52 Frames Photo Walk ~ LA, CA, USA

Art/Photography is a language of the soul, that expresses meaning and ineffable joy. 

PHOTO TIPS ~ SCROLL DOWN

52Frames* Joyous Nature PHOTO WALK

Thursday, March 22, 2018, 10am
UN World Water Day

 We honor Water at
Lake Balboa, boat ramp/dock 

2 Park MAPs below

Anthony Beilenson Park
6300 Balboa Blvd., San Fernando Valley, California, 91406 USA
(818) 756-8187

with guide Joy Krauthammer and friends

Joy Krauthammer is a nature "Observationist" for 

iNaturalist, California Academy of Sciences, posting photos online at:
 https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/9935445 

and is LA City safety licensed to Kayak on Lake Balboa.

Everyone is invited to join us for a glorious morning of photography by the Lake. 
No fee. No membership needed.

Prior PHOTO WALK ALBUM: 
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.972080616150392.1073742094.180889155269546&type=3

Fishermen, painters, walkers, children and dogs, and water cascade.  Boats, bikes for rent.
The lake is home to swans, geese, mallards, pelicans, herons, egrets, cranes, cormorants, coots and kayakers–me/Joy. 

Red-winged blackbirds, Monarch butterflies, ladybugs, flowers and bees love the land.

The paved path is 1.3 miles around Lake. 

There is a restroom on path and a lifeguard house.

This March 22nd day,  Lake Balboa probably no longer has hundreds of blossoming Japanese Cherry (Sakura) Trees, and blooming wisteria. 

PREPARE: walking shoes/sneakers for hilly grass, charged camera, water, sunhat, snacks, and lotion for 82 degrees. 

* "52Frames Photographers is a (free) world-wide community of photography enthusiasts, taking on a fun, weekly photo challenge, while working together to improve their skills.” - 52Frames

PARK INFO:  http://www.laparks.org/DOS/aquatic/balboa/index.htm

PARKING: From Balboa Blvd. (west of 405 Freeway) entrance is (north of 101 Freeway) between Burbank and Victory on east side of Balboa. Enter driveway and pass the dirt parking lot on left, to the lake and follow curved road to the right, pass playground, another park lot, ball field, stream almost 1 mile to BOAT RAMP and large park lot.  Park opens at sunrise.  

RSVP   Joy.52F at gmail.com 

and also on FB, PM me.

If meeting at playground, which we are NOT, two driveways down (first is the exit) turn left into paved parking lot. If filled, exit lot, turn left, and go into next parking lot beyond first parking lot. Parking is also off the road by the curb in the dirt both before and after parking lot entrance.

The earlier you arrive, easier to park for busy Sunday crowds while Japanese Cherry Trees are in bloom. 
(Bus tours come from far for Cherry Trees.)    

Meet sometimes: On north west side of the children's playground, adjacent to the first paved parking lot. You'll see the Lake a minute down the gentle slope.

VALUABLES: Leave nothing visible in car or in trunk. Lock car.

(There may be dishonest people watching what you place and leave in your car/trunk.) 

Join 52Frames for our 2018 cycle:  www.52frames.com

On Photo Walk (slow walk special), with your charged camera or phone, shoot consciously with your spirit, heart and mind, all the joy, wonder and sacred moments you ‘see', and dance with your soul as you experience beauty that inspires awe and gratitude. 

Mindfully breathe in deeply and smile as you gaze upon the Universe's gifts. 
Grasp essence of splendor that can’t be understood. 

"It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” - Henry David Thoreau  (1851)

HAPPY WORLD WATER DAY

For UN World Water Day March 22nd, and every day ~ BlesSings and gratitude. 

Thank you WATER for giving us life, from the time we are in the womb and amniotic sac. We are 75% water; Water in our blood, sweat, tears and brain. Thank you for the rain, reflective raindrops, for the lakes, rivers and oceans. Thank you for waterfalls, cascades, fountains, sprinklers, bridges, piers, reflections and ripples. For giving drink to animals, and for swimming fish, ducks, dolphins, shells and turtles. Thank you for my swims, surfing, snorkeling, skiing and boating. Thank you for ice, my glass of water, and water to cook food in my land, and for wells in foreign lands. Thank you for purifications, showers, washing hands, dishes and clothes, and brushing teeth and flushing toilet. Thank you for watering plants and garden and for hydrants. Thank you for water colors, your beauty and dewdrops on flowers, and shapes of clouds and covenantal rainbows.

I love you, water. 

May the Divine One bless you with abunDance, health, and being clean. 

© Joy Krauthammer

http://worldwaterday.org/wtd-events/52frames-un-world-water-day-photo-walk/

http://joys-favorite-fotos.blogspot.com/2012/05/water.html

Joy's Photos of Lake Balboa:
http://joys-favorite-fotos.blogspot.com/2012/06/lake-balboa_1.html

MAP

Street MAP below.

Why Photographers Need to Do Photo Walks Together by Chris Gampat. 3.17.2015

http://www.thephoblographer.com/2015/03/17/why-photographers-need-to-do-photo-walks-together/#.VQhdjSliHBE

52Frames Los Angeles Photo Walk 
FIRST LA Photo Walk 2015
Special guest leads us in healing Water chant.

On a first day of spring and World Water Day, March 22, 2015, 52Framers and friends with guide, Joy Krauthammer, ‘focused' with intention on sharing water wisdom, chant and photography. This was our first ever 52Frames LOS ANGELES PHOTO WALK, and was held in the San Fernando Valley, California, USA. We walked totally around LAKE BALBOA and traversed the cascade, bridge and stream. Along with arbors of purple and white blossoming wisteria, the park is wonderfully known for the thousands of pink flowered Japanese Cherry Trees. Fascinating waterfowl are in abunDance and include swans, geese, mallards, pelicans, herons, egrets, cranes, cormorants and coots. We patiently waited for perfect bird shots. Colorful cultural celebrations were happening, and visitors from all ethnicities and faiths were enjoying, making for more fun photos. We had our own birthday festivity for Arnon and his family, Talia and Adir. 52Framers and friends also included Joy, Edi, Cherie plus Ruth, Judy, Jackie, Leslie, Joanne, and meditation guests Gilla and Kiu. The 27-acre Lake Balboa was a terrific location for 52Framers to prepare for “Levitation”, our week's photo challenge. - Joy Krauthammer

Joyous Levitation with Cherie, Balinese dancers and Mute Swans

Lake Balboa

composite © Joy Krauthammer  3.22.2015

Joyous Levitation with Double-Crested Cormorant

Lake Balboa

composite © Joy Krauthammer  3.22.2015

Wisteria Blossoms

Lake Balboa

© Joy Krauthammer  3.22.2015

 Black-Crowned Night Heron 

Lake Balboa

© Joy Krauthammer  3.22.2015

Global World Water Day Meditation with 52Frames' LA Photo Walk
10AM!!! Thurs. 3.22.2018

52Frames LA PhotoWAlk Album

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TIPS
JOYous Nature Photo Walk 

See, Shoot, and Share

with  Joy Krauthammer

With well-being, awareness and perception, eye and vision, mind and heart:

Early in the day, and outside-- to the flower, with gratitude I say, “Good morning". 

The flower hears me. G*d hears me.  

Have conversation, shmooze, look into the Face of G*d.  Into others’ eyes.

Separate from crowd, linger and/or go beyond path. Discover what is beyond. (Don’t stay stuck at entrance.)

Be present, conscious, observe, slow down, look, view from different angles, be alert, be silent. Sharpen visual skills.  Breathe, hold breath. 

Awareness for obstacles: poison ivy, loose stones, broken cement, puddles, soggy grass, holes, and snakes. 

Self Consciousness. Be adventuresome, don't be lazy, and don’t be late*.  Catch the guide and tour bus.  Charge batteries.
Leave nature in good condition, no foot prints. Respect nesting places.

Themes: Trees, leaves, flowers, bark, insects, animals, humans, rocks, water, paths, gates, fences, mountains, clouds, moon, sunrise, sunset, color.

COMPOSITION.  Framing.  4 finger frame.  Shoot Vertical Portrait and Horizontal Landscape. Brace camera. 

Horizon.  Keep level, unless you want horizon skewed. Lower or raise.  Use unusual perspective. 

Frame.  Shoot through overhanging branches, through windows. Use tunnels, arches or doorways. 

Placement of main subject.  Fill frame with subject.  Include?  Exclude?  

Macro.  Move into subject.  Zoom. Don’t rely on Zoom.

Get close to be near to what is fascinating and inviting.  

See subject in their relationship to others, and their environment. Various angles. No photo bombing.

For scale, use humans, animals and flowers.  (Shoot a lone flower in the field, and feel its importance.)

Balance of relationships, harmonious, peaceful, equal weight.  Center symmetry.

Rule of Thirds.  Subject. Use, and position of 3x3 grid of horizontal and vertical lines.

Rule of Odds.  Odd numbered composition subjects are more appealing to the eye than even.

Leading lines.  To connect elements to each other, to journey visually, lead viewer's eye.
Sense of depth - diagonal vs straight vs horizontal lines vs converging.  Use river and path lines in nature. 
Pattern repetition, emphasize, break pattern with contrast.  Create dynamic tension.
Negative Space.  In image, discover shape outside subject form, the area between and around objects.

Simplify or exaggerate.  Shutter speed, aperature, exposure, scale, forced perspective.

Perspective. Move camera and/or body. Move camera to change height: Standing at eye, and other levels.

Body positions.  Change to not only look down on the subject/flower, but to look into it, up to it.

Shoot object from behind, under and sideways, and even only partially to capture the essence. 

Bend down, crouch low, lie down, look up and closely into that flower or into sky to shoot.

Have camera so low or so high to gain height, you can’t even see into the viewer. (See Ted Talk)

Vision.  Turn self around to see the other direction, and what’s behind you.  

What’s in back of subject/object? 

Depth of field (DOF) for background, foreground, sense of perspective.

Focus. Blur the background or foreground, so center of interest is what you focus on. Set mood.

SUBJECT ELEMENTS.  What characteristics appeal to you?

FOCUS on details: What is the shape, form, color (b/w) contrasts, texture, size, texture, smell, uniqueness?

Animals. Capture. Focus on eyes and head turned in your direction.

Find good specimen with what you desire, i.e. color, etc.

Limit, minimal may be best.

What new buds are opening, full, or dying?

Adjacent subjects (animals, buds and leaves) add interest. 

See little bugs, and macro capture them too.

Touch and feel carefully and gently the subject--leaves, stem, moss, petals, bark, stone.

The flower, grass can touch you too.  What is tree saying?

Attributes, soul. What is: quiet, funny, loving, colorful, meaningful, tiny, big, interacting, expressive?

Is there: beauty, joy, surprise, scary, loving, sound, silence, movement?

Backgrounds/foregrounds.  Avoid distractions. Distant backgrounds are good.

Check backgrounds.  No trees and poles growing out of people’s heads. 

Wait for non subjects to pass. Avoid moving objects unless you want movement. 
Rearrange space with freedom to change. 

Delete.  In shot or post processing.  Remove what you don’t want in picture.  Eliminate distractions. 

Pick out, weed out dead flora, trash, feet, heads, and other unwanted debris. 
Ask, 'Will this add to or take away from the image?’

LIGHT. Natural. Where is light coming from?  Difference in time of day. 

Good before sunrise for color, before sunset with softer Golden Hour, and virbrant after sunset.
Overcast and cloudy are good to diffuse light. Mist for mystery.

Use directional lighting. Move so that sun is at an angle to you, not only behind you.

How is light interacting with subject and scene?  See Silhouettes against the light.

Flash to fill in shadows.  Shade has even exposure.

Shadows.  Visible showing what? Create shadows purposefully.

May be positive and enhance, or may detract.

Reflections.  Seen in water, puddles, pool, raindrops, mirrors, windows, or objects.

Weather.  Shoot in the sun, in the rain.  Protect camera.

See in the raindrop or dew, colors reflecting the plant and surroundings. 

Rules. Break them. Be patient. Meditate. Have Gratitude.

Express your passion, creativity and joy.

YOUR ARTISTIC VISION

What inspires you?  What is your vision?  Your passion?  Your meaning?  What is your message? 

What is the intention of shooting the subject (flower, animal, tree, rock)?

Why are you taking this picture?  What do you notice that you want others to see?  

Pretty, evocative, moments, a story, instructional. Conveys drama, mystery, emotion and mood.

Elements.  What attracts you?   Identify those elements, their characteristics, and why you like them.

How do you perceive?  How can you be more observant?

How do you feel seeing and shooting?  Create an image of that feeling.  Share feeling image.

Identify Audience.  Self, family, friends, organizations, photo groups, blogs, FB, press, gallery?

Feel challenged. Create Art.

Have fun and joy in how you see and feel, and record the world in photographs.

Take time to do what makes your soul happy. 

The photographer artist reveals him/herself in the photo.

Art/Photography is a language of the soul– that expresses meaning and ineffable joy. 

The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.

"I walk.  I look.  I see.  I stop.  I photograph."   - Leon Levinstein

"It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”  - Henry David Thoreau  (1851)

“The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes, but having new eyes.” - Marcel Proust

"I see Your Face in All Nature that I photograph."  - Joy Krauthammer, MBA, Artist of Light (2012)

“Blessed are those who are in awe and walk in the ways of wonder."  - Psalm 128:1 Shir ha Ma’alot” - A song of ascents

BlesSings to see, shoot, and share,

Joy Krauthammer

http://joys-favorite-fotos.blogspot.com/2012/04/photography-art-bio.html

Excerpt from Creative Soul Featured Interview by Joy Krauthammer:

"In photography, I'm concerned about communicating visually, and gratitude, and safety, risks, legality, morality, courage, comfort zones, caring, consciousness, honoring, respect, staying away from stress-filled scenes, spontaneity, capturing an image, memories, recording moments, telling a story, conveying a mood, new ideas, themes, subject, characteristics, composition, negative space, perspetive, height, width, distance, depth, light, flares, reflection, shadows, clarity, color, texture, shapes, curves, lines, symmetry, patterns, movement, humor, and emotions. 

"For photo post-processing, my 'creative process' mostly in isolation, includes much, and with joy of challenge, success and fun:  In PhotoShop I use 'tools'. With brushes, I may paint over my photos. I use rotations, straightening, curving, subtleties, relationships, size, angle, perspectives, and with layers, masks, alpha, filters, fonts, text, gradients, adjustments, effects, softening, defining, exposure, contrast, colors, saturations, highlights, shadows, opacity, vignettes, borders, retouching, dodging, burning, smudging, transforming to the fraction of an inch with cropping, and then choose resolution. Finally for the specific audience, I add watermark, captions, Torah quotes, explanations, and I size to share for web or print."

JOYous Nature Photo Walk  ~  See, Shoot, and Share

http://joys-favorite-fotos.blogspot.com/2014/09/joyous-nature-photo-walk.html

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Photographing ~ My Devotion

Early each morning before dawn, joyously
 I again begin my day in wonder, like a child, 
at the edge of the cliff, closest to the horizon and the rising sun. 
For an hour today, from 5:30am, 
with camera in my hands, I am blown over again and again
 by the powerful gusts of wind cleaning the sky
 and distant mountains, 
and I smile 
in the radiance of G*d’s colorful surprises.

May your day be bright.

Love and blesSings, 

Joy Krauthammer ©

As I wait quietly for SUNRISE, and with Ineffable Natural Beauty, and G*d, The Source of All BlesSings  

I HAVE

Faith, Anticipation, Patience, Meditation, Gratitude, Reverence, Surprise, Awe, Amazement, Excitement, Newness, Glory, Exhilaration, Glee, Joy, Delight, AbunDance, Fulfillment, Wonderment, At OneMent, Peace, Stillness, Silence, Connection, Prayer, BlesSings,
And, I try to capture Dawn.
- Joy Krauthammer

“The primary talent of an artist is his ability to step away from the externalities of the thing and, 

disregarding its outer form, gaze into its innerness and perceive its essence, 

and to be able to convey this in his painting (photography). 

This is how an artist can serve his Creator.”  - The Rebbe

"meraki. A word that modern Greeks often use to describe what happens when you leave a piece of yourself (your soul, creativity, or love) in your work. When you love doing something, anything, so much that you put something of yourself into it."  -Wiki Geeese, Lake Balboa © Joy Krauthammer  3.15.2015 Shooting this low to the ground can be a bit scary with  fast aggressive snappy geese coming at you. Mute Swans, Cygnus olor Lake Balboa © Joy Krauthammer  315.2015 Japanese Cherry / Sakura Tree Lake Balboa, SF Valley © Joy Krauthammer  315.2015  Tracks to Passionate People © Joy Krauthammer  Ted Talk, Israel. Slide show photograph of photographer Joy Krauthammer.

How to photograph geese, mushrooms, ants (on their level), roses under blue skies, and bottoms of furniture from low perspective:

Joy Revealed on floor of Apple store, photographing stools.
Slide show photo of Joy Krauthammer © Stephanie Smith.

Seen LIVE from Israel in TED TALK, May 11, 2014.

Speaker Yosef Adest, CEO of 52Frames.  www.52Frames.com

52Frames weekly challenge theme: Furniture

© Ted Talks

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