December 18, 2023 by Bridgette

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.

If you want to read the short story I wrote this time last year:
Week 50: Emerald Shoes

#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

June 1, 2023 by Bridgette

Photography: Sacramento County Fair

“Nobody, of the hundreds of people that had visited the Fair, knew that a grey spider had played the most important part of all.”—E.B. White

I was a 4-H kid. I started out showing guinea pigs when I was about 12 and slowly moved up to horses. The culmination of my year was always the Sacramento County Fair.

This week we attended the final hours of the fair to cheer on my daughter’s friend who had entered a flower arrangement in the youth exhibit. While the animals were almost all gone, it was still great fun to wander the fair with my camera. I hope these images spark a bit of joy or memory for you today. Let me know if you have a favorite and have a great rest of your week.

I’m the girl in the center with my champion guinea pig (he had fancy pedigree papers!) Clearly, this was the era of big hair and even bigger hoops.

Me on my horse Rocket sometime in the early 90s.

January 17, 2023 by Bridgette

52 Photo Challenge: Week 3-Black and White

“January is the month for dreaming”― Jean Hersey

Welcome back to the 52-week photo challenge. This week the assignment was to photograph something in black and white. Since I was already in downtown Sacramento this week, I went on a hunt for things I thought would translate well to black and white. I looked for interesting lines, shapes, and buildings I thought looked out of time. While some of the images really didn’t work, I did find some I felt good enough to share here.

As I can only submit one photo to the challenge, I’d love to know which of these is your favorite. My favorites are the first three images and I’m leaning toward the train station. What do you think?

Thanks as always for cheering me on and have a wonderful day!

Here are a few bonus photos I liked better in color:

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.

January 3, 2023 by Bridgette

Photography: Stormy Downtown Sacramento

“The night is darkening round me
The wild winds coldly blow
But a tyrant spell has bound me
And I cannot cannot go”
-Emily Brontë, The Night is Darkening Round Me

To say I’ve fallen in love with photography is an understatement. Not only do I love it, but I get giddy with excitement when I see something interesting I might be able to play with. It’s an adventure every single time I grab my camera and head outside.

This week I took photographs during a rainstorm in downtown Sacramento. It was filled with challenges—navigating fallen branches, stepping in puddles, looking for a safe place to park, and getting soaked. However, it’s totally worth every second for the thrill of downloading the images and seeing what I got. It’s like Christmas every single time. Magic.

While some of my images are blurry from raindrops, and others are far too dark, I liked the overall feel of my images. I spent a fair amount of time today editing them—experimenting with contrast and exposure to give them each a slightly different feeling. I’m still a novice in every sense of the word, but I adore the process of learning.

I hope you enjoy this walk through the rainy city.

Here’s a bonus photo with a little color. The red was from the reflection of my brake lights as I pulled over to snap a picture of a puddle.

Photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW

What to see more?

June 20, 2022 by Bridgette

Photography: Around the Pond

My photos this week were all taken around the pond at William Land Park in the early evening. It was warm outside and I learned the lotus flowers I wanted to capture only open early in the morning and are closed by mid-afternoon.

I had the intention of returning later in the week to try again, but my son started summer school and life got busy. Perhaps in a few weeks, when school finishes, I’ll have time to return to this beautiful spot.

Although I didn’t get the blooms, I am happy with the photos I was able to capture of the animals living around the pond, especially the dragonflies. Let me know what you think in the comments below and I hope you have a wonderful week.