I enjoy a good treasure hunt, especially when it involves photography. I’ve participated in a couple of outings that involved finding treasured objects, and had fun. This week Tina encourages us to participate in her treasure hunt. So here goes!
I found all but the moon. But that was for extra credit since I do have a sun image. Each image is captioned.
Thanks Tina, this was fun. It’s good to be back with LAPC after being gone on an enjoyable vacation. I’m sorry to have missed some challenges, but without internet, it was not possible to participate. If you haven’t posted your response yet, be sure to link to Tina’s original post when you do. Next week, Patti will host the LAPC challenge. Be sure to look for her post.
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.
It’s been a while since I’ve been in a truly urban environment. Downtown Sacramento is as close as I’ve gotten, but I already posted many pictures of buildings and street art. So how do I put a twist on this challenge from Sofia? I thought immediately of San Francisco. In July, 2018, Marlene and I took the ferry from Tiburon to the Embarcado.
A couple of pictures taken from the ferry.
It was a full day of walking, taking pictures and people watching. The Embarcado attracts tourists of all ages, people who live in San Francisco and want to eat in well-known restaurants, and anyone who is looking for a speciality item. People watching was what I enjoyed the most.
I was immediately overcome with sadness and wonderment at watching a couple help their very senior dog. I’m now helping my senior dog, a schnoodle, although his stroller is much smaller.
Kids just love the environment on the Embarcadero. This red-head was a stand out and this girl was enjoying this unusual swing.
Street entertainers helped liven up the crowds.
Workers also need breaks.
Artists are also creating and selling their finished products.
And, I can’t close this post without crowd scenes!
Do you see Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream shop in the last picture. Of course I just had to get some Cherry Garcia! I want to go back and do this again. I love street photography. These were just some of the pictures from that trip. Maybe Marlene and I will do this again in the Fall.
Thank you Sofia for letting me go down memory lane with this twist to your challenge. When you post your reply to this challenge, be sure to link it to Sofia’s post and use the Lens Artists tag. Last week John’s challenge brought us to many places in a variety of ways. It was fun reading your posts. Tina leads next week’s challenge so look for her post.
I will be taking 3-weeks off. Yes, I’m actually going on a vacation! I’ll be back soon.
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.
How do you narrow down your favorite finds, especially when you’ve already shared some of them? So, I’m switching things up a bit. Ann-Christine wants us to share favorite finds at museums, nature; anything that filled us with awe. My twist is to share a few from favorite outings and pictures that you may not have seen.
In Sacramento we have hot days where we look to photograph indoors. I’ve shown you some from IKEA. But it’s been a long time since we’ve visited a museum. They closed down in 2020 and have been slow to reopen. We enjoyed the Aerospace Museum in North Highlands. The old aircraft and space exhibits had a lot to offer us photographers.
Stores are another place we’d take our cameras to. The Antique Trove in Roseville was also closed during 2020. We’d take our time going through the small stalls, finding unique items. They also have an outside area that would, of course, be closed during rain storms. We could use one of those storms now. How would you like one of those cameras? It’s now a lamp. The windmill could give your yard a farm feel. And could you give a hoot?
Another museum we used to enjoy is the California Automobile Museum in Sacramento. One complication was the ropes that stopped us from touching the vehicles. My way of getting around that was to photograph close ups. While we still have horns, we’ve done away with lamp lighting. We’ve also done away with hood ornaments.
And new to me were barn quilts. I found out about The Rio Linda Elverta Quilt Trail Project, a group that put together a barn quilt route. A barn quilt is a painted wooden quilt pattern or replica of a sewn quilt. The women would meet in a garage and cut, saw and paint. They would do this for anyone who asked for their art. Along the route, we saw the quilts on houses, businesses and barns. Photo buddy Jim is standing behind the sign outside their garage.
And to finish up, I’ll show you Peggy Sue’s Diner in Barstow. Out in the California desert, in the middle of nowhere, is Peggy Sue’s. It’s worth the wait to go inside. I remember being amazed when we walked in. It was decorated with 50s and 60s movie and entertainment memorabilia. And the food is good too.
These are just some of the places we found to photograph, and I would love to go back now that they are fully open. Thank you Ann-Christine for having us concentrate on our favorites. Remember to link to her post when you respond and use the Lens-Artist tag. We’d love to see your post. And thank you all for your beautiful rays of sunshine in Amy’s Here Comes the Sun challenge. Next week John is going to have us concentrate on modes of transportation, so look for his post.
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.
The sun, it rises and sets every day. We take that for granted, especially photographers. We get up early for the sunrise and go to bed late because we’ve been out capturing the sun set. This week Amy wants us to post our sun images no matter what time of day.
I’ve chosen to begin with a sunrise I captured in Yosemite from first light to almost full sun. I was with my photo buddy Laura and was 6 years younger. We were standing on Swinging Bridge and photographing Yosemite Falls. I don’t know if I’d face that cold again!
During the day, we can use the sun to our advantage. Sunflowers always face the sun to the sun.
This next flower has the sun at its side.
This duck has the sun at its back.
Now for sunset. Years ago I was out with Karen and Marlene and when the sun started setting we looked for a good place to capture the moment. Before we found the pond, we came across this piece of motorized machinery as the sun began its dissent. Do you know what it is?
It was in the same area that we found this beautiful pond we photographed from the road. You can see the sun setting and after it set.
Yes, we can’t live without it, but sometimes the sun makes life difficult. It’s been a hot summer here in Sacramento. I try to do whatever I need to do outdoors before 10 a.m. and the sun is out full force.
Thank you Amy for this enjoyable post. When you reply, please remember to link to her post and use the Lens-Artists tag. We enjoyed your images of motion in response to Patti’s Motion challenge last week. Next week Ann-Christine is hosting our challenge, so look for her post. Have a great week and enjoy the sun!
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.
Patti’s motion challengepropelled (good motion word) me to try panning which is why this response is just a little late. My experiment of panning a car as it past by was a dismal failure. Therefore, there won’t be any panning in this post. But I will not give up! Someday there will be a panning image in a post!
So back to other forms of motion.
Stop action. A fast shutter speed usually works. I’ve even tried continuous shutter. Here are some examples.
Next is slow shutter speed which blurs the action. I do enjoy playing with this type of photography.
And I do like creating motion by zooming my lens. Try it when your at a carnival, out at night around neon signs or during Christmas time when all the lights are shining.
So there’s my photographic range of motion. Thank you Patti for this fun challenge. I will be working on learning how to pan and welcome any advice. When you reply to this challenge be sure to link to Patti’s original post and use the Lens-Artist tag. And thank you all for joining in with your groovy images last week. It was fun seeing what motivates you. Next week Amy will present the LAPC Challenge. Be sure to look for her post.
Interested in joining the Lens-Artists challenge? Click here for more information.
What’s your photographic groove? What type of photography do you truly enjoy doing? I didn’t really know the answer to that question when I first began photography, and it took me a while to find it!
I realized my photographic groove when I bought my Fujifilm XT3. I had all sorts of lenses for my Nikon D7100—ultra-wide, macro, telephoto, and the zoom from 18 – 200 mm. I could photograph all I wanted with those lenses.
First, I found I hardly ever used my ultra-wide lens, my landscape shots didn’t warrant it.
The prime F/4 300 mm was used maybe four times a year at wildlife areas.
The macro was used when I was around flowers and insects.
My walk-around lens, the 18 – 200 mm was used the most.
When I switched to the Fuji two years ago, I bought the two lenses that would give me the same range as my walk around Nikon lens. I wanted a third lens, but which one. After trying a couple, thank you Action Camera in Roseville, I settled on a macro lens. I quickly sold my Nikon macro. No need for redundancy. I’ve thought about buying another Fuji lens but why. If I want a telephoto or ultra-wide, I still have my Nikon set up.
I quickly realized how much I was enjoying the macro lens.
So, what’s my photo groove? Macro. I love shooting macro. It’s a challenge that I enjoy even on breezy days. I still go after great landscapes, sunsets, and wildlife. But when it comes down to it, macro Is my photographic groove.
Now that I’ve told you my story, what’s your photo groove? What gives you that sense of accomplishment? Of joy? Of completion? Your challenge this week is to show and tell us about what type of photography you enjoy the most. I used my choice of lenses to find my grove. You may have a different way. If you don’t have a favorite, that’s okay. Show us your wonderful images and tell us about them. Who knows, doing this exercise may help you realize your photo groove.
Thank you guest host Sarah Wilkie of Travel With Me for the exercise of picking out three of our favorite images. And thank you to all of our other wonderful July guest hosts, Aletta, Jez, Andre and Tracy. When you reply to this challenge, please link to this post and use the lens artists tag. I’m looking forward to seeing your groovy photos. As your LAPC team resumes our rotation, Patti will present next week’s challenge. Be looking for her post. In the meantime have fun and stay safe in your travels.
When you have thousands of pictures, how do you pick just three? It’s difficult, but Sarah of Travel With Me has given us this challenge. I’ve taken it on and here are my three.
My first photo is of Waterton Lake, Waterton Lakes National Park, in Canada. I like it because when I decided to try processing it in black and white, it took on a whole new dimension, almost like a sketch. I love black and white, so when I think an image has a tonal quality that may fit, I try it. Sometimes it doesn’t work, but this time it did. I typically process black and whites in NIK Silver Efex. This won a prize in the Motherload Fair, Sonora.
Next is a macro that almost took first place in the In Focus competition. This means it made it to the final table. That doesn’t matter to me because I just like it for the color, seeing the hair on the leaf and the water drop that’s just hanging on. I process all my photos in Lightroom and may have brought this into NIK Color Efex. I just can’t remember. I’m sure I’ve posted this before in an LAPC post. This is truly one of my favorites.
My third image is definitely a recent favorite of mine. I love the flamingos at the Sacramento Zoo. I had already taken a few photos of them, looking for a “keeper.” I was thinking sometimes you’re just not in the right place at the right time. I was talking to a docent about the birds who were taking their naps and this one opened one eye and looked at me. I’m so glad it opened it again after I got my camera in position. This time I was in the right place at the right time! This was processed in Lightroom and Topaz sharpener AI. It did take “Picture of the Night” at the Sierra Camera Club general competition.
As I said, I have many more favorites. This was a difficult challenge Sarah, but worth the exercise. Thank you! Remember to use the Lens-Artist tag when you post your reply and link to Sarah’s original pose. Tracy’s Surreal challenge last week brought us many amazing photos to look at. I’ll be posting next week’s challenge, so be sure to check back.
My first image was truly a mistake. I was trying to take away hay from this alpaca‘s face and ended up with…..
I think a three eyed alpaca is weird if not surreal. I put two more images into Photoshop and used various filters to get the effect I wanted. The first was a diffuse filter which gave me surprising results. For the second I used one of the distort filters which gave me predictable results.
This next picture has no fancy editing. I think this mural’s artist had a surreal bent to begin with.
To be honest, I don’t know what this next image was a picture of! It looked surreal to me in the beginning, but I brought it into NIK Silver Efex to see if I could exaggerate it a bit. Do you think it might have been a puddle and drops on concrete?
Finally, I had fun using Photoshop’s distort twirl filter on this one. I don’t think it’s as surreal as much a fun design.
Thank you Tracy for this great challenge. I had fun with it. When you respond, remember to use the Lens Artists tag and link to Tracy’s original post. And we all enjoyed reliving special summer vibes with Andre last week. Next week Sarah Wilkie, blogging at Travel with Me, will be our guest host. She will encourage us to post Three Favorite Images.
Summer Vibes? For the last three years here in California we’ve been locked in because of Covid or the extreme heat! No yearly visits to the sunflower visits and long day trips to the ocean. So when Andre of Solander asked us to show him our summer vibes, I went back to 2016 when outings were plentiful and Covid was unknown. Remember those times?
Here are my 2016 summer vibes. Each year we would visit the sunflower fields and the Mezger Family Zinnia Patch and 2016 was no exception. I love how the sunflowers smile cheerfully and attract the bees. The zinnia garden is planted each year by the Mezger family who encourage visitors to cut the flowers, put them in vases that are provided and give this gift to someone who needs encouragement in their life. What a wonderful gesture.
2016 was also the year that my friend Linda and I spent three days in San Francisco. We stayed at the hostel at Ft. Mason near Fisherman’s Wharf. Have you ever stayed in a hostel? It is fun. We had a private bedroom and shared a kitchen and bathroom with a young family from England. Neither of us used the kitchen! I found it a wonderful experience, giving us the ability to meet many people. The Palace Of Fine Arts was a great place to visit at night. It is lit up and it’s reflection is beautiful in the water that surrounds it. Of course, everyone must take a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge.
I did mention road trips, and the following images are from one my photo buddies and I took. I truly don’t know where we ended up. This must be the trip where I feel asleep, woke up and asked where we were. Nobody knew! I do miss those trips, but with gas prices the way they are, they are somewhat impractical. What I like most about road trips is the variety of pictures you can take.
I’ve enjoyed reviewing my summer vibes of 2018. Thank you Andre! When you post your challenge please remember to link to his blog post and tag Lens-Artists. And thank you Jez for a great reflective challenge last week. We have more July guest hosts: Tracy at Reflections of an Untidy Mind, and Sarah of Travel with Me. The Lens-Artists team will be back in August with me hosting the challenge.
If you would like to invite a friend to join us in our weekly challenges, it’s easy just click here to find out how.
When I was a kid, seeing double meant we were crossing our eyes and creating that double vision. Now, that I’m enjoying photography, it means reflections causing an exact duplicate or double of the original image. Our guest host Jez Braithwaite of Photos By Jez, presents us with a challenge to post the reflections we’ve photographed and enjoyed.
And I do enjoy photographing them.
A natural reflection is the capture of birds in water. Here the water is shallow giving a fuzzy double image.
When I see a good building reflection, I just have to photograph it.
Like Jez, I enjoy using a crystal ball at times.
Still water is a great reflective surface for landscapes. Whether bridges and rocks, a lake view or a sunset on a pond, these reflections are beautiful.
Surfaces like a mirror or metal also offer reflections.
And how about California’s illusive rain puddle.
Let’s end with one of my favorite reflections–windows and doors.
It was fun going through my archives and reflecting on seeing double this week–without looking cross eyed!
Thank you Jez for this fun assignment. Please be sure to link your reply to his post. Thank you Aletta for having us do a treasure hunt last week. It was fun to see all the varied treasures from all over the world. Next week our guest host Andre of Solander is thinking of Summer Vibes. Be sure to look for his post. We continue July with:
Slow Shutter Speed 