100 Days of Summer Lensbaby Circle
Thought it would be easy to select a few of my favorite images that were part of the 100 Days of Summer celebrating my love and passion for all things Lensbaby. Not as easy as I imagined, but here are a few that made my first favorite bunch. If I had to guess, I would see updates to this post for sure!
Spirit Tree
This is a tree in the parking lot of the church I attended while growing up near Pasadena, CA. (San Gabriel, Church of Our Savior) My parents, the Twining’s met one another at this church…ironically, my Aunt Carol (Dad’s sister) and my Godmother (Mother’s BFF) had been telling each of my parents they needed to meet a “friend” of theirs. Nah, they met one another without that awkward blind date kinda thing. Small world since Mother was born and raised in Lahaina, Maui and Dad predominantly on the East Coast. Gonna have to go with “some things are just meant to be.”
My Mother was recently sharing their story and I never knew that my Dad fell asleep in the movie on their second date. Mother said, “Well, I will never see him again…” Nope, she was wrong on that account as he told her how he felt on date 3.” He proposed at 6 weeks and they were married over 50 years.
Lady Bathing
I was fortunate to be able to attend my nephew Matt’s wedding to Hali. Many advantages to having the newest DSLR lens, Velvet 56 on my Nikon, especially the 1.6 aperture. I watched the candle melt during the reception and when I could clearly see a woman bathing–snap and a sentimental memory of a magical day and evening.
If anyone were to describe me as one who shoots flowers, I would have disagreed before the 100 images for Summer…yes, most were flowers and close to home. Many were actually in parking lots of the various doctor locations I visit for treating my back and neck injury. Once I switched to focusing on the “Lensbaby Love” and had lighter lens/optics on my camera it was easy to find subjects to share.
Floral Wallpaper
Sunshine
Violet Beauty
On Stage
Sunshine Spotlight
Tulip via Velvet 56
Partial Petals via Velvet 56
Secret Garden via Velvet 56
Some non blooming sights…
Crossing the Line
Traveling Minstrel
Indoor Display
Finder’s Keepers
Classic Words
Sharing the Beauty
Out the Window
And the most visited location…my neighbor 3 doors away with a magical yard…
I Wanna Hold Your Hand
Closer Inspection
Next in Line
World Below
Dehazed Daisy Pops
Jessie Girl Attentive
Hi Riley!
Spreading the Lensbaby Love during the summer…one day at a time!
The talented and creative ladies with the LB100DaysofSummer:
Thank you Ana, Pauline, Nicola, Sonia, Kelly, and Justyna for allowing me to join you with an “amazing” 100 Days of Summer.
#LB100daysofsummer #100summerdays_Lensbaby
To continue with our closing circle of 100 Days of Summer with Lensbaby, visit the very talented Kelly Jacobi, just click on the link below!
Kelly – Kelly Jacobi Photography
https://kellyjacobi.wordpress.com/…/100-days-of…/
Special thanks to Lensbaby for creating such fun (and addictive) lenses and optics! The folks I have had the pleasure to meet in real life as well as those with email or social media, you guys totally rock and are appreciated much!
Crocker Art Museum Visit
We have many local and smaller museums in the Sacramento area. After living here for almost 20 years, finally visited the Crocker Museum and fell in love with the art world. The museum has recently been expanded and a new wing added. Previously, I had little exposure to enjoy other art mediums besides photography. Just thought I knew where my interests and focus really were.
The new exhibit featuring landscape paintings by Kondos is entitled, “A Touch of Blue”. It opened on Sunday with a preview on Saturday for members. What a grand experience it was becoming acquainted with Gregory Kondos and his landscape work of our local areas. This is the first chance and exposure for me to see and really appreciate paintings of the Sacramento River, vineyards from Napa, and his Yosemite work. Looking at his paintings and knowing specific places where he stood to create his scenery was awe inspiring and empowering. Equally impressive was seeing the presentation of his work and the massive changes the gallery made to set up such a complimentary space to feature his paintings.
A benefit was the chance to not only view his work, but one could purchase his book and meet him face to face for his signature. What a kind soul…imagine it was a long day for him, meeting and greeting folks that appreciate his talents.
It was an honor and pleasure to connect with him for a few moments. Mr. Kondos was so polite and patient! I was taking photos of him and the signing process, as we waited in line for our turn. Another exclusive option were two screenings of a movie with the history of his journey as an artist. Loved it! So glad we were able to view this and I can’t wait to dive into his book and be immersed in the stories and tales that accompany his works of art!
A few images of Kondos signing and signing and signing. Felt honored to be in his presence and he was so generous with his time! Many admirers were snapping away with their phones. I brought out my Nikon and raised the ISO to accommodate the lack of flash. In the first image below, he caught my eye as he saw the camera, we were still in line with about 10 people in front of us–very kind to maintain his eye contact and to me it shows how “real” he is and can certainly connect with people.
Eye Contact
Yes, I did cut off part of his arms in order to not have other patrons appear in the image!
I asked for permission to take his photo when we finally arrived in front of him. Already determined the ISO I needed and snapped off two shots and thanked him. Surprising me–he asked if I got it–what patience and thoughtfulness he shared! I said that I had.
Looking Up
Another reason why it was a bit challenging to get his portrait was the glare from the windows! However, the black background was perfect.
I just love the contours of his hat and it sure suits him well. With the focus of his exhibit on blue–the striped blue shirt seemed perfect for him.
Concentrating
He was gregarious and focused when signing every book. The couple in front of us purchased four–gifts for their children, they shared. He chatted with them for a bit as he signed the many books.
When he was signing our book–I was thrilled to capture his hand with my lens. I shot quite a few images of his hands–interesting to note–he was signing books with his right hand and yet, in the movie he was shown sketching a river scene in charcoal and used his left hand for that! I have just started to read the book and wonder if his ability to use both hands will be mentioned.
An Artist’s Hand
The author of the book, Scott A. Shields is also a man with connections to the Sacramento art world. Another exhibit featuring the paintings of Kondos will open in April at the Sacramento City College Gallery. This will also coincide with his birthday, he will be turning a young 90 years old in April. Kondos attended the junior college as a student as well as Sacramento State University. He returned to the junior college as a faculty member sharing his knowledge and passion with the next generation for decades. Clips in the movie also showed him working with artists in the field–what a memorable experience that would be!
I will certainly revisit his exhibit soon, after I have spent some time enjoying the book and gaining more knowledge of his life story as an artist.
WINDOW VIEWS
Understandably, photographic images are not allowed on the second and third floors of Crocker in honor of protecting the artists and their work. I still had my camera ready for any non-art photo options and connected with the window view looking out into the courtyard separating the two portions of the museum. The first image struck me with the symmetry and shapes within the view.
Here are a few of my favorite window views….
Symmetry
On the first level, I was really fascinated by the floor to high ceiling walls of windows looking into the courtyard. The line to obtain his signature was long and not moving rapidly, so I had plenty of time to look from where we were patiently waiting to meet Kondos. So, had some fun with my Nikon and a few presets in Lightroom to share my viewless window images. I appreciate the ability to make images of the same subject from various angles and process with different results.
Added Grain
For the next image, I tried different lens corrections and liked the curve gained when I shifted the horizontal perspective.
Angles & Details
Equally fun was the elongated image I acquired with the vertical lens correction. The sepia tone gave me a greater shadow at the bottom, which I chose to keep.
Vertical Play
A few more window shots–some with a view of the courtyard!
There is such a lack of color with these shots that even the first image in “color” appears to be black and white.
Reservation Required
Amazing what a few preset changes and slider movements can really change in an image.
Building with a History
Be sure to check your local museums and look into becoming either individual members or a family membership.
We will be back soon!
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