’s raining or hot. What’s your guess?

If you guessed a stack of shopping carts, you’re correct. I’ve only seen them stacked this way, vertically, once.

Let’s go for some color.

Here’s a hint: I found these at a garden nursery during Christmas time. Do you see the iridescent balls?

No hints on this next one.

It’s a ship’s propeller!

My last two are easy since you know I enjoy moving my camera and lens when I have the opportunity.

Left: Tall grass; Right: Ferris wheel

Thank you Sofia for helping me travel down memory lane. I had a great time and hope you do also when go on you own memory trip. When you do post, please link to Sofia’s original challenge. Thank you Ritva for last weeks challenge. I enjoyed seeing all your edited pictures and learned from your processes. Next week John will be leading the challenge, so look for his post. In the meantime stay safe and be resilient.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 36 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #154/410: One Photo Edited

I just love to take my camera out for a walk. Editing is not something I truly enjoy. That doesn’t mean that I don’t edit. It just means that I’m not that good at it and rely on programs like Lightroom, Topaz, Color Efex and Silver Efex. Photoshop is too technical for me. So, Ritva’s challenge is truly a challenge for me!

Through the next three examples, I will try to explain how I use these editing programs. I’m sure I can use them more expertly; but this is my hobby, and I want to keep enjoying it!

Example 1 (original is on the left/edited is on the right) Fun at a neighborhood fair.

I like to stop by local fairs when I can catch them. It’s one of the few times I use my tripod because I like to catch the rides in slow motion. This picture of a ride that brings seated riders into the air as the chairs spin around.

First I changed it into black and white in Lightroom. Then I cropped it on the left and removed other rides on the right. I brought up the highlights and contrast to accent the twirling chairs. I wanted to draw attention to the blurred chairs and riders. Lightroom was the only program I used.

Next we were in a small town and I liked this tree that formed a tunnel over the sidewalk. I’m so glad that no one trimmed it!

I took this photo into Silver Efex and chose one of their templates. I usually stop editing in Silver Efex at that point, sending it back into Lightroom. Once back in Lightroom, I worked on the highlights, darks and contrast. I like how it came out looking almost like a sketch.

On a visit to an Iris farm, we had so many beautiful flowers to photograph. I was in photo heaven!

Because I wanted to accent just one petal, I cropped in closely. Now you can definitely see the interior and striations of each petal. I also softened the background. This was edited in Topaz Sharpener just to make sure the image was sharp when cropped. It was then brought back into Lightroom. I masked out the background to smooth it out. I’m so glad Lightroom now has a masking feature. I also saturated the colors a bit.

I doubt I will totally enjoy editing as much as I enjoy taking the picture. For me the goal is to get a good composition to begin with. Please link your challenge response to this post, and to Ritva who showed, through her artistic ability, how editing can enhance our pictures.

And thanks to Steve Hyde, Steve Hyde Photography Blog, for challenging us, last week, to choose our best images. Wow, that was tough and it was fun to see what you all chose. Next week, Sofia will be leading the challenge. Until then stay safe and be resilient.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 47 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #409: Best Images Ever

Why do you take your camera out, hold it to your eye and press the shutter? I perform this ritual because I enjoy getting out, composing the picture and editing it on the computer. If you journey out once a week, how many thousands of pictures do you think you’ve taken? YIKES, Steve wants us to pick just five favorites. Steve, this is a real challenge! The selected pictures are all from the Sacramento Area except for the first. I’m sure I’ve shown these at one time or another. I hope they are worth a second look.

I’ve gotten it down to five–with difficulty. Here’s the first.

I was at a Toastmasters conference in Redding, California. My goal was to get there one day ahead of time to capture the Sundial Bridge at night. The Sundial Bridge is a cantilever spar cable-stayed bridge for bicycles and pedestrians that spans the Sacramento River in Redding, California, forming a large sundial. The sundial at the end of the bridge is operational. At night it is lit up and is a photographers dream of lines, light and beauty!

Now let’s roam around Yolo County, just north of Sacramento County. This is our access to the countryside. We enjoy getting lost, finding interesting photo opportunities. I don’t remember where we (my small photo group) were when one of us yelled, “STOP.” Could that have been me? I liked the open fence accenting the road and the golden hillside. The sky was accommodating also. Was this worth turning around for? Could nature be more accommodating?

You know how I love to photograph flowers with my macro lens. This was probably taken at one of our local gardens–maybe the McKinley Rose Garden in Sacramento. I liked the water drops on the budding rose and its red-orange color. For me, it symbolizes an emerging beauty. Unfortunately, nature gives us beauty for just a short time. Whenever I see a volunteer in the garden, I always thank them for the gorgeous opportunity they give us.

Now for a little controversy. I come from a journalistic background, and when I see a photojournalism opportunity, I take it. The controversy is does it belong in a photo blog. One of my followers said “It does not.” I think it does given that it is an image of life and all is not rosy (like the above image.) We were walking from Discovery Park to Old Sacramento when I saw this man asleep on the ground. It’s sad but it is a sign of our time. What do I like about it? It tells a real story. What do you think?

I want to end on a happier note with this sunset image. This was taken at one of our night trips to Old Sacramento. Taken from the Sacramento side, it shows the Tower Bridge and a little of West Sacramento, Yolo County in silhouette. The setting sun was very cooperative with glowing reds, purples and oranges that night. The Sacramento River also cooperated with its glassy reflection.

So these are my five picks. Thanks Steve for sending us through our archives, helping us review wonderful memories. When you respond, please link to this post and Steve’s post. Remember to use the Lens-Artists tag. Last week, Egidio sent us “Over the Top.” What fun, reading all your posts. Ritva will be challenging us next week, so look for her post. In the meantime, stay healthy and be resilient!

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 36 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #407: Celebrations

What gives us cause to celebrate? Birthdays, anniversaries, travels, friendships and more. This week Patti encourages us to share celebrations from historical festivals, various travels, religious events and more.

I won’t say that we are not world travelers, but much of our visits to other countries were done when we were much younger and I wasn’t taking pictures. So I’m doing the twist again and celebrating family and friends.

Here’s a blast from the past when our children and their children helped us celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. We toasted this special milestone at the Spaghetti Factory, basically because that was the one place the kids could agree eating at!

This was taken 13 years ago, and we are now married 63 years. Oliva (in her dad’s arms) is now 15 and her brother Ryan (falling asleep on his cousin Madison) is now 17. My how time flies by! My older two grands are now in their 30s. Also in the picture from left to right: daughter-in-law Teresa, her husband Will; daughter-in-law Jessica and my son Greg; Richard and I; and grandson Christopher.

Birthdays are another cause for celebrations. We celebrated my son Jason’s 40th down in Southern California.

Regarding religious holidays, Passover was always one of our favorites. I’d make chicken soup and matzo balls. It being course number three of the celebratory meal. We had to move our living room furniture around to make room for the number of people gathered around our table.

Weddings are a reason to celebrate, especially when it’s your granddaughter getting married and you are playing the photographer. Madison and Ryan!

Last but not least are friendships. Here are 10 women whose friendship I hold dear. Sadly two of them have passed away, but I hold them close in my heart.

I celebrate my family and friends each day. When I turned 50, I remember my Mom saying, “I can’t believe my baby is turning 50!” Well, soon my baby will be turning 50! Another reason to celebrate!

Do you celebrate family and friends? Have you found special celebrations during your travels? I look forward to reading about all your causes to celebrate. When you post, please remember to link to my post and use the Lens-Artists tag. Thank you Patti for this wonderful challenge. Next week Egidio will be leading the challenge. In the meantime, stay safe and be resilient!

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 67 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #406: Summer Daze

My goodness it’s triple digits Fahrenheit here in sunny California. Heat waves come and go during the summertime. We are used to it. When it happens, we go to the beach, find a pool, go to a movie or stay indoors. How do you cool off?

Water is one way to distract our children from the temperatures. It could be a beach where people leave important items, a backyard pool, a water feature for children or a boat on the water.

Summer is also time for camping. We camped when my children were very young. We started in a truck and camper and through the years, graduated to a fifth wheel trailer. I mostly enjoyed the campfires and traveling with our friends. The photo on the right, Montezuma Well was from a camping trip to Sedona Arizona with our friends Sandy and Ken.

And, is there anything more fun or hot than County Fairs. I honestly don’t know why they are always held in the summer. There’s usually a concession selling hand held, battery operated fans! Big attractions are Ferris wheels, merry-go-rounds and bands. The first two images are from the Sacramento County Fair. My last image shows a mother dancing with her young child to a band at the Sonora County fair.

Oh, there’s something special about the foods we enjoy during the summer like raspberries and blueberries.

In addition to our rivers, we have a few lakes to enjoy and are available nearby for short photography trips. My dog Molly (who is now in doggy heaven) loved water. There was no keeping her out of this lake as my husband found out.

I’ll leave you with a smile–a field of sunflowers.

Depending on where you live, summer may be super hot, hot, mild or even cool. What do you do during your summer daze?

Thank you Ann-Christine for taking us on great adventures last week, and to all of you for sharing yours. When you reply to this challenge, please remember to link it back to this post and use the Lens-Artists tag. I want to know all about your Summer Daze. Patti is leading the next challenge, so look for her post. In the meantime, stay safe and be resilient.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 47 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #401: Master Your Photography

Have you ever looked at a photo or painting and wondered where the focus is? This week, Patti has us concentrating on our subject–the focus of our image. She’s showing us five ways to lead your viewer to the focal point and the reason, you snapped the shutter. I’ve chosen selective focus, negative space and leading line to demonstrate how I help lead my viewers to what caught my eye in the first place.

Leading Lines

I love to use leading lines. They don’t have to be straight as in my photos. Think of a curved road leading to a structure or horizon line. The architects of the Cottage in the California State Empire Mine State Historic Park and the Sundial Bridge made use of the leading line theory. Oh, the bridge does have a working sundial at the end.

Negative Space

Negative space does spotlight your subject. Most of my examples involve wildlife. Capturing a great blue heron in flight is no easy task with a 300 mm lens, so I’m happy when I can capture one. An eagle sitting on a branch is a bit easier and so majestic. The sky provides beautiful negative space, especially when there’s no clouds!

Selective Focus

Since I enjoy photographing macros so much, selective focus is a favorite of mine. Using a macro lens to photograph the edges of leaves and their texture is fun. So is going through a farmers’ market where you can zoom in to find vegetables that also have texture.

This was so much fun. Next time I take my camera out for a walk, I’m going to try other types of selective focus. Thanks Patti! When you post your response, please remember to link to her original post and use the Lens-Artists tag. Last week Tina encouraged us to experiment with the Rule of Three. I could tell from your responses you enjoyed creating your posts. Remember to stay healthy and be resilient!

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 49 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #400: The Rule of Three

When you are about to take a photo, do you think of yourself as a designer of your photographic masterpiece? This week, Tina introduces us to a designers stand by, The Rule of Three. Having worked with a graphic designer for 20 years, I learned quickly about odd numbers adding flow and interest to a piece.

I use this rule when I compose an image in camera. Like these three trees.

This doesn’t happen on a conscious level, but instinctively. It happens at the zoo when there’s more than one animal to photograph. Or when on an outing and photographing wildlife.

Oh my, I even caught the Rule in a building reflection showing three other buildings.

Someone understood this rule when they placed these shells on a pier. They really bring your attention the the texture of the wood.

These three sculptures, “The last Conversation,” are part of five (two not pictured) by  Juan Muñoz, taken at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. Whether it’s the three I took or the entire sculpture of 5, the sculptor understood the Rule of Three or having an odd number.

Now, I hope Tina doesn’t mind me cheating a bit. I’m claiming the Rule because I’m treating the sculpture as one and my photo buddies as the other two.

The more you think of the Rule, the more instinctive it will become. Thanks Tina for introducing us to this important guide. When you post your reply, please remember to link to her original post and use the Lens-Artists tag. We had a great time last week with Egidio’s challenge of being stuck in place. Patti will be challenging us next week. So stay tuned. Whether you’re stuck in place or wandering remember be a little odd in your photo composition.

Stay healthy and be resilient!