Once upon a time, a grandmother wanted to see the wild mustangs just outside of Reno while she was visiting her kids and grandkids. Her wish came true.
My son, daughter-in-law, grands and I piled in their SUV and began our trek. Our first stop wasn’t to see the horses. We stopped for chocolate. Oh my gosh–yum! We are going back there when I visit next.
On our way to the small town of Genoa, we spotted a horse family. A mare, her colt and the stallion. Here are some of the pictures I captured.
The final image is where they noticed me and decided to trot away. Their herd was nearby.
So grandma’s wish came true. These horses are just beautiful. I’m sure there will be another visit when I return.
What does winter mean to you? Sweater weather? Hot chocolate? Jackets and snow boots? John wants to know! To us photographers, it probably means snow and icicle images. To me, winter means one trip to the snow when the air is just right for a winter jacket and boots, you can drive in it without snow tires/chains and hot chocolate can be purchased at the nearest restaurant!
You got it, I enjoy seeing it, playing in it and leaving it behind. Fortunately I live in Sacramento California where it doesn’t snow. However that glorious winter weather is just a little over an hour away up Highway 80 at Donner Lake.
Also up the same road and about 10 minutes closer to home is Blue Canyon where my Astronomer husband has his observatory. Because of its location it is inaccessible in the winter.
Almost to the observatory.The observatoryThe road there and back.
One surprise snow experience happened when we were staying with the younger set of grands, in Reno Nevada, while their parents were away. During the night, I heard a strong wind slapping against the house. I woke up to a winter wonderland like I had never experience before. The truck was buried, the walkway had to dug out and the grands had a fun snow time.
Talking about the same trip, we decided to take the train from Sacramento to Reno, and back. We wanted the experience. Here are some pictures taken from the train on the way home.
Now we are about to enter winter. The weather will be cold, in the 30s (F) at night, climbing to the 60s in the afternoon. Yes, that’s the winter I want to experience!
Here in the Sacramento Valley the only time we get rain is in the winter. We do rely on the Sierra mountains snow pack, to fill our reservoirs with the melt during the summer. There have been many years of drought here when water has been rationed.
Thank you John for helping bring back those winter memories. Please remember to link to John’s challenge when you post your response, and use the Lens-Artists tag. Last week we explored elements via Sofia’s challenge. I enjoyed seeing your interesting responses.
Next week is our annual year-end challenge. In December 2022, the Lens-Artists team introduced a “Last-Chance” challenge. The idea was to review the year’s images that never quite fit our challenge subjects that year. The “rule” is that your chosen photographs must have been taken in 2024 and not have been included in response to our 2024 challenges. This challenge is not hosted. So, go through your archives and join us on Saturday, December 14, at noon Eastern Standard Time.
In the meantime, enjoy your holidays, have a safe New Year and we will be back in January.
My last chance is my first chance! Tina encourages us to post favorites from 2022 that have not been previously shown in LAPC. This is easy for me since I just took these photographs this past week.
We went up to Reno to stay with the grandkids. We were smart enough to take the train because we don’t have the proper tires to drive in the possible snow that was predicted to fall at higher elevations. The train ride was beautiful and I did take cell phone pictures going and coming. Today’s images are of the snow storm that hit us the night of December 10. I have never experienced anything like this. I’ve been in a hurricane and many earthquakes, but this was different.
It was snowing and I took some pictures. These were before the big storm hit.
During the night the wind started. It was slapping the house hard and the windows shook. I woke up early Sunday morning and went to the family room windows. It had started to snow hard and the trees were swaying violently. There was nothing I could do so I went back to bed. When we woke up, the wind had stopped and there was about 3-feet of snow. My son’s truck was stuck in the snow. He had someone come to dig it out and clear the driveway and walkway to the front door. It took three men about three hours to complete the job.
The black object was part of the snow blower. You can see the snow shoot out of it.
My kids were a day late coming home because the highway was closed. I woke up early Tuesday morning and caught some of the sunrise. My son’s back yard looks down on Reno.
Again, I’ve never been through a storm like this. When we took the grandkids to school on Monday, the scenery was just beautiful.
I’m looking forward to seeing some of your hidden favorites. Please link to Tina’s original post and use the Lens Artists tag. We totally enjoyed all your patterns during last week’s challenge. As we at LAPC take a 2-week break for the holidays, we are excited that Donna Holland of Wind Kisses is joining the LAPC team. She’s been a faithful follower, poster and guest host. Please be sure to follow her at her site, windkisses.com.
Have a fun, enjoyable and safe holiday season. We will be back on January 7, 2023 when John will be leading the challenge.
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.
When I first saw this challenge given by Rusha Sams, my immediate thoughts went to raising children. They are conceived in love, raised with love and then their children are loved. Beyond that, when I was traveling, I wasn’t taking pictures. It’s only in my senior years that I discovered photography as a form of self-expression and a passion.
So, bringing “A Labor Of Love” down to very basic terms, I chose to show an activity that is a labor of love for participants and fans alike. My topic: Hot Air Balloon Festivals.
I’ve only been to two Hot Air Balloon Festivals. The first was in September, 2012 when I bought my Nikon D3100. I chose an entry level camera to start because I wasn’t sure about photography. It didn’t take long before I upgraded to the D7100. I heard about the balloon festival in Windsor, California. So, off Richard and I went in our 5th wheel trailer, staying two nights in what they set aside as a campground. I was warned that the show started promptly at 4 a.m., and it did.
I woke up to the announcer on the loud speaker saying, “Good morning Windsor!” I jumped out of bed, got dressed, grabbed my camera and ran out the door to be greeted by total darkness. Once on the field, I realized I hadn’t set my camera! I saw the green “A,” turned the dial, and ran toward the “Dawn Patrol” that had just set up. The rest is history. I had a great time. I loved the challenge of getting the shots, lying on the ground as the balloons went up in the air, kneeling down to catch a picture of the balloon being blown up. It was an exhilarating morning. Here are a few of my first shots with my camera.
Fast forward to September 2017 when I was shooting with a Nikon D7100 at the Reno Hot Air Balloon Festival, Reno, Nevada.
Linda and I decided to stay one night at a hotel and waking up at 3:30 a.m. rather than waking up at 1 a.m. and driving 2 hours. It was a smart move for two seniors! This was a larger festival and just as much fun.
I saw many of the same balloons in Reno as I did in Windsor. The pilots have such a love for this sport that they travel from festival to festival. Weather is a big factor on whether they can take their balloons up. The second day at Windsor, it was too windy for them to fly.
This was a nice memory to catch up on. Thank you Rusha!
The wonderful thing about living in Sacramento is being able to visit Winter, enjoy for a few hours and come back to mild temperatures and no snow! Oh, I forgot to mention that if you time it right, you won’t need snow tires or chains to get to the snow and ski resorts. But timing is critical.
I remember taking two members of my SkillbuildersToastmasters Club to Reno,Nevada for a District 39 conference. We didn’t see any snow on the 2-hour ride up to Reno. We were just about to find a place to eat dinner when my husband called and said to come home. There was a big storm ready to hit Reno and further west. We didn’t hesitate. By the time we got to the car, the snow was already falling. When we got to the California border, I couldn’t see in front of me; the snow was falling that heavy. I managed to get down the mountain by following truck tracks that sort of plowed the road. I didn’t have snow tires or chains. However, the scenery was simply beautiful. Freshly fallen snow on pine trees; a photographer’s dream. It’s too bad I was driving. I would have been taking pictures.
While the timing was wrong for that trip, it was right for our February 2016 trip to the small town of Donner Lake, near Truckee, in Nevada County. The weather was perfect, roads were plowed and plenty of snow available to photograph. Linda drove and Marlene and I went along. It was an amazing day, topped off by the best pizza. Yes, we are foodies of sort.
Thank you Ann-Christine, and this challenge, for taking me back to a wonderful day! Check the captions for image details.
Donner Lake as seen from Donner Pass Road.
We assumed these homeowners would have to dig themselves in!
Icicles are beautiful.
There were many snowmen guarding the roads.
The small town lake side.
Mirror reflection.
Donner lake as seen from the snow tunnels no longer used by the trains.
On the way to lunch, we stopped at the Truckee River.
On the way home, we stopped at Cisco Grove.
I’ve been up the mountain to shoot snow since, but never experienced a day like this. Isn’t it wonderful that we have our images to help us remember. Keep beauty in your heart!
You know, one person photographs something, then everyone is after the same thing. And, of course, I’m no different. A few photographers recently went on a tour to photograph wild horses in Nevada. Their photos were great and spurred Me, Laura and Marlene on to find a herd.
We did, just outside Reno, Nevada. The other photographers found their group near Minden, Nevada. Laura knew of a herd near Reno and had their approximate position. When we got there, civilization had encroached on their territory, but they were still there. We drove through a housing complex, found the gate, drove beyond the gate and there they were! That easy!!
I couldn’t believe how used to people these Mustangs were. One came up to me straight on. I had to tell him I didn’t have anything for them. I did see someone feed them some carrots before he left the area.
It was amazing. These horses live just outside a residential area with a small stream as their water supply. They were grazing on whatever they could find on the ground. At one point, I saw a bunch galloping down the hillside. I yelled galloping and ran to the spot. Laura turned around and got some excellent shots. Mine are not so good, just a little soft, but I’ll show you one anyway. I was having a difficult time handholding the heavy F/4 300mm lens. Next time I’ll bring a monopod like Marlene did!
I want to find more wild herds. And, maybe my post will spur other photographers on to find herds to photograph.
I mostly used my 18 -140 mm lens since we were able to get so close.
Slow Shutter Speed 