Lens-Artists Challenge #266 Time

Donna of Wind Kisses says, “Time: It can be wasted, saved, and can slip through our fingers. Some of us have too much, others not enough. Is it high time? The last time? Time for Fall? Taco time? And whatever you decide, I am sure you will agree there is no greater gift than time. Have fun with the endless possibilities this week.” And I hope to have the time to share.

Songs

The first thing I thought of when I heard the challenge was how many songs have “Time” in the lyrics or subject. Just driving around town listening to Sirius XM I heard the Kinks – All Day and All of the Night.

Then I thought of The Rolling Stones – Time is On My Side.

The Vogues – Five O’Clock World

You can probably guess when I was listening to “my” songs!

Clocks and their Places

Unusual Clocks

Clock created on a book for sale at a local craft fair

Clocks used in advertising

Time from many places

The modern way to check the time

And places where time slows down a bit.

And time flys

And I finally can breathe. The past few weeks have not been boring. My Moxie has epilepsy. It is being treated with medication, but watching a 2-year-old Golden have a seizure is scary. A few days later 9/5 my husband of 53 years had a cat scan and we discovered he had a giant aneurysm. VERY scary. We had to wait until today (8 long days) to find out that he has lived with this for over a decade, and that all was good. The aneurysm clotted on its own a long time ago. This was an excessive wait for all of us.

All that certainly brought time into focus for us. And now I must pick up my 3 grandsons from school while their mother, my daughter, recovers from non-life-threatening surgery.

Len-Artists Photo Challenge #265 Black & White or Monochrome

I want to address a question I was recently asked. After I retired from teaching I enrolled in Photography classes at the local community colleges. Then, I found a fun group of retirees to put my learning into practice. Are these class assignments? No. Lens-Artist Photographers create these challenges weekly. This small group of talented photographers from around the world creates interesting assignments to share. These challenges allow me to revisit and share my images. If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.

Back to this week’s challenge.

Anne asks the question, “Is monochrome black and white? Is black and white monochrome?”

Monochrome

Monochromatic photographs= photographs of one color variations

Most of my monochrome images are straight from the file with little processing, except for this first one. I added a sepia finish.

Found mortar and pestle in an antique shop in Nevada City.

Mushrooms found at a local farmer’s market

Alligator Lizard finds monochrome useful for camouflage

Fiddletown, CA at the Chinese Apothecary

Black & White

Sometimes I can find black & white naturally, but most of my photographs have been processed in either Adobe Photoshop or Topaz plug-ins.

When processing an image for b&w I look for contrast.

Found Black & White

The first image is the San Francisco skyline at night taken from Treasure Island.

Lens-Artists Challenge #264 Primary Colors

This week Sofia of Photographias invited me to play with primary colours. I can pick one color or show examples of all 3, separately or together. What kind of feelings or moods do any of them instill in my photography, do you actively look for them or enjoy being surprised by the possibilities they present?

Red

Red peppers from the local farmer’s market

One of my favorite berries is the strawberry

Members of the Red Hat Society

Red cars grab my attention especially when they are vintage automobiles.

Yellow

Yellow reminds me of Spring flowers

Some wildflowers and some intentionally grown

Yellow smiley faces with a couple of color intruders. LOL!

Blue

Blue gives me a serene feeling. But some of these images show me that blue can be a spunky color.

And a mix of the primary colors

This post is short and sweet. I hope that you surround yourself with vibrant primary colors.

Lens-Artists Challenge #263 Faces in a crowd

My challenge this week is to share images featuring faces, in a crowd or standing alone, human or animal. Selfies are approved. I look forward to seeing which one of these “Faces in a crowd” speaks to you! Thanks, John from Journeys with Johnbo for providing this forum.

For this challenge, I limited myself to the more formal definition of a portrait.”A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person.” My professor did not accept snapshots or photographs where the person’s eye was not directed at the camera. It took a while before I was comfortable asking a stranger to allow me to take their photograph. I was strolling along the street in Sedona. An artist was working on a sculpture in the front of the shop, and I wanted that image. I passed on the image and talked to my brother. He said, “Let’s get that photograph.” I learned that the worst thing that could happen is to get an answer of “No.”

Festivals and Parades

It is fun to photograph people dressed up and in a festive mood. The first two images were taken in December 2019 (pre-CoVid) at a Victorian Christmas in Nevada City. The bagpipes were brought out in 2007 for a July 4th parade. I liked the way the little boy was paying attention.

Back when parking was “the” problem attending large gatherings!

Selfies

One of the problems for photographers is that they are often not included in the picture. This may be the reason some of us pick up a camera. We are more comfortable behind the lens. But then when looking back over time there is no history of our changes. I try and remedy this by looking for reflections.

Environmental Portraits

One type of portrait is Environmental Portraits where the surrounding is essential to the subject. Given this assignment, a friend and I entered a Harley-Davidson Motorcycle store and we asked the employees if they would pose for us. It was easier to do this with a fellow photographer.

The Bird Shop is now located in Roseville. Great employees, experienced staff.

Boudin Bakery at the Wharf in San Francisco

I have been returning to Pacific Grove for over 20 years. We ate at Fishwife and sat near the door. As each customer was leaving, the owner would rush from wherever she was and personally thank the men with a hug. We watched, as some tried to leave quickly, but she was quicker!

These images were taken in 2005. Sadly, she is no longer there.

Namaste! A local farmer’s market in Carmichael, Ca

I want to thank all the volunteers who help make the experience at the zoo, museum, and visitor center so much more informative. Docents add to the community.