Photography

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52 Photo Challenge: Week 52-Portfolio

“And did I pass?” The face of the old woman on my right was unreadable in the gathering dusk. On my left the younger woman said, “You don’t pass or fail at being a person, dear.”—Neil Gaiman

We’ve reached the end of the 52 photo challenge—one year of taking photos weekly and sharing them here. The final assignment was to create a portfolio of our favorite images from the year, which I’ve done below.

The year included more than 520 photos (more if you count photography posts outside the challenges), 2,907 comments, and 6,612 likes. Beyond the numbers, I’ve learned a lot more about what my camera can do and my editing skills are getting stronger.

Thank you to everyone who has followed along. Your likes and comments keep me going. Every artist desires an audience and you’ve been a loyal and loving one. Thank you.

So, what’s in store for 2024? That’s something I’ll write about later in the week, but for now, let’s take a look at my favorite images of 2023. Happy New Year!

  • Photos were taken with Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
  • If you want to join the 52 Photo Challenge, you can find all the information at nicolesy.com

52 Photo Challenge
Week 1: Bokeh
Week 2: Silhouette
Week 3: Black and White
Week 4: Motion Blur
Week 5: Texture
Week 6: Framing
Week 7: Leading Lines
Week 8: Negative Space
Week 9: Patterns
Week 10: Symmetry
Week 11: Green
Week 12: Sidelight
Week 13: Sense of Scale
Week 14: One Lens
Week 15: Series
Week 16: Flat Lay
Week 17: Behind the Scenes
Week 18: Water
Week 19: Blurry Foreground
Week 20: Unique Perspective
Week 21: Shadow
Week 22: Food
Week 23: Abstract
Week 24: Reflection
Week 25: Contrast Color
Week 26: Think in Threes
Week 27: Starburst
Week 28: Low Perspective
Week 29: Macro
Week 30: Backlight
Week 31: Big Sky
Week 32: Dominant Color
Week 33: Fill the Frame
Week 34: Spot Metering
Week 35: Handheld Long Exposure
Week 36: S Curve
Week 37: Shoot Through
Week 38: Faces
Week 39: Blossom
Week 40: Environmental Portrait
Week 41: Texture Overlay
Week 42: Details
Week 43: Season
Week 44: Fog & Steam
Week 45: Nighttime
Week 46: Analog
Week 47: Sunrise/Sunset
Week 48: Lens Flare
Week 49: Panorama
Week 50: Street
Week 51: A Thousand Years

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52 Photo Challenge: Week 51-A Thousand Words

“If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the imagination is worth a thousand pictures.” —J.E.B. Spredemann

This week’s assignment for the 52 photo challenge was to photograph something meaningful to you. As it’s Christmas Eve, I decided to share some decorations around my house that hold meaning for me and my family.

I hope you enjoy these photos and you have a wonderful holiday.

#1: Although this isn’t my grandma Kate’s tree, she had one just like it. You can’t turn it on for too long as the bulbs get nice and hot.

#2: My mother-in-law Janet made this ornament for our family.

#3: I’ve had this tree topper since my first Christmas away from home in 1995.

#4: My parents bought this ornment their first Christmas together.

#5: I’ve had this playset since before the kids were born and I have many fond memories of them playing with it under the tree.

#6: These are vintage and remind me of my children.

#7: Our Christmas cactus bloomed and it reminds me of my mother-in-law.

#8: My mother made this when she was a kid in school and although it’s broken and chipped, it wouldn’t be Christmas without it.

#9: I always put my kids in matching striped pajamas.

#10: This doily belonged to my grandma Pat and it’s draped over my grandma Kate’s chair. Both of them are with me.
  • Photos were taken with Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
  • If you want to join the 52 Photo Challenge, you can find all the information at nicolesy.com

52 Photo Challenge
Week 1: Bokeh
Week 2: Silhouette
Week 3: Black and White
Week 4: Motion Blur
Week 5: Texture
Week 6: Framing
Week 7: Leading Lines
Week 8: Negative Space
Week 9: Patterns
Week 10: Symmetry
Week 11: Green
Week 12: Sidelight
Week 13: Sense of Scale
Week 14: One Lens
Week 15: Series
Week 16: Flat Lay
Week 17: Behind the Scenes
Week 18: Water
Week 19: Blurry Foreground
Week 20: Unique Perspective
Week 21: Shadow
Week 22: Food
Week 23: Abstract
Week 24: Reflection
Week 25: Contrast Color
Week 26: Think in Threes
Week 27: Starburst
Week 28: Low Perspective
Week 29: Macro
Week 30: Backlight
Week 31: Big Sky
Week 32: Dominant Color
Week 33: Fill the Frame
Week 34: Spot Metering
Week 35: Handheld Long Exposure
Week 36: S Curve
Week 37: Shoot Through
Week 38: Faces
Week 39: Blossom
Week 40: Environmental Portrait
Week 41: Texture Overlay
Week 42: Details
Week 43: Season
Week 44: Fog & Steam
Week 45: Nighttime
Week 46: Analog
Week 47: Sunrise/Sunset
Week 48: Lens Flare
Week 49: Panorama
Week 50: Street

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52 Photo Challenge: Week 50-Street

“What I want is for the two of us to meet somewhere by chance one day, like, passing on the street, or getting on the same bus.” —Haruki Murakami

This week’s assignment for the 52 photo challenge was street photography. I waited until I had a reason to go downtown tonight and it happens to be pouring rain. And dark. I did what I could to take advantage of those aspects and find something interesting to share. Let me know if you have a favorite. I think I’m turning in #6, but feel free to change my mind.

Only two more weeks of this challenge. It’s been a big year of growth for me and I’m so grateful to those who have been cheering me on the entire time. I hope I pass you on the street one day and you stop to say hello.

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#10: I’m sitting inside this coffee shop right now working.

  • Photos were taken with Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
  • If you want to join the 52 Photo Challenge, you can find all the information at nicolesy.com

52 Photo Challenge
Week 1: Bokeh
Week 2: Silhouette
Week 3: Black and White
Week 4: Motion Blur
Week 5: Texture
Week 6: Framing
Week 7: Leading Lines
Week 8: Negative Space
Week 9: Patterns
Week 10: Symmetry
Week 11: Green
Week 12: Sidelight
Week 13: Sense of Scale
Week 14: One Lens
Week 15: Series
Week 16: Flat Lay
Week 17: Behind the Scenes
Week 18: Water
Week 19: Blurry Foreground
Week 20: Unique Perspective
Week 21: Shadow
Week 22: Food
Week 23: Abstract
Week 24: Reflection
Week 25: Contrast Color
Week 26: Think in Threes
Week 27: Starburst
Week 28: Low Perspective
Week 29: Macro
Week 30: Backlight
Week 31: Big Sky
Week 32: Dominant Color
Week 33: Fill the Frame
Week 34: Spot Metering
Week 35: Handheld Long Exposure
Week 36: S Curve
Week 37: Shoot Through
Week 38: Faces
Week 39: Blossom
Week 40: Environmental Portrait
Week 41: Texture Overlay
Week 42: Details
Week 43: Season
Week 44: Fog & Steam
Week 45: Nighttime
Week 46: Analog
Week 47: Sunrise/Sunset
Week 48: Lens Flare
Week 49: Panorama

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52 Photo Challenge: Week 49-Panorama

“The destiny of every walking man is to immerse himself in the panorama surrounding him, to the point of becoming one with it and, ultimately, to vanish”. —Federico Castigliano

This week’s assignment for the 52 photo challenge was to take a panorama shot. We were given two options—the photograph-and-stitch method or the panorama setting on your iPhone. I didn’t have the time and/or energy to learn something new this week, so I went with the easier option and used my phone.

The top image shows what normally happens when I use the iPhone panorama feature—the distorted bend and uneven spots. For the rest of these, I tried to avoid such a huge distortion. #1 is my absolute favorite and #7 was just to show you my cute Christmas decorations in my front yard.

I’m getting toward the end of this challenge and I’m ready to be done. Next week is street photography with all the examples being amazing street vendors in foreign countries. I’m not sure yet what I’ll be able to do…but I hope to end on a high note. Hope you have a wonderful week.

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  • Photos were taken with my iPhone 13 and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
  • If you want to join the 52 Photo Challenge, you can find all the information at nicolesy.com

52 Photo Challenge
Week 1: Bokeh
Week 2: Silhouette
Week 3: Black and White
Week 4: Motion Blur
Week 5: Texture
Week 6: Framing
Week 7: Leading Lines
Week 8: Negative Space
Week 9: Patterns
Week 10: Symmetry
Week 11: Green
Week 12: Sidelight
Week 13: Sense of Scale
Week 14: One Lens
Week 15: Series
Week 16: Flat Lay
Week 17: Behind the Scenes
Week 18: Water
Week 19: Blurry Foreground
Week 20: Unique Perspective
Week 21: Shadow
Week 22: Food
Week 23: Abstract
Week 24: Reflection
Week 25: Contrast Color
Week 26: Think in Threes
Week 27: Starburst
Week 28: Low Perspective
Week 29: Macro
Week 30: Backlight
Week 31: Big Sky
Week 32: Dominant Color
Week 33: Fill the Frame
Week 34: Spot Metering
Week 35: Handheld Long Exposure
Week 36: S Curve
Week 37: Shoot Through
Week 38: Faces
Week 39: Blossom
Week 40: Environmental Portrait
Week 41: Texture Overlay
Week 42: Details
Week 43: Season
Week 44: Fog & Steam
Week 45: Nighttime
Week 46: Analog
Week 47: Sunrise/Sunset
Week 48: Lens Flare

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52 Photo Challenge: Week 48-Lens Flare

“If it is time that you are talking to
Don’t forget the path you are walking through
Sudden flare of past might stalk you
Never allow moments to mock you”
—Munia Khan

This week’s assignment for the 52 photo challenge was to capture a lens flare. Still craving water and a beautiful sunrise, I woke early and drove to Folsom Lake. It was chilly and cold but incredibly peaceful. I hiked for a long time to reach the water’s edge, and then I savored the sound of the waves. If I closed my eyes I could pretend I was still at the ocean.

Not all of these photos stay on topic, but I’m okay with breaking the rules a little bit. Well, I’m trying to be. Let me know if you have a favorite and have a fantastic week.

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  • Photos were taken with Olympus OM-D  and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
  • If you want to join the 52 Photo Challenge, you can find all the information at nicolesy.com

52 Photo Challenge
Week 1: Bokeh
Week 2: Silhouette
Week 3: Black and White
Week 4: Motion Blur
Week 5: Texture
Week 6: Framing
Week 7: Leading Lines
Week 8: Negative Space
Week 9: Patterns
Week 10: Symmetry
Week 11: Green
Week 12: Sidelight
Week 13: Sense of Scale
Week 14: One Lens
Week 15: Series
Week 16: Flat Lay
Week 17: Behind the Scenes
Week 18: Water
Week 19: Blurry Foreground
Week 20: Unique Perspective
Week 21: Shadow
Week 22: Food
Week 23: Abstract
Week 24: Reflection
Week 25: Contrast Color
Week 26: Think in Threes
Week 27: Starburst
Week 28: Low Perspective
Week 29: Macro
Week 30: Backlight
Week 31: Big Sky
Week 32: Dominant Color
Week 33: Fill the Frame
Week 34: Spot Metering
Week 35: Handheld Long Exposure
Week 36: S Curve
Week 37: Shoot Through
Week 38: Faces
Week 39: Blossom
Week 40: Environmental Portrait
Week 41: Texture Overlay
Week 42: Details
Week 43: Season
Week 44: Fog & Steam
Week 45: Nighttime
Week 46: Analog
Week 47: Sunrise/Sunset

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Photography: Dillon Beach

“I am a tiny seashell
that has secretly drifted ashore
and carries the sound of the ocean
surging through its body.”
—Edward Hirsch

Sometimes a place can be familiar to you but still hold secrets. People are like this too. I look for what is true. What is real. That’s where magic lives.

On this beach trip, the ocean was angry. It pounded the shore and never receded enough to reveal the tide pools. The beauty took my breath away. Come with me.

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  • Photos were taken with Olympus OM-D  and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
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Photography: Tomales Catholic Cemetery

“The cemetery is an open space among the ruins, covered in winter with violets and daisies. It might make one in love with death, to think that one should be buried in so sweet a place.”—Percy Bysshe Shelley, Adonais

I’ve passed the Tomales Catholic cemetery for years and always wanted to stop. On Thanksgiving, I finally did. Wandering the grounds taking pictures of the beautiful statues, some dating back to the 1800s, my mind wandered to my own lineage. I have no sacred grounds to honor my ancestors and so I choose to think of them.

Hawks circled above me and the sun shone far too bright in the early afternoon sky. I felt a variety of feelings from unease to joy. I wondered about the women who came before me and the roads they walked. Gratitude flooded my body. My camera is a time machine. A lens to see more than I can.

Walk with me.

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  • Photos were taken with Olympus OM-D  and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
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52 Photo Challenge: Week 47-Sunrise/Sunset

“Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.”
—John Muir

This week’s assignment for the 52 photo challenge was to take photos of the sunrise/sunset. This aligned perfectly with a very rare week of double travel for me. Not only did I visit Tahoe for a few days, but it was swiftly followed by a quick trip to Dillion Beach. I feel so lucky!

Both trips provided such incredible views to photograph. My selection of images includes both locations at sunrise and sunset. Let me know if you have a favorite and have a wonderful week.

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My friend Heidi took this shot of me in Tahoe.
  • Photos were taken with Olympus OM-D  and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
  • If you want to join the 52 Photo Challenge, you can find all the information at nicolesy.com

52 Photo Challenge
Week 1: Bokeh
Week 2: Silhouette
Week 3: Black and White
Week 4: Motion Blur
Week 5: Texture
Week 6: Framing
Week 7: Leading Lines
Week 8: Negative Space
Week 9: Patterns
Week 10: Symmetry
Week 11: Green
Week 12: Sidelight
Week 13: Sense of Scale
Week 14: One Lens
Week 15: Series
Week 16: Flat Lay
Week 17: Behind the Scenes
Week 18: Water
Week 19: Blurry Foreground
Week 20: Unique Perspective
Week 21: Shadow
Week 22: Food
Week 23: Abstract
Week 24: Reflection
Week 25: Contrast Color
Week 26: Think in Threes
Week 27: Starburst
Week 28: Low Perspective
Week 29: Macro
Week 30: Backlight
Week 31: Big Sky
Week 32: Dominant Color
Week 33: Fill the Frame
Week 34: Spot Metering
Week 35: Handheld Long Exposure
Week 36: S Curve
Week 37: Shoot Through
Week 38: Faces
Week 39: Blossom
Week 40: Environmental Portrait
Week 41: Texture Overlay
Week 42: Details
Week 43: Season
Week 44: Fog & Steam
Week 45: Nighttime
Week 46: Analog

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52 Photo Challenge: Week 46-Analog

“People think dreams aren’t real just because they aren’t made of matter, of particles. Dreams are real. But they are made of viewpoints, of images, of memories and puns and lost hopes.”—Neil Gaiman

This week’s assignment for the 52 photo challenge was to take an analog photograph. You could either use a film camera or you could edit your photos to look as if you did. Not wanting to worry about finding film and having it developed, I opted for the editing option.

These photos are special to me because they were taken during a writing retreat in Tahoe last weekend. It was three days of deep connection, fireside chats, and being seen. I’m grateful for my writing community and for the power of vulnerability.

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  • Photos were taken with Olympus OM-D  and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
  • If you want to join the 52 Photo Challenge, you can find all the information at nicolesy.com

52 Photo Challenge
Week 1: Bokeh
Week 2: Silhouette
Week 3: Black and White
Week 4: Motion Blur
Week 5: Texture
Week 6: Framing
Week 7: Leading Lines
Week 8: Negative Space
Week 9: Patterns
Week 10: Symmetry
Week 11: Green
Week 12: Sidelight
Week 13: Sense of Scale
Week 14: One Lens
Week 15: Series
Week 16: Flat Lay
Week 17: Behind the Scenes
Week 18: Water
Week 19: Blurry Foreground
Week 20: Unique Perspective
Week 21: Shadow
Week 22: Food
Week 23: Abstract
Week 24: Reflection
Week 25: Contrast Color
Week 26: Think in Threes
Week 27: Starburst
Week 28: Low Perspective
Week 29: Macro
Week 30: Backlight
Week 31: Big Sky
Week 32: Dominant Color
Week 33: Fill the Frame
Week 34: Spot Metering
Week 35: Handheld Long Exposure
Week 36: S Curve
Week 37: Shoot Through
Week 38: Faces
Week 39: Blossom
Week 40: Environmental Portrait
Week 41: Texture Overlay
Week 42: Details
Week 43: Season
Week 44: Fog & Steam
Week 45: Nighttime