Posted on by Anne Sandler · 42 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #308: Perfect Pairs

In a perfect world–wait! There’s no perfect world! Given our imperfections, guest host, Elizabeth of Albatz Travels challenges us to find perfect pairs. This is an exciting task since we interpret what we see so differently.

My first pairing is of two regulars at Mather Lake, a fishing spot and swans’ home. This pair is so different, but can usually be found at the lake at the same time.

Next there are insects and plants helping each other and us. My example are sunflowers and bees. Sunflowers provide the pollen bees need to pollenate and we love the bees honey.

The sun creates shadows and those shadows can change the object they are shadowing. This ship sculpture is at the Sacramento River Walk.

Distance can play tricks. What looks like a giant fork is actually a sculpture made from regular sized forks. Taken at the The Culinary Institute of America at Copia.

Our local Effie Yeaw Nature Center is home to many wild animals, especially deer. They don’t fear us humans, but are wary of coyotes and other animals. We have bucks and does.

Who remembers hood ornaments? I barely do. But our local California State Automobile Museum brings us back in time when cars were adorned with beauties like these. They aren’t at all alike but serve the same purpose.

You know, if you ask me, these are perfect pairings! Thanks Elizabeth for this fun challenge. When you respond, please remember to link to her original post and use the Lens-Artists tag.

Last week we traveled to many tourist attractions through a challenge given by Leanne Cole. Your responses took us around the world. Thank you all for participating. Next week  PR of Flights of the Soul will present Balconies. Be sure to look for her post. 

In the meantime, enjoy and stay healthy!

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 42 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #307 Tourist Attractions

It’s funny that Leanne Cole should pick this topic since my last trip took me to her home town, Melbourne. Here’s the story.

I’ve always wanted to go to Australia but never had the opportunity. When we did travel overseas, we were younger and I took pictures with a small point and shoot, and I can’t find those old prints. Back to Australia, last year my friend Sandy offered me an opportunity I couldn’t refuse, “We’re going to Australia, do you want to come?” she said.

I couldn’t say no! The “they” we were her family. The trip consisted of a cruise to New Caledonia from Sydney Australia. Sandy added on a week in Melbourne and several days in Sydney. After saying YES! I emailed Leanne, telling her I was coming. Leanne and I had a day-long photo outing to Monterey when she visited the U.S.

I absolutely fell in love with Melbourne. We have two rivers bordering Sacramento, but the Yarra River runs through Melbourne town, leaving the city with beautiful bridges, my favorite being the Webb Bridge.

Then there was the architecture. Beautiful buildings all around me. Here are some. I seemed to focus on the new structures. But the old were gorgeous too.

We did get to see the sites along the Great Ocean Road and stayed in Port Campbell for a few days. I’ll save those images for another day. I do hope to get back to Australia and see other areas where some of our bloggers live. Maybe if I wish hard enough!

A great big thanks to Leanne for taking me back to her home town. When you post your response, be sure to link back to her post and use the Lens-Artist tag. We have two more treats coming up for you this month.

July 20: Elizabeth of Albatz Travel Adventures will challenge up with PAIRS

July 27: PR of Flights of the Soul will challenge us with BALCONIES

So be looking for their posts. I hope you are having a safe and wonderful summer!

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 58 Comments

Lens-Artists Challenge #306: Habitat

My disclaimer: I’m really not a wildlife photographer because I don’t have a lens with extraordinary reach, and I’m not fast to react. But, isn’t there always a “but,” I do enjoy going out to our local wildlife areas a couple times a year. Usually, I get lucky and come home with a few good pictures.

So for Tina’s Habitat challenge, I’m sharing some pictures taken at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge and Gray Lodge Wildlife areas. I usually tag along with my friend Laura who is a true and great wildlife photographer.

You never know what you’re going to see when you visit these wildlife areas. And, it’s hit or miss. I enjoy these outings and their challenges anyway.

So enjoy these pictures which are mostly from the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge.

There is a funny story behind the eagle image: To photograph this eagle, I had to climb through Laura’s sunroof (waist high). Now you know why the eagle is looking a me with a surprised stare!

Thanks Tina for prompting this wonderful journey back in time. When you respond, please remember to link to Tina’s post and use the Lens-Artist tag in the reader. And thank you Egidio for another educational challenge. Now I’m seeing rectangles everywhere!

While the Lens-Artists team takes some time off during July, we have amazing guest hosts to lead our challenge:

July 13: Leanne of Leanne Cole explores TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

July 20: Elizabeth of Albatz Travel Adventures leads us with PAIRS

July 27: PR of Flights of the Soul presents BALCONIES

Patti will be back to lead our challenge on August 3rd. Until then stay safe and healthy.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 41 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #303: Connections

Every day we connect with people and places; some stronger than others. I’m the type of person who needs those connections. Right now, my old dog is resting near me as I type. Just having that connection comforts him. And, yes, his presence comforts me.

This week, Donna wants us to explore what connections mean to/for us. Since I retired 10 years ago, photography has connected me to wonderful people, some who have become great friends. I’ve also become a member of PSA and one of its chapters and clubs.

I’ve learned so much through workshops from the Gold Rush Chapter and the Sierra Camera Club. This image was featured in the PSA June Showcase.

Some other connections.

Fences are individual boards made of wood, steel, plastic etc. that are all connected together. Once connected, they separate one side from another, keeping people or animals either in or out.

Bridges connect one side to another. They come in all sizes, go over rivers, streams or even land.

Doors connect us to what’s inside or back out.

A park bench is a great connector. It helps connect people to their thoughts or nature, friends to each other or sweethearts to further discovery.

Holidays, fairs and celebrations connect us to fun, enjoyment and each other.

We don’t have to look far for connections. Just say hello and smile to a stranger–you’ve connected. Thank someone for helping you or ask for help–you’ve connected. And my dog, Gem, would suggest that you pet your animal so you can connect with unconditional love and loyalty.

Thank you Donna for reminding us that connections are important to all of us. Look at how we have all become virtual friends through LAPC. Remember to link to her challenge when you post your response and please use the Lens-Artist tag.

John certainly presented us with a great learning experience last week. I enjoyed seeing all the various responses from our community. Ritva is presenting our next challenge, so be sure to look for her post. Until then stay away from monster colds, make new connections and stay safe.

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 · 50 Comments

Lens-Artists Challenge #301: Floral

Thank you Sofia for this wonderful challenge. You would think that as much as I enjoy floral photography, this would be an easy challenge for me. Well, when you have a lot of choices, it’s hard to pick what you think is the best. So, I narrowed it down by floral venues and seasons in my area.

Looking back at these images, I realize that I enjoy getting very close with my macro lens. In fact, most of my pictures are close ups! I don’t do much editing. I start in Lightroom, and if necessary bring the pictures into Topaz for sharpening. Typically I don’t have to do anything with color adjustments. The flowers do that for me. I might put a slight black vignette in to accent the flower.

Let’s start with April. That is tulip month. Each year wonderful volunteers at Ananda Village, Nevada City, plant a tulip garden that is terraced and open for the month of April. It became so popular and crowded that they started selling tickets for certain start times. During the last 2 years, we chose to photograph a small tulip patch at our local Jensen Botanical Gardens. If we go early enough, we are the only photographers there.

Ananda Village

Getting up close at Jensen Botanical Gardens this year.

Horton’s Iris Farm in Loomis is a commercial venture, but they don’t mind us photographing their beautiful blossoms. I’ve never seen such a variety of colors.

We are truly missing Daffodil Hill which closed in March of 2019, the day after our last visit. It was so crowded and people were not sticking to the paths, trampling the flowers. We arrived when they opened. By the time we left, traffic was backed up to get in. This was a family run, free event. It’s sad that visitors abused it. I think they needed to do what Ananda Village did.

Our community suffered another loss last year with the draining of the pond in William Land Park. It was drained because of the bird flu and its proximity to the zoo where many birds are housed. Here’s a lotus in color (with a visitor) and one I processed in black and white. I edited the black and white first in color and brought it into NIK Silver Efex.

I cannot forget my sunflowers. Each June I look forward to going out the the fields, ignoring the bees, (I’m allergic to them.) to soak up happiness.

I’ll end this post with my favorite–roses. These are from the McKinley Rose Garden in Sacramento.

I had a lot of fun choosing these flowers and I hope you enjoyed them. When you respond to this challenge please remember to link to Sofia’s original post and use the Lens-Artists tag.

Last week we saw and enjoyed delicate images of all sorts in response to Ann-Christine’s challenge. They were all beautiful and some very clever. Next week, look for John’s challenge.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 40 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #300: Delicate

You know when you stop and put your mind to it, nothing is impossible. When I first saw Ann-Christine’s challenge this morning, I thought, “I don’t have any delicate images!” So I did my usual of choosing a year, 2019, and began to go through the pictures. Here’s what I found.

A beautiful glass ball in a garden.

Museums are great for finding delicate items and the Haggin Museum in Stockton is no exception. Look at the intricate, delicate work on this clock and the tedious, delicate weaving of this woman in this picture.

We photographers like our insects for their delicate wings and beauty. Yes, even bees!

I can’t forget trees. Their trunks may be sturdy and large, but their branches are delicate, beautiful and graceful.

Looking very much like tree branches, spider webs are delicate strands of silk created to catch a spider’s prey.

So that’s it for delicate, but here comes the twist. You know there’s typically a twist when I do a challenge. When I was looking through 2019, I found three images that truly impressed me as sweet and then maybe delicate in interpretation.

Love, no matter what species is undeniable. Cuteness popping out of blades of grass is sweet. And a small child walking among giant redwoods–well she has to be delicate!

I hope you didn’t mind my detour. When you post your response, please remember to link to Ann-Christine’s post and use the Lens-Artists tag. I was amazed at all the hope that came last week responding to Patti’s challenge on Hopeful. I think we made our LAPC world a little smaller and kind. Next week Sofia will be challenging us with Floral. You’ll notice I didn’t use any flowers in this post. I’m saving them! Look for her post.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 47 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #299: Hopeful

I chose to live in gratitude this year, and given the world condition, it’s difficult. So, thank you Patti for reminding me there is always hope and encouraging us to look into our own lives to show what gives us hope.

My rose garden, which I’ve neglected this year and still blooms, gives me hope. I’m not a gardener, but these roses have the resilience to show their beauty without much help from me. Maybe if individually we each show our beauty of spirit we can help bring beauty into this world.

Animals in their own habitat also give me hope. They live life simply and naturally. Some only hunt when hungry and some live off the land.

Holidays and festivities give me hope. For a short while we gather and enjoy, laugh and become childlike. Each year our community has a July 4th parade where golf carts, cars and bikes are decorated. If you’re not in the parade, you’re watching it. This is followed by a good old fashioned hot dog lunch.

Dedication to a passion brings me hope. When I’m out with my camera, I don’t think of other things. I just enjoy. My camera brings me to nature and sometimes artistic festivals where artists display their talents. One such festival is Chalk it Up. These artists paint with chalk, putting their all into it only to have it last a few days. Their dedication to their art and wanting to bring joy to others gives me hope.

I love trees–big ones like our Giant Sequoias and small ones; trees with leaves and those without. Trees are expressive in the way their branches bend, or stand out straight. Trees are strong and have a certain energy. Have you hugged a tree lately?

I’ll end with sunflowers. Just looking at them as they follow the sun, gives me hope. Their determination to blossom every year in the same fields shows that given the right care they will continue to smile at us. Can we give the world the right care and have it smile back?

We may not be able to change the world, but we can affect our small micro world and create hope. We can offer hope to our family and friends by helping and caring for them.

Thank you Patti, for reminding us that there is still hope. When you respond to her challenge, please remember to link to her original post and use the Lens-Artists tag. I truly enjoyed your responses to Tina’s challenge last week of Children (human and animal). What a joy they are, giving us hope. Next week Ann-Christine will be presenting the challenge, so look for her post. Until then, stay safe and have hope!

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 46 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #298: To Be Young Again

What would life be like for us if we were young again? I’m not sure I’d want to be young in this crazy, unstable world of ours. But when I see the world through a child’s face and it’s joy and innocence, I’m hopeful. Tina’s challenge is for us to be young again through children, human and animal, we have photographed.

I’m hesitant to photograph children I don’t know, and usually ask a parent for permission. However, sometimes there’s no way to ask. As in this photo. A child strapped in on a high swing having a great time. What joy.

I did ask for permission when I saw this gorgeous red hair. The girl turned around as her mother said yes and gave me a big smile. I bet I wasn’t the first person with a camera to ask permission.

Parades are very public and a great place to photograph participants.

Even the kids were enjoying this pirate festival.

And now for a diva in the making.

Being a zoo member, I’ve seen many animal moms have babies (not literally). They are precious. Here are some.

Baby flamingo making a first appearance.
They were kept inside until old enough to meet the public.
Wolf’s Guenon. Mom and baby.
Wolf’s Guenon Baby.
Mom and baby giraffe.

More animals: Swans and cygnets; Geese and goslings.

There’s a certain joy when you are in the company of children–human or animal. For me there’s three levels of childhood flooding my memories: my childhood, my children and my grandchildren. And let’s not forget the puppies that have brought joy into our household. Yes, we seniors have wonderful memories bringing us joy. Thank you Tina for challenging us with this wonderful topic. When you post your youthful images, please link to Tina’s original post and use the Lens-Artists tag.

Last week Egidio had us all listening to and singing our favorite tunes. I enjoyed reading about and listening to your selections. Next week Patti is challenging us, so be sure to look for her post.

If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info. 

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 44 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #297: Music to My Eyes

I can’t carry a tune. I can’t find the beat. But I love music!

Music fills my heart and soul with joy, love and sometimes sadness. I don’t care, I’ll sing along with my favorites no matter how bad I sound. Most of my favorites catch me because of their lyrics. They have to have meaning to me, and it helps if the instrumental portion is as beautiful as the lyrics.

However, Egidio challenged us to see the image and relate to the music it brings forth. For me, it came backwards. I feel the music and see the image. Kind of a twist, but that’s not unusual for me. Here are six of my favorites.

Here Comes the Sun. When I’m depressed, sad or just feeling down, I play this song. Written by George Harrison and made popular by the Beatles, I like Richie Havens version the best. His instrumental gets me dancing. By the way, I can’t dance either, but this song gets me moving and feeling the sun around me. Soon I’m out of my funk.

First light. Yosemite National Park.

Supermarket Flowers by Ed Sheeran. If you’ve buried your Mom, this song can’t help but bring back sweet memories. I think of my mom often, but especially when I listen to this song.

Tulips, Ananda Village, Nevada City

Piano Man by Billy Joel. I love this song for it’s message and instrumental. Joel’s lyrics take me out of my reality and into a bar filled with smoke and lonely people. Plus I enjoy listening to a piano, and this tune is exceptional.

Dave Bennett at the Sacramento Music Festival

Sound of Silence by Paul Simon. I’m not the first to pick this song as a favorite. I’ve been reading and listening to your posts and three of you have also picked this. Written by Simon and performed by Simon and Garfunkel, this song reaches my soul and I want to scream out we must do something. That something depends on what is happening in the world.

Lassen National Park

Forever Young by Rod Stewart. This song fills my heart, remembering when my children were infants and the love and light they brought into my life. I also remember seeing my grandchildren for the first time. Welcoming a child or grandchild into your life is an amazing experience and one never to be forgotten.

My younger set of grands at the Sacramento Zoo. Now they’re teens, but will be forever young to me.

Walking in Memphis by Marc Cohn. This song brought me to Memphis and Beale Street during our cross country trip. Oh my, I just soaked it up. The small cafes with music inviting you in. I did ask one of the gals singing if she knew this song. She did and sang it for me. I don’t know where my mind went, but it was euphoric.

Beale Street, Memphis, TN. Can you guess it’s biker night!

Yes, music is an important part of my life.

Thanks Egidio for taking me on this musical trip. When you post your response, please remember to link to his post and use the Lens-Artists tag. Last week we all enjoyed doing and seeing abstracts as requested by Ritva. Next week Tina will be leading the challenge so be sure to look for her post.