Every time I think a challenge is probably the most difficult, there’s another one coming along. This time, Tina is asking us to pick no more than five of our favorite photos. I don’t know about you, but it’s much easier for me to pick favorites from someone else’s images.
I know you expect me to post flowers, but in this photo, the praying mantis was what I was after.
You also know I’m a member of our local zoo. I happened to be talking to a docent when I think we woke up this flamingo. Quick shot!
I happened to be invited to photograph a super moon that was to appear near our State Capitol building. So glad I was there.
I miss our annual Sacramento Music Festival, especially seeing Tom Rigney and Flambeau.
My fifth and final picture is…yes, a flower. A lotus.
Thank you Tina for this wonderful exercise and trip down memory lane. When you post your five favorites, please link to Tina’s post and use the Lens-Artists tag. Last week we saw portraits of all kinds. It was beautiful and fun. Next week Egidio will be challenging us, so stay tuned! In the meantime, stay safe and live in gratitude.
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 challengedus 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.
Every day, something changes–whether we want it to or not. In his challenge John asks us to think about change: “Maybe it’s the changes in your family over the years, the change of seasons in your favorite park, or even the change in the technology of your camera equipment. In short, what does “change” mean to you?”
I thought about it, and what came to my mind was how Sacramento has changed since I started photography. First are some of the things we lost.
The first blow to photographers was Daffodil Hill. This beautiful hillside of color and flowers closed last year because of too many visitors. It’s remote location caused the one road in and out to become jammed, and visitors were not staying on the designated paths. Daffodil Hill was owned by the McLaughlin family who planted and cared for their farm. This was their labor of love to be enjoyed by many.
Daffodil Hill
The next thing we lost was the annual Sacramento Music Festival. We worked on and enjoyed the festival for several years. I loved walking from venue to venue, listening to wonderful music. It discontinued because of money loss.
Opening parade at the Sacramento Music Festival.
One change that was fought and won was Sacramento City Council’s decision to remove the flowers from the Sacramento Historic Cemetery. The decision was made because when the cemetery was first founded there were no flowers and they wanted to keep it true to its history! The public and the gardeners won. The team of gardeners is volunteer based, and thanks to them we continue to enjoy this amazing place.
A volunteer tends to the garden. The beautiful florals add peace to the cemetery.
Ever changing are the murals that brighten Sacramento each year through Wide Open Walls. We go downtown each year to see what new art adorns the city’s walls.
One of my favorites.
New to Sacramento, specifically Old Sacramento, is the Ferris Wheel along the waterfront. After fixing the wood walkways, the city wanted an attraction to bring families into the Old City.
The Ferris Wheel and its reflection in a restaurant window.
Last, is a thing we want changed: the homeless. There have been many programs offered to help. Some have succeeded, some haven’t.
Asleep on a sidewalk/curb in Old Sacramento.
Among the venues we hope don’t change is Effie Yeaw Nature Center. This center along the American River is close to us and offers us the nearness to wildlife like deer, coyotes, wild turkeys, etc. I hope this center continues for years to come.
A buck at Effie Yeaw.
So, because change is inevitable, we need to embrace it and continue on. Isn’t it wonderful that we are able to capture things we enjoy on camera before they disappear!
Thank you John for giving us a reason to pause and reflect. Last week Amy helped us to remember our travels and what they have taught us; next week Sophia leads the challenge. Look for her post. Remember to link to her post and use the Lens-Artists tag in WordPress.
What an exciting topic from our guest host Biasini with some help from her human Ma Leueen who helped her out with the typing. Horses can’t type. You’ll have to read the original super interesting post here.
Animals do communicate with each other and humans. My dog Gem will continuously ask me to take him for a walk until I finally do. One morning he came to me while I was eating breakfast. I knew what he wanted, a walk. I told him it was too early and to come back in one hour. He came back in 58 minutes. I told him he was 2 minutes too early! True story.
I love going to the Sacramento Zoo just to visit with the animals. They talk to each other.
Okapi are supposed to be solitary, but these two have become best buds and talk over the fence.
Music speaks to us in different ways. I can’t carry a tune or play an instrument, but music is an important part of my life. It brings back memories. And it touches our hearts, especially when the memory is mutual. Richard and I used to work the Sacramento Music Festival until it closed. Two of our favorites were Tom Rigney and Flambeau and Dave Bennett.
Taken in 2016, here’s Dave Bennett and his band playing rock ‘n roll Jerry Lee Lewis style. You could find him next in a smaller venue playing his clarinet like Benny Goodman.
Taken in 2017 Tom Rigney’s joy shows when he plays his fiddle.
Music also tells us about different cultures. Last year’s Asian New Year Festival in Isleton featured taiko drummers. They were amazing. Along with their music came an explanation of the culture attached.
And finally there is human non-verbal communication. Marlene and I happened to be in San Francisco for a photo walk along the Embarcadero. These next two images communicate human emotion.
Love is communicated as this couple help their old dog into her stroller.
What emotion does this image communicate to you?
Communication is key to our getting along as a society. The animals at the zoo know that, do we?
The music was outstanding, but the weather was not. It was in the high 90s again this year, and our venue is outside. Even though the temperature was brutal, the Sacramento Music Festival was a hit. I do this every year because I enjoy it. I like being involved at some level, and all staff members get a free four-day pass. We work 3 1/2 hours and have the rest of the day to enjoy music.
We work the youth venue at the Delta King. Most of the kids are high-school age, some are from middle school and some are from private clubs. Best of all, these youth bands play well. I do enjoy our venue.
I only brought my camera in one day so I didn’t get all the groups. And, I only used my walk around lens (18-140 mm). I’m learning that sometimes you just want to enjoy the activity without getting up and taking pictures–especially when it’s hot.
As we were breaking down the venue, I asked our site manager if he could order better weather for next year. He said something like it could be hotter or rain. We’ve had both!
So here’s a glimpse of Saturday at the Sacramento Music Festival.
They had a small classic car show. This was my favorite.
We caught the parade.
Every year a musician is named the Emperor of the Festival.
Here’s a group doing acrobatics.
They did this while they were walking.
People of every age walked and danced.
They also tried to get the audience involved.
Boy Scouts marched with the flag.
The multi-talented Dave Bennett. A great clarinet player.
And he puts on a show doing Jerry Lee Lewis songs and more.
I tried to catch his flying fingers.
Here he’s standing on the bass while playing the piano.
Here the bass player is standing on the bass.
What can I say about this!
Tom Rigney puts soul into his music. Every year I try to capture that. See the featured photo.
Will we have a music festival? That’s the question we hear asked each year. This year the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society put on its 42nd festival and made money by working with an all volunteer staff and cutting down on venues outside of Old Sacramento.
We are not involved in the yearly pre-planning, but only work the festival during the weekend. It’s fun and I love listening to the youth bands, called the Next Generation bands. And you never know who will drop in and jam with them. This year our usual 3 1/2 shifts were lengthened to 4 – 4 1/2 hours. But, that still left us enough time to see acts and listen to wonderful music.
And, we have one of the half days off. Ours was Monday. Because we had the closing shift Sunday night and are not used to staying up after midnight, we didn’t go in Monday morning. We did help break down the venue. Why does it always take less time to break down than put up? It’s the same when you travel. It takes longer to get there than it does coming home!
Home was sweet on Monday morning. I had time to prepare for our out of town dinner guest.
Will there be a 43rd festival? I’m sure they will have it. This format worked, and the newspaper reported that a small profit was made. Till next year!
Tom Rigney and Flambeau played to a packed parking lot.
Bob Draga joined them during the set.
Puget Sound Machine played at a smaller venue.
The sun was shinning directly on them.
They had fun mixing up the music.
This tree had branches throughout the venue.
They climbed everywhere
It helped create a beautiful atmosphere.
This is the lead of the High Sierra Jazz Band.
These guys were great.
Each performed a solo.
I’m sorry I wasn’t able to isolate the drummer.
Many played different instruments and sang.
During this set they were joined by a guest from Scandinavia.
And, Bob Draga popped in also. What sweet sounding music.
It was HOT! During the entire Memorial weekend at the Sacramento Music Festival (sponsored by the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society) mother nature turned on the furnace. I’m sure it could have been worse; but then, it could have been better. The heat did put a damper on our weekend of listening to wonderful music, but we handled it. Well, I handled it until Monday morning when I realized that I was suffering from some form of heat stroke. We did not go to the Festival that day to listen to bands, but to just help tear down our youth venue. I rested and slept most of Monday.
The sets we attended were great. Our favorites did not let us down. I kept wondering how the performers were handling the heat. I guess they give it their all no matter what. We also enjoyed seeing bands we haven’t listened to before. One stand out was a band from Poland. In addition to being great musicians, they were funny and entertaining.
The standout was Dave Bennett. For the past two years he has appeared with the Memphis Boys, doing Jerry Lee Lewis style rock and roll, and some country. He plays the piano like Lewis, uses Lewis’ style and does the vocals. However, he also plays the clarinet, and this year he did two “Tribute to Benny Goodman” sets. He was amazing–so much talent.
Now, in the past, I’ve posted mostly photos of the various groups we’ve enjoyed. This year, I decided to focus on street photography and show you what the Festival looks like outside of the venues. I only brought my camera in one day. I hope you enjoy them. I’ll put them in two posts. Today you’ll see most of the parade. More to come tomorrow.
Oh, today (the Tuesday after the Festival) the temperature was in the ’80s and a nice cooling breeze was blowing. Talk about bad luck!
Slow Shutter Speed 