Lens Artists Challenge #346: Cinematic

Confession time again, I rarely go to movies. The last one I went to was “A Complete Unknown,” and before that, “A Star Is Born.” Both were great movies. Worse, I’m not artistic. So, I’m twisting again. Oh, I loved that dance. I don’t have a sense of rhythm and you can twist and get away without one–a sense of rhythm!

So Sofia’s challenge is certainly a challenging one for me! I tried to make images look as cinematic as I could, and came up with a storyline for each picture. Here goes!

While on a wonderful vacation, a young couple are witness to a murder! They are not seen. What do they do? Go to the police and maybe ruin their vacation? Go home–fast? Or continue their vacation as if nothing happened? Or were they seen by the killer???

A storm recently came through this amazing vacation spot. These were left standing. What are they? What were their significance. How severe was the storm. Will the small town recover?

It’s getting late in the day, and time for picnickers to end their fun day of??? This is your story because I can’t come up with a good plot. I’m a non-fiction writer! I do want to read your ideas!

The party’s over. Everyone has gone home, leaving this balloon arrangement all alone. What was cheered at this party? A birthday, promotion, wedding, divorce?? What do you think????

Now this is one smart store owner. They have provided a bench outside their shop for the proverbial husband whose wife is shopping and has a credit card. He trusts her not to spend too much since he’s relaxing and reading a book. Or, was that book provided by the storekeeper so his wife would spend more time in the store? What do you think?

Your special places posted last week were wonderful. John certainly got our travel juices going. When you respond to Sofia’s challenge, please link back to her post and use the Lens-Artists tag. Ritva will be challenging us next week, so get ready and look for her post.

In the meantime, stay healthy and live in gratitude!

I go where the Meetup takes me: The Grand Island Mansion, Walnut Grove, California

I’m not a wanderer; I’m a homebody. But, through the various Meetups I belong to, I’ve been places I didn’t know existed and re-visited sites with a new photography outlook. Essentially, if there’s a Meetup within two hours and a carpool, I’m in.

With the Grand Island Mansion so close to home, in the Sacramento Delta area, this was a must visit. I was intrigued about this wedding and special occasion get away right on the water. So  I packed my gear and off I went. Although I wasn’t disappointed, I was not delighted either. The Mansion was open to photographers during their brunch hours, 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. We were invited to shoot the grounds and were told we could go inside as long as we did not disturb the diners. Oh, we could also enjoy brunch too–at the regular price of $29.95 not including tax and tip. Truly, I can’t eat that much food! Buffets are not a good option for me.

So, you probably safely assumed that I did not do brunch. But, I did stay out of the guests way and tried to get as much of the interior as I could. Today’s blog will cover the Mansion’s exterior which I found a little lacking. The front grounds were small with an area for weddings. There were many statues in the front, but they needed some sanding (or however you maintain them) and some fresh paint.

In the back, they had a courtyard and tent for more wedding activity, but it was all concrete. I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I did take pictures of the back, but didn’t see much beauty in them. I did find some murals that were beautiful. Most of these images were taken on aperture priority.  Take a look.