Photography

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52 Photo Challenge: Week 38-Faces

“I know faces, because I look through the fabric my own eye weaves, and behold the reality beneath.”—Kahlil Gibran, Faces

This week my assignment for the 52 photo challenge was to focus on faces. While some of the photos here fit the challenge, especially if you define sunflowers as having faces, most do not. I hope you’ll forgive me this week.

I’m a huge fan of pumpkin patches and have decided my 4-year-old nephew and I will visit a different one every Friday from now until Halloween. Part of these adventures will be to find the most sincere and sweet pumpkin patch in our area.

We started with the opposite of that, the very commercialized Bishop’s Pumpkin Farm. While I know it’s a favorite of many, I find it overwhelming and far too expensive. The train was fun and we loved the corn pit, but it feels like it’s grown too large and is trying to be too many things. Next week we will try a small family farm in Folsom.

Let me know if you have a favorite photo and I hope you have a wonderful week!

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  • Photos were taken with an 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

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52 Photo Challenge: Week 37-Shoot Through

“Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope.”—Dr. Seuss

This week my assignment for the 52 photo challenge was to create an image by shooting through an object. My photos were taken this morning at Folsom Lake.

The bird above, and its near twin #5, were shot through a hole in a leaf. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to capture the edges of the leaf so it’s more of an abstract image. #1 is through a piece of bark and #4 is through a discarded styrofoam cup. Let me know which image you think works best or if you have a favorite.

As a bonus, I’ve included a link to the story I wrote this time last year. It’s a fantasy story/tribute to Queen Elizabeth II. If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll give it a read.

Week 37: With a Touch of the Tapestry

Have a wonderful week!

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I played my first Dungeons & Dragons game this week. I’ve been wanting to do this forever and it was everything I thought it could be. So grateful for new friends!

  • Photos were taken with an 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

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52 Photo Challenge: Week 36-S Curve

A sentence with “dappled shadow” in it.
Something not sayable
spurting from the morning silence,
secret as a thrush.
—Winged and Acid Dark, Robert Hass

This week my assignment for the 52 photo challenge was to create an image that contains an S curve. This is exactly what it sounds like—you look for anything that curves similarly to an “S” in either direction. While simple in principle, I must have been looking in all the wrong places because I found this quite a challenge. As such, the last few photos don’t contain a curve but are included just because I like them.

Let me know if you have a favorite and have a wonderful week.

Week 36: The Octopus in the Room

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  • Photos were taken with an 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

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52 Photo Challenge: Week 35-Handheld Long Exposure

“The night is falling down around us. Meteors rain like fireworks, quick rips in the seam of the dark… Every second, another streak of silver glows: parentheses, exclamation points, commas – a whole grammar made of light, for words too hard to speak.”—Jodi Picoult

This week my assignment for the 52 photo challenge was to experiment with handheld long exposure. While this is similar to motion blur, instead of trying to capture movement you are trying to create it. I really had fun playing with purposeful movement and light.

These photos were taken either overlooking the city from my neighborhood park or in the local casino parking lot. The shots of my daughter are used with her permission and my gratitude. She’s such a wonderful supporter of me and always up for a drive.

I hope you like these very different kind of shots. I’ve also included two bonus photos of the supermoon. Let me know if you have a favorite photo and have a fantastic week.

Week 35: The Broken Shell

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  • Photos were taken with an 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

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Photography: Old Sacramento

Yesterday I went to Old Sacramento with my mom to do a little photography. She’s headed back to Washington in a few days and this was our last outing until I visit her in the Spring. Instead of taking photos for the next challenge, I took photos of whatever I liked.

There were more cracked windows and boarded-up businesses than I remembered seeing the last time I visited. More homeless people and garbage too. For most of my life, this part of Sacramento has felt sacred to me. It’s a bit of history you can walk around and touch. It’s sad to see it declining.

It feels like a microcosm for so much in the world. Things aren’t the way they used to be (oh, that makes me sound old). “Back in my day…” But it’s true. It’s hard to remain optimistic with mass shootings and climate change disasters. It’s hard to think about where this is all heading. It’s hard to live in the uncertainty.

Meanwhile, my personal life is easier right now. My daughter’s mental health is stable and she’s enjoying homeschool. My son has graduated high school and is taking some time to rest and recover from the last few years. I’ve got some great friends who love me and a fantastic and supportive writing group.

Despite all this good, I feel trepidatious. After living in a state of constant anxiety for years my body doesn’t trust “easy”. I’ve had some panic attacks and some nightmares. The writing goals I set for the year aren’t looking possible and I walk the line between optimism and grief quite regularly.

As a result, I suppose, my blog has become filled with photography and poetry. I’ve been using these creative forms as a way of exploring joy and finding balance. I still pull out my works-in-progress and play with them from time to time. I still want to self-publish my short story collection. I still have plenty of goals, but maybe it’s not a bad thing to slow down.

I don’t know what the future brings for my family, my blog, and the world, but I do know it’s better when we all reach out and support each other. I’m so grateful to everyone who stops by to leave me a like or a comment. My friendships here fill me with so much hope. So, in case I haven’t said it lately, I’m glad you are here.

Thank you.

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  • Photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
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52 Photo Challenge: Week 34-Spot Metering

“When the light turns green, you go. When the light turns red, you stop. But what do you do when the light turns blue with orange and lavender spots?”
—Shel Silverstein, A Light in the Attic

This week my assignment for the 52 photo challenge was to use spot metering. I’ve heard the words before and had a vague understanding of what they mean, but it was time for me to really figure it out.

For those unfamiliar, it’s a setting on your camera that takes a measurement of light from a single spot and then adjusts the exposure. It took me watching a few how-to videos to find the setting on my camera and then I headed to Old Folsom at night.

The results show how inexperienced I am. In retrospect, night photography wasn’t the best idea. However, I did get a picture of the moon that’s not a white blurry blob. Skill unlocked. Be warned—there will be a lot more pictures of the moon now!

Let me know what you think. My son said the clock photo reminded him of Alice in Wonderland as the clock tower has virtually disappeared. Do you like the effect? Do you have another favorite? Thanks as always for your support and have a wonderful week.

Also, if you’ve not read it before, here’s the short story I wrote this time last year:

Week 34: The Blackberry Quest

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  • Photos were taken with an 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

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52 Photo Challenge: Week 33-Fill the Frame

“You can frame a moment. But you can’t frame life.”—Armin Houman

This week my assignment for the 52 photo challenge was to fill the frame with the subject. As I tend to take a lot of macro shots, I wanted to challenge myself to find something different to fill the frame.

As I started out this morning it began to rain, a wonderful surprise, so I decided to take a drive. The tree above and the first seven photos are all from around the Lincoln area and taken from my car. The rest of the photos are from my yard. Let me know which one you think best fits the challenge and if you have a favorite. Hope your week is wonderful!

Also, you may remember last year I was writing a short story a week. It just occurred to me it might be fun to see what story I was writing this exact time last year and include a link with these Monday photos. So, here you go:

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  • Photos were taken with an 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

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52 Photo Challenge: Week 32-Dominant Color

“You are all the colors in one, at full brightness.” —Jennifer Niven

This week my assignment for the 52 photo challenge was to focus on a dominant color in the frame. My mom is visiting from Washington and we went together to the local plant nursery in search of color. It was a warm day and the sunlight was harsh, but we had a lovely time.

Most of these ended up being macro shots, which I think still work. Let me know which one you think best fits the challenge and if you have a favorite. Hope your week is wonderful!

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#11—Doesn’t fit the challenge, but I liked it anyway.

#12—Isn’t my mom cute?

  • Photos were taken with an 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

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52 Photo Challenge: Week 31-Big Sky

“The empty blue sky of space says ‘All this comes back to me, then goes again, and comes back again, then goes again, and I don’t care, it still belongs to me.”
—Jack Kerouac 

This week my assignment for the 52 photo challenge was to capture a big sky, not an easy task in the middle of a heat wave. Knowing the sky was devoid of clouds, I took a drive at sunset in search of vibrant color instead. The sky and sun did not disappoint. After dodging fireflies and mosquitoes, I then drove to my local park to get some city shots.

Not all these photos showcase the sky, but I wanted to give you some variety to look at. Let me know what you think and have a wonderful week.

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*The pond at night. I’m quite fond of the distorted reflections in this one.
  • Photos were taken with an 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

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Photography: California State Fair

“I lоst my hеаrt аt thе fаirgrоund
Tо thе bоy оn thе swing mасhinе
Hе stоlе my lоvе sо соmplеtеly
If оnly I соuld hаvе sееn.”
—Glenda Collins

Yesterday I shared some photos from the California State Fair which featured backlighting. Today I’m offering up some more photos for you to enjoy. I hope these bring a smile to your face and perhaps spark a memory of young love, riding the slides, or simply the taste of something sweet. Let me know if you have a favorite.

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  • Photos were taken with an 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