52 Photo Challenge: Week 14-One Lens

“Behind the camera, I was invisible. When I lifted it up to my eye it was like I crawled into the lens, losing myself there. and everything else fell away.”—Sarah Dessen

This week my assignment for the 52 photo challenge was to use one lens. I only have one and was originally going to try and modify the challenge by setting it at only 50mm. However, once on the trip, it felt like one too many things to worry about. Instead, I focused on capturing things I love—lichen, moss, and the dark greens of the Oregon and Washington coast. I spent time as a fairy sitting in the woods and as a romantic staring at the ocean waves.

The cemetery shots are from one of the oldest in Washington State, Oysterville Cemetery. The broken wagon, chuch, bible, and roof photo are from the Oregon ghost town of Golden. It was established in the early 1840s and some of its buildings were restored in the 1950s as film sets for the TV show “Bonanza” and a few Western movies.

Wouldn’t it be nice if every day could be filled with mossy adventure? Let me know what photo you like best and have a wonderful week.


#1

#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9

#10

#11

#12

#13


  • 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

52 Photo Challenge: Week 2-Silhouette

“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.” —Michel Legrand

A dear friend of mine invited me to participate in a 52-week photo challenge and I happily agreed. Each week a different aspect of photography will be explored. I’m excited to play along and hopefully learn as I do.

This week we were asked to feature a silhouette. As it’s been raining and stormy outside, I did my best to use a sliver of sunlight to backlight some trees and birds. I’m not sure these are successful, but I had fun trying. As I can only submit one photo to the challenge, I’d love to know which of these is your favorite.

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


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

Week One’s assignment was to create an image that shows bokeh or shallow depth of field. I used the freeway image from Stormy Downtown Sacramento as my first submission. It wasn’t my best bokeh shot ever, but I’m trying to stick to photos taken within the week of the challenge.

Finally, my camellia has its first baby bloom and it’s too adorable not to share.

  • If you want to join the 52 Photo Challenge, you can find all the information at nicolesy.com.

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?

Photography: Morning Hike

This morning after dropping the kids off at school, I took a nature hike by my house. It was a beautiful, peaceful morning and I was greeted by lots of little critters. I saw geese, butterflies, lizards, birds, and dragonflies. Although most were either too far away to capture or moved too quickly, it was a nice morning and a great way to start off my week.

I’ve experimented more than usual with photo editing. Let me know what you think and thank you for stopping by and supporting me on my creative adventures.

Have a great week!


This last photo was a surprise. It wasn’t until it was downloaded that I discovered I’d captured a frog. I love its little wet hopping prints. I wish it was a bit more in focus, but I wanted to share it anyway because it was a happy surprise.

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

What to see more?