I’m late! I’m late! But not for a very important date–for my blog post on Beth’s Challenge of Bridges. I was caught by a bad cold, and this is the first clear headed day I’ve had in almost a week.
I don’t have to look far for bridges because with two major rivers, the American and Sacramento, there are plenty of bridges to choose from.
The most famous bridge spanning the Sacramento River is the Tower Bridge linking Sacramento to West Sacramento (which is in Yolo County.)
Here’s a view of one bridge framing the I Street bridge.
Now on the American River we have another famous bridge–The Rainbow Bridge near Folsom.
Let’s take a trip to the city of Roseville to see the walking bridge over Linda Creek. It’s a pretty bridge, especially in Autumn.
My last bridge is the Fair Oaks Bridge in the town of Fair Oaks.
There are more bridges, but my energy is leaving. Thanks to Beth for initiating a wonderful week of bridges. I’ll have a more robust post next week when Ann Christine leads the challenge. In the meantime try to stay healthy and be resilient.
Color, that’s what it’s all about. It’s used to entice us to purchase items. We dress in colors that complement our complexion. And as photographers we always use color even if we process in black and white. This week, Egidio encourages to show us how we use complementary colors in our photography.
Nature gives us color every time we go out, especially complementary colors. First is green. What doesn’t complement green. On the color wheel colors shades of orange, red and purple complement green when you cast a wide net.
But we humans know how to use complementary colors also. From a seat cushion, to fireworks against a golden bridge, to an abstract and to a ship’s interior.
When you see ads, interior spaces or store fronts, think about how they use color. Thanks Egidio for this wonderful and colorful challenge. When you post your response, please link to Egidio’s post and use the Lens-Artists tag.
I enjoyed seeing your responses to Ritva’s post that had us looking down last week. You gave me lots of ideas! Next week Tina is presenting the challenge, so be sure to look for her post. In the meantime, stay safe and live in gratitude!
It’s a busy day today. Tomorrow we head up to Lassen National Park where we will have no wifi, no internet or cell reception. So, I need to get this post done NOW! Nothing like a little motivation.
But Amy’s challenge of framing a photograph sent me way back (10 years ago) when I started photography. Actually, I wanted to see whether I was framing at that point. My trip back showed me that I was framing, but wasn’t shooting or editing that well. I don’t think I had Lightroom at that time. So, I ran my selections through a quick edit process.
Anyway, here they are. I saw that I used trees as a natural frame.
My next example is using a background as a frame. This is my younger grandson at Disney World. He’s now entering High School.
When does a stairwell become a frame that is leading lines? This was taken in Old Sacramento.
This colorful door is framed by neon and color. Could you resist taking a picture? This is Peggy Sue’s diner in Mesquite Nevada. The inside is just as amazing as the outside. And, oh, the food is good too.
My last picture is of the Tower Bridge in Sacramento. The bridge entrance is framed by street lights. The car light trails make this frame seem like an open box.
Thank you Amy for getting me to see just how far my photo abilities have come. I enjoyed looking back! When you post, please link back to her post and use the Lens-Artists tag. Last week, we all agreed that life is a work in progress, and I enjoyed your responses to Ann-Christine’s challenge. Next week John is presenting our challenge, so look for his post.
Now back to loading the trailer.
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.
I like standard time during the winter months because it means the sun sets early making photographing in the dark more feasible, getting me home early in the evening. Thank you Sofia for offering this challenge that fits perfectly with a recent visit to Old Sacramento.
My small group of senior photographers visited the waterfront last month to capture the new Ferris Wheel installed as an attraction to draw more visitors.
When we arrived, we came upon a guy break dancing. He kept on performing as darkness fell and his jar filled with dollar bills.
We then walked out on the Tower Bridge (A Sacramento landmark) to capture the Ferris Wheel and waterfront. I’ll be honest, we did not use tripods (which is suggested in low-light photography). As the cars went over the bridge, the resulting rumble would have made the tripods useless.
Tower Bridge
We then walked back to the waterfront to get a better view of the Ferris wheel.
While we were photographing the wheel, the sun had almost set. I ran to a vantage point and fortunately got a decent sunset and reflections.
Now, back to the bridge for the Ferris wheel in action after nightfall.
As we were walking up to the street, I was lucky to see this image: A restaurant with the Ferris wheel reflected in the window. I couldn’t resist photographing it.
I had so much fun this evening which included a cup of hot chocolate. Low-light photography presents challenges but the rewards are great. I’ve also enjoyed light painting and indoor photography.
Thank you Sofia for this fun challenge that fit perfectly with my photo activities. Please be sure to link your post to Sofia’s, and use the Lens-Artists tag. Next week I’ll be presenting the challenge.
Architecture surrounds us whether it’s a historical building, a small store, a different sort of home or an iconic skyscraper. In this week’s challenge, Tina encourages us to share our images of interesting architecture, opening the field to what is fascinating to us.
While California is known for cities like Hollywood and San Francisco, it is primarily an agricultural state. In Sacramento we are so close to a countryside of farms, ranches and orchards. Here are two country houses, very different in architecture, that I’ve visited through the Yolo Arts & Ag Project.
Clos Cavanis Farm
Oliver Farm
Close to Sacramento is Donner Lake, a busy place for summer and winter recreation. Some people live there full time and some have homes to enjoy as a get away. Here is a winter scene.
We also have buildings of historical value. One is the Gibson House, It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, in Woodland and another, bulging in the front for years, is located in Locke which is a historic district. I think it’s amazing that it is still standing.
And, of course there’s Folsom State Prison. Its architecture gives us a hint as to its age–141 years. Built in 1880, it’s a minimum to medium security prison and houses only men.
Next is Sacramento’s very own Tower Bridge. Spanning the Sacramento River, it connects Sacramento to West Sacramento, and is used as a branding image for many ad campaigns.
And finally, my favorite building, the CALSTRS building. In the picture above, it’s located just after another amazing architectural wonder, the Pyramid (The Ziggurat) Office Building. Here you can see it up close.
This ends my tour of interesting architecture in and around Sacramento. Thank you Tina for this fun challenge!
Yikes! This week’s challenge from Ana is postcards. I never bought them when I traveled because I knew I would be home before the reader received them. Fortunately she suggested that we post images of our own that we thought would make good postcards. As I started looking through my archives, I remembered that each year I create a calendar to give friends and family. So here are some of my images on my 2019 calendar that I think would make a nice postcard.
Tulip Time at Ananda Village
Tulip at Ananda Village
Iconic Tower Bridge Sacramento
Sacramento Zoo
Folsom Prison
Sacramento River, Old Sacramento
Plymouth Countryside
Yolo County Countryside
Sacramento Historical City Cemetery
Napa Valley in the Fall
Calaveras Big Trees State Park: A Family Adventure
Going vertical at Calaveras Big Trees State Park
Thanks Ana for taking me down memory lane.
In her post, Ana gave many good reasons for buying and collecting postcards and what they mean to her. I might start buying them now!
I’m sure we’re all waiting and hoping for new beginnings right now. This pandemic is getting old and depressing. We need some sunshine in our lives. This challenge from our guest host Ana of Anvica’s Gallery, is about sunshine and how it helps us get through difficult times with a little self help.
Here’s what she says: “Not every day can be wonderful. There are times in life when suffering is there, for many reasons, and it is difficult to overcome. Those moments are part of life and no one gets rid of them. But how we live those situations and what we learn from them, is within us. Although a pleasant ray of sunshine always helps, right?”
However, in photography the sun helps us in many ways. First it makes shadows for us.
It can help the sunflowers smile and form a sunburst to pop through trees in a forest. It can also be a light at the end of a natural tunnel.
And at sundown it can create magical beauty.
The sun helps us see positivity and can brighten our world. In his blog regarding this challenge John RH quoted some lyrics from “Here Comes The Sun” by the Beatles. Here are all the lyrics:
Here comes the sun, doo da doo doo Here comes the sun It’s all right It’s all right
Yes, one of these days, it will be alright especially if we do some self help. Oh, if you look for the song, try to stream the Richie Haven’s rendition. I’m playing it now, and I’m feeling better. Thank you Ana!
Did you ever have a problem only to be sent around in circles? Unfortunately, I’m writing this post just after encountering a problem with Luminar.
I’m licensed for Luminar 4, and in the short time I’ve had it, I love it! I get an email regarding what looks like an update to Luminar 4.3. Great! Not so great. Once I install the update, it tells me I downloaded a free trial. If I have a license, put it in this box. I copied and pasted my license number in the box, and it says it’s not associated with my email.
I try a few more things, and finally it says that license number is associated with my email! In frustration, I tried to get a hold of tech support. The chat box opened. This chat is computer operated–no live person at the other end. To make a long story less long. The chat bot, as it’s called, gave me instructions that either didn’t work or sent me in circles. I’m currently waiting for a tech support reply. Do you hear my screams??
Okay on to Old Sacramento. We went down there for a sunset. I was amazed at how crowded it was, and many people weren’t masked. That made me a little uncomfortable, so I tried to stay away from people as best I could. There weren’t any clouds, but I thought this would be a good opportunity to replace the skies with Luminar. It worked well, and for the most part I was happy with the results.
Here are some before and after shots.
This was the first one I did. A photo buddy suggested moving the cloud so that it wasn’t directly over the tree, but since it was a Luminar sky, I couldn’t.
And finally, this image got me into the trouble today. I was looking for a tutorial on cleaning up a sky replacement, but first went into my email. I should have gone to the tutorial first. This is the Tower bridge. I liked the sunset sky, but the second tower seems to have the sunset sky run through it. If anyone has a suggestion how to eliminate that thin bit of sky, let me know!
Luminar had nothing to do with this last image; just mother nature and a boat.
I’ll let you know how I make out with Luminar in another post. Maybe my next one! Hopefully in my next post!!
Somehow I’m procrastinating and haven’t gone out to shoot Christmas Lights. It’s been cold here and that’s why I haven’t propelled my body out of the house. But, we did got to the California State Capitol building to shoot the Christmas tree, and since it was during Chanukah, the Menorah on the Capitol steps by Chabad. I was a bit disappointed that the Menorah wasn’t lit that night.
We got there early enough to go inside the Capitol and take indoor photos. I’ll show you some. The rotunda is beautiful. Next we went outside to set up. Here’s where I learned another lesson! Don’t go on an outing with a preconceived idea of what you’re going to shoot, and just shoot that. Look around, there may be something behind you!
When I finally looked around, I was able to grab a shot of Capitol Ave leading to the Tower Bridge with light trails. Most of my group walked a ways down that street.
My friend Jean will be getting her new camera a couple of days after Christmas, and the houses will still be colorful. No more procrastinating! Merry Christmas everyone.
There’s nothing like fireworks and photo buddies to get you out of a funk. We’ve all been there. You know, you feel blah. It was a 2-week funk for me. I went shooting and tried to process the pictures. I was almost caught up!
During the summer, our local minor league team, the River Cats, shoots off fireworks after every Friday night home game. I probably would have skipped the fireworks so close to July 4th, (especially since there would be other evenings of fireworks) but my All About Photography Toastmasters Club was going, and so was I. We met many photographers from the Sacramento Photographers Facebook group too. Actually it ended up being a fun evening.
I was going to try shooting with two cameras. One would be set up on bulb and the other to shoot regular. But, at the last minute I decided to shoot with one. I tried putting it on bulb with a remote trigger, but didn’t like the results. I took it off of bulb and took out the trigger, shooting individually.
I have some of those shots to show you today. Yesterday on July 4th, we had our usual block party, and I was wearing my camera. One of the guests asked me if I was a photographer, and I said, “Yes, I finally feel I can say I’m a photographer.” That was a defining moment for me. I’ll show you some of those too, but they are not super since we were losing light, I didn’t have a tripod, etc. Also, I didn’t shoot the small fireworks because my dog is totally afraid of the sounds. So we watched TV while the others watched the fireworks show.
And, I’m out of the funk!
We never know when the game will end, so we have to be ready.
I think the two fireworks displays on the left each look like the Statue Of Liberty.
I was disappointed that there weren’t many with red, white and blue.
The bridge is the Tower Bridge, a Sacramento landmark.
The field is in West Sacramento, and the best viewing is in Old Sacramento.
Almost the finale. The actual finale had too much smoke.
The July 4 block party. The games begin.
There were games for all ages.
And games for the young at heart.
I’m not sure whether we declared a winner in the Piccolo Pete race.
Here’s a car in action.
The last game before fireworks. The egg toss.
Egg toss in action.
Yes, we use real eggs. This one dropped right near my foot!
