Category: Daily Adventures

Blogs of everyday activates and adventures.

In Search Of

In Search Of

In Search Of Historical Bridges, I just happened to come across this one last month. As a photographer, shots like this is what makes being a photographer so much fun. I am always in search of scenic views when I am not out looking for wildlife to photograph.

Google maps has become my new source to help find lost treasures like this one. I was in an area and typed in the search bar on my phone, bridges and arched bridges. One showed up in this tiny little town not far from where I was at. So off I went in search of this little arched bridge.

It is called the Historic Ramsay Keystone Arched Bridge.  The Ramsay Bridge is 130 feet long and was built over the Black River in 1922.

So we arrived at the bridge on a rainy morning, from this side of the bridge it did not look like much of a view, a lot of over growth surrounding the bridge and it was hard to get to and I thought, well the bridge itself is pretty cool looking.

So we left and thought we would go look at one more thing and on the way back, maybe the rain will have stopped and we will look one more time.

We went back to the bridge on our way home and the surprise to this location, was to go to the other side of the bridge. That is where the shot was, a perfect amount of shrubs and colored leaves surrounding the bridge as if it was framed right out of a story book.

With its babbling brook running slowly underneath the bridge, it is a true picturesque view.

In Search Of

Needless to say when I stumble apon an area like this, I am smiling.

In Search Of

At 57 feet, the height of this bridge is also quite impressive, but it is the impressive stonework’s ability to stand the test of time that truly wows.

 And what is a keystone you might ask (or capstone) – it is the wedge-shaped stone at the apex of a masonry arch or typically round-shaped one at the apex of a vault. In both cases it is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch or vault to bear weight. 

In Search Of

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Autumn and Thanksgiving

Autumn and Thanksgiving

Autumn and Thanksgiving – this first photo I made for all the young children in our family for them to try and find all the animals in the photo. This makes for a great puzzle as well. You can make a puzzle out of any photo you take these days.

Autumn and Thanksgiving

This years fall colors were so different I think, they had a softer, almost pastel color to the leaves.

Autumn and Thanksgiving

Like that old cereal called Captain Crunch, these colors remind me of that.

Autumn and Thanksgiving

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Old Grist Mills

Old Grist Mills

Old Grist Mills – A Gristmill is a facility where grain is ground into
animal feed or flour. Gristmills were vital to the
development of the Midwest. Without them the early
settlers would not have been able to feed themselves
or their livestock. Since every settler had to journey to
the mill, they were a hub of many activities where
families exchanged news and socialized. At one time
Iowa had 500 gristmills.

We found this mill in Iowa in a town named Lime Springs. I took this photo last week when I was visiting my sister. We went for a drive, which I love to do. Never know what one might find in the small towns of Iowa.

Old Grist Mills

Grist is grain that has been ground or is in the process
of being ground. It may or not be bolted (sifted) into flour
or ground further. Grist is any material that is being
processed by a mill.

Below is Pine Creek Mill in Muscatine Iowa, I photographed this one years ago. They were such an important part of life back in the day. I find the history of how things were made so interesting now, amazing the innovative ideas people have come up with to make life easier in some ways.

Old Grist Mills

Old Grist Mills

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

The American Farmer

The American Farmer

The American Farmer Link – by Sandra J’s Photography

Visiting the mid west in the fall, especially Iowa, you are bound to see the combines running as the corn and beans need to be harvested.

This individual in the video below is someone we know and I asked him if we could make a video and take a few photos as he was combining at sunset. I gave him the video and photos, he has never seen his hard work looking from a drones perspective. You can see the corn rows are very straight as well.

Years ago, I knew a farmer that always drove around the countryside, after he planted all his fields. Just to see if his neighbors’ rows were straight. Just a thing farmers do I guess.

The American Farmer

I am trying something new here with this video. I will see if it works after this post is live. I entered my video right into a block here on word press, which should show up below, hopefully. So that you can see the video right from reader and not having to go to the web site itself.

The American Farmer

I also imbedded the video from my you tube account below, which only shows up on my page site, just incase it did not work above. 🙂

Watch this video on YouTube.
Sandra J's Photography
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgVgYazOrVM&t=1s

The American Farmer

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Using External Lights

Using External Lights

Using External Lights for wildlife photography. I tried something different this year with the squirrel photography. I have a table set up along the tree line that I put bird food on.

I put this Queen Ann Lace flower on the table and sprinkled seed all around it. I couldn’t have asked for a better pose from this red squirrel as he jumped on the table and then made his way behind the flower to eat a few seeds.

But it is dark over by the trees, so I set up a light on a tri pod to brighten up the area for more detail. It worked perfectly.

Using External Lights

Photography is a great way to let your creativity come to life. Sometimes wildlife goes along with it and makes it more fun. Have a great weekend. 😉

Using External Lights

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Reflection Photography

Reflection Photography

Reflection Photography – The best time for reflections is usually in the early hours of the day or in the evening. The mist and the colored clouds of the sunset are a great subject.


Or with an overcast sky, the reflection can help to make an otherwise boring sky interesting.

Reflection Photography

Horizontal lines make for great reflection photos of tree lines along a lake, but don’t forget to get that wide angle lens out especially on a river where you can capture the bank on both sides of the water. Gives your photo a wonderful sense of depth.

Reflection Photography

All the leaves are down.

Watch this video on YouTube.
Sandra J's Photography
All the leaves are down #short video.

Reflection Photography

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Quiet Morning Hours

Quiet Morning Hours

Quiet Morning Hours to calm ones spirit. It is my favorite time of day when the waters are calm and the light reflections on the water gives way to patterns of ethereal beauty.

Quiet Morning Hours
Quiet Morning Hours

Water Droplets and Flowers video below; ASMR

Watch this video on YouTube.
Sandra J's Photography

Life on the Beach for the Blue Heron – Video

Watch this video on YouTube.
Sandra J's Photography

Quiet Morning Hours

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Drone Photography

Drone Photography

Drone Photography, Autumn is the best time of year to get the drone up and flying. My husband does all the drone photos and it is a wonderful way to see all the trees turning color.

We only use the drone for landscape photography in designated areas. It provides for a wonderful view from above. Looking down on the world that was created for us.

Drone Photography
Drone Photography

Tree tops – Autumn Colors Short Video below. You have to visit the site to see this video, they don’t play on reader. I will add the link here, but sometimes that doesn’t work either. Or you can come on over to my You Tube channel and see all my videos over there. 🙂

Welcome to Autumn 2023.  #photography #shorts
Watch this video on YouTube.
Sandra J's Photography
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eZFYUJiO6k8

Drone Photography

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Fall Garden Pollinators

Fall Garden Pollinators

Fall Garden Pollinators, the bumble bees are still hard at work. Bumble bees are keystone pollinators in the ecosystem. They pollinate food crops, trees, and of course, flowers. In my own yard, I realized that the more native plants I planted, the more pollinators visited my garden. Which has been beneficial for my food crops!

Amazing how all of creation has a purpose and it all works as designed, the pollinators being an example of such design.

Fall Garden Pollinators

Bees sleeping outside the nest will sleep under a flowerhead or inside a deep flower like a squash blossom where the temperature can be up to 18 degrees warmer close to the nectar source.

Fall Garden Pollinators

Fall Garden Pollinators

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Starting New Collection

Starting New Collection

Starting New Collection – Light Houses from across the country. So far I only have two and they are at complete opposite ends of the country.

This first one is on lake Superior. There are 78 light houses on lake superior so I have my work cut out for me to photograph them all.

Starting New Collection

There are 779 standing light houses around the United States.

Starting New Collection

And this one below I took in Savannah Georgia at Tybee Island.

Starting New Collection

Have a great weekend.

Starting New Collection

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

On the Road Again

On the Road Again

On the Road Again – Song by Willie Nelson

On the Road Again

On the road again
Just can’t wait to get on the road again
The life I love is making music with my friends

And I can’t wait to get on the road again
On the road again
Goin’ places that I’ve never been
Seein’ things that I may never see again
And I can’t wait to get on the road again

On the road again
Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway
We’re the best of friends
Insisting that the world keep turning our way
And our way
Is on the road again
I just can’t wait to get on the road again

On the Road Again
jeep
On the Road Again
Willie Nelson - On The Road Again (Lyric Video)

On the Road Again

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Landscape Photography

Landscape Photography

Landscape Photography or should I say waterscapes. Waterfalls and lakes a plenty this summer. Blue being my favorite color. Or is it green, yep it is blue and green.

The combination most often found in summer landscapes. Blue sky’s and lush green forest and add some water and it is an oasis of peace and solitude.

Landscape Photography
Landscape Photography

Landscape Photography

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Lake Superior at Sunset

Lake Superior at Sunset

Lake Superior at Sunset, we made it up to the big lake a couple of times this past summer. Sunset is always beautiful across the lake. it is like the little ocean of the north to me.

Lake Superior at Sunset

The water is cold and clear with lots of forest lining the highway along the beaches.

Lake Superior at Sunset
Lake Superior at Sunset

Colored rocks galore.

Lake Superior at Sunset

But in the winter, this lake is amazing. With ice breaks piling up along the shore lines and of so cold when the wind is blowing across the lake.

lake superior

Brrrrrr, I am glad we can go south for the winters these days.

Lake Superior at Sunset

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Macro Flower Photography

Macro Flower Photography

Macro Flower Photography – Flowers are a great subject for getting up close macro shots. I use two different lenses for macro photography. My favorite lens is a 90mm macro lens. It gets clear up close shots even without a tripod.

It is like a new world when seeing nature this close.

Macro Flower Photography

 Macro means you’re taking super close-ups of objects at 1:1. So the image size on your sensor is equal to the size of the subject in real life.

Macro Flower Photography

Macro Flower Photography

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Boating This Summer

Boating This Summer

Boating This Summer – we bought an old boat years ago that we have never had time to use at all until this year. The motor that came with the boat was old and needed some attention. My husband proceeded to work on the boat when we got home last spring and the motor was definitely a challenge for him.

Boating This Summer

He has never worked on a boat motor before, but I have to say he is so good at fixing pretty much anything that I knew he would figure this one out as well. It took him a couple of months, after replacing many different parts on the motor, he decided to take the carburetor apart one more time. As he did he discovered one tiny little inlet hole that was still clogged with dirt and grime that he had not noticed before and just like that the motor runs like brand new.

Boating This Summer

I just realized I actually do not have a photo of the entire boat. I will have to get one taken. He has to paint parts of it yet, but now he has time for that with it running properly. So many lakes to explore, it isn’t a new fancy boat, it is a classic almost antique one would say. It is stable and reliable just like us.

Oh the fun we will have and the scenic views we will see together my husband and I. We are best friends and I love this man. A true relationship is like a boat, if you work on it, it will bring you such joy and happiness. Communication is like the motor, it keeps everything running smoothly. Lack of communication and the motor starts to sputter and quits eventually.

The boat stays afloat from a good foundation of trust and faith, not only in each other but for us, it is in our Father. With this combination, adventures await us around every corner. It will stay afloat for a lifetime until our time comes that we must leave each other to go on our last adventure.

Boating This Summer

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Does it Lean to the Left

Does it Lean to the Left

Does it Lean to the Left – those who take photos, do you notice if your shots lean one way or the other? Meaning are they level for you? I have noticed over the years all my photos lean to the left.

The middle photo I tried to fix but ended up going back to the left. When I set up the grid line in photoshop and make it level with that. Then it always looks like it is leaning to the right after fixing it, like the last photo.

I am left handed, maybe that has something to do with it. 🙂

Does it Lean to the Left
Does it Lean to the Left

This one below looks like it is leaning to the right after fixing it in photoshop.

Below is a video of the Shelf Cloud that went through my area a couple of weeks ago, along with some of my lightning photos. Or click here; Shelf Clouds

Shelf Cloud - Thunderstorm and Lightning - Very Very Frightening - Lightning Photographs Slow Motion

Does it Lean to the Left

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Knowledge is Power

Knowledge is Power

Knowledge is Power – Autumn is upon us and it is always the time of year that brings me to reflect on the past summer as our travel plans get closer. But this weekend I was thinking about time, I was actually given a senior discount for something I purchased, it is my first senior discount and just the word senior made me think about time and all those who have gone before me.

I was thinking about my grandfather who has passed away now over 30 years ago. How is time for him. I thought about my mother who passed away only 3 years ago and I thought of all the time she spent cooking meals, cleaning house, taking care of family and friends. All that which is just gone now, but for a memory.

As I am approaching my 62 birthday, I thought about the lifetime I have had so far and how I am in a place of peace and happiness that I believe just comes with age. Maybe because I have a better sense of time now, knowing that my time here is very short. When we are young it seems like time will last forever.

Knowledge is Power

As I was contemplating all these things about life, an article appeared before me that I found very relatable. I would like to share a part of it here.

In the year 2123, exactly 100 years from now, we shall all be laid to rest beside our loved ones.

Our homes, which we have fought so hard to create, will be occupied by total strangers, and they will possess all we have right now. Everything we own, even the expensive car we didn’t even buy yet, will eventually be scrapped and sold to a collector nobody has ever heard of.

Our offspring won’t recognise us or remember us for very long. How many of us can name the father of our grandfather?

A few years after our deaths, our history, photographs, and acts will fade into history’s oblivion, at which point we will be remembered only as a portrait on someone’s bookshelf. There won’t be any trace of us left.

Maybe if we took a day to reflect on these issues, we’d see how foolish and feeble the desire to have it all really is.

We would be different people with new perspectives and ways of thinking if only we could give this some serious thought.

The pursuit of more has left us with little time for the things that truly matter. Would people give it all up if it meant getting to experience the walks they never took, the hugs they never gave, the kisses they never got to offer to loved ones, and the jokes we never got to tell. Those would be the best times to reflect on, because they would bring us so much more wealth and happiness.

Knowledge is Power
Knowledge is Power

Knowledge is Power

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

All Creatures Great and Small

All Creatures Great and Small

All Creatures Great and Small – I found this colorful bug in my marigold plants. It isn’t any bigger then the end of a pencil, the lead end of a pencil. But the bold red stripes caught my eye right away when I was about to water them. How unusual is this.

How many are your works, Lord!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures..
living things both large and small.

All Creatures Great and Small

Along with this one below, it resembles a fly but again it is very very small and shined like gold on this leaf. Amazing what we might see when we look really close.

All Creatures Great and Small

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Percentage of Bad Photos

Percentage of Bad Photos

Percentage of Bad Photos – What is the percentage on average of photos that don’t make the cut and end up on the editing floor so to speak.

Well on average 2 out of 20 photos will be good when you are photographing a series or trying to follow a subject like wildlife.

Here are some perfect examples. I am trying to photograph this red squirrel, who by the way can move very fast.

Leaf in the way, no good

Percentage of Bad Photos

Not a fast enough shutter speed at all

Not fast enough yet

Percentage of Bad Photos

Below is a short video showing this squirrel moving so quickly, you can see why they are hard to photograph. I put the music from mission impossible movie with this clip. It fits pretty well 🙂 or click here; Mission Impossible Red Squirrel

Red Squirrel on a mission impossible to sneak some food. #shorts

Oh the expression, he seems a bit perturbed with me and would rather eat in peace. Bird seed doesn’t come free for these guys, the deal is they have to get their photos taken. I am pretty sure they signed a contract somewhere along the line. Maybe just in my mind. 🙂

Come back here

Who knows what happened here

The odds are right on, I had two good photos out of 18. I did not put all the bad ones on here. Just keep that in mind when you are out taking photos. They will never all be perfect, but photography is like playing golf to me. When you get that one awesome shot, it just makes me want to keep going and do more. Have a great weekend.

Have a great weekend. 🙂

Percentage of Bad Photos

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Art of the Feline

Art of the Feline

Art of the Feline – Cat Art

Art of the Feline

At the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, a bold painting by Austrian artist Carl Kahler made a splash among critics. Entitled My Wife’s Lovers, the work drew tremendous attention for its lavish depictions of a wealthy socialite’s paramours.

It wasn’t infidelity, though: The “lovers” were her cats. Now, My Life’s Lovers—perhaps the greatest cat tribute ever created by human hands—just sold at Sotheby’s auction for a whopping $826,000.

Art of the Feline
Art of the Feline

Art of the Feline

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts