Posted on by Anne Sandler

An annual dream board workshop

How do you achieve goals, wants and needs? Doing a dream (or vision) board is a fun and proven way to get what you want.

Each year my dear friends Carol and Alyse host a dream board workshop for their friends. We decided that this was our 16th year of getting together; and since I’ve moved to Sacramento, I truly look forward to seeing everyone. This post is not as much about my photography as it is about goal attainment and comradeship.

But first a little about photography. I’m still having trouble with ambient light. The images posted were taken without flash and white balance on auto since I was shooting in two rooms with different lighting. If any photographer has some hints for me, don’t hesitate to send them along. Now back to the fun part of the day.

For a dream board session to be successful, you need magazines, magazines and more magazines. You’ll also need poster boards, scissors, glue sticks, good food, a bunch of friends and laughter. We start at noon with a delicious potluck lunch and then proceed to mess up the house by tearing out pages from magazines, cutting them and then pasting the pictures on our boards. If you can’t find what you want in the magazines, there’s always the internet. Most of the time, I’ll just go through the magazines until something meaningful pops up. We share ideas and pictures. We have fun, and in the end, we show off our masterpieces.

Does it work? Yes, we went on a cross country trip, bought a 5th wheel trailer, put in wood laminate flooring, and went to Disneyland and more. All these items were on my boards at some time. This year my board is all about photography, travel and self-transformation.

What would be on your board? Increase business, travel, health? Get together with a group of friends, have fun and attain your goals.

 

Posted on by Anne Sandler

What happens when you wake up way too early? Mare Island, Vallejo, California

It was way too early to wake up, but there I was at 4:30 a.m. with my mind processing stuff. Has that ever happened to you? So I made myself a cup of coffee, sat down at the computer, went through email, did a search on photo software and now I’m posting this blog.

Mare Island was a photo meetup with the Shoot Or Go Home group. Closed as a U.S. Naval Shipyard in 1993, Mare Island is a peninsula alongside the city of Vallejo. Now the Island houses boarded buildings, a museum, a golf course and more. The city of Vallejo wants to preserve the historical value of the shipyard and create more use for the land. A great place for an amateur photographer who loves old buildings, etc.

It was a cold and damp Saturday with half the group staying home. I was not feeling well (that cold I’m still not completely over) and we got there late because of heavy traffic. The outing was supposed to start at 1 p.m. and end with full moon shots; however, the cloud cover made that impossible.

But, the outing wasn’t a complete bust. I met Jayne West who knows a lot more about editing and shooting than I do, and I found the caliber of photographers in the group amazing. I need to buy HDR software and learn how to use it. Some of their photos were fantastic compared to mine–given the same shot. Some were overdone, but most were excellent. I still posted my images, but with the conviction to learn more.

So here are some of the Mare Island images. After completing this post, maybe I can go back to bed and sleep!

 

Posted on by Anne Sandler

The best of the rest of Disney World

You’re probably getting tired of Disney World. So this post won’t be long. I just wanted to show you some images from Disney Studios and the Animal Kingdom which is my favorite of the four parks.

The Animal Kingdom is truly a paradise for both kids and adults. We went in two days and I enjoyed both. The second time in we discovered Rafiki’s Planet Watch which consisted of a large petting zoo, a veterinarian hospital, animal museum and the backside look at the Safari ride.

So here are some images and the last of Disney World!

 

Posted on by Anne Sandler

Edited Epcot images

Oh my tired index finger! I’ve been doing editing to my images and finally got them all done–at least the ones worth editing. Don’t worry, I won’t bore you with them all.

Today’s post is on Epcot and our character breakfast at one of the Disney resort hotels. The adults enjoyed the food and the kids enjoyed meeting Goofy, Donald and Minnie. They were so excited, they couldn’t eat. I quietly asked the waitress if we could take out what was on their plates. She obliged us with some cups, and, of course, they snacked on the food during the morning. I’ll try to just post images you haven’t seen before, but I know there will be at least one repeat.

At least having them all edited, the going will be easier from here on. Remember, I don’t do much editing since I still don’t know how!

 

Posted on by Anne Sandler

California, here I am! Edited photos from Disney World, Florida

I have to admit it–I love California! It’s always great to come home even though it’s overcast. Hopefully we will get some needed rain. We had a great time in Orlando and Disney World, but I brought the cold home with me. So today, I’m resting and working on photographs. I need to get rid of this cold because I have a photo outing tomorrow–weather permitting.

Today I’ll show you some images from our first few days at the resort and in the Magic Kingdom. I kept comparing this park to Disneyland, my favorite park, and I guess I shouldn’t do that any more. The Magic Kingdom has changed since we last visited more than 20 years ago–for the better. However, you do have to go chase down some of the Disneyland attractions in the other three parks. However, the Magic Kingdom is not my favorite of the four parks.

I may have posted some of these images unedited so I hope you don’t mind seeing them again. I also need to get the photos of Olivia playing the Beast in the little Beauty and the Beast play play. Ryan was the cupboard. (Remember, I had left my spare battery at the hotel in my backpack.) Bummer, but it was wicked good to observe it.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 1 Comment

The Animal Kingdom unedited

It’s tough. It’s tough to go to a Disney park and have a bad time even when you are suffering from a cold. And, this cold just won’t give up! The day after we went to the Animal Kingdom, Richard and I moved the family to another time share. So, moving day, we did nothing but moved suitcases and set up the two bedroom suite while the all the kids were in a park. We didn’t mind because we weren’t feeling up to going.

The next day it was raining and cold in the sunshine state, so we stayed at the hotel. Greg started setting up the booth at the trade show. Yes, vacation was over from some of us.

This brings us to yesterday, Sunday. Jess, Richard and I took the little ones into Disney Studios. You’ll read more about that and see some images maybe tomorrow.

Right now Richard and I are relaxing with the grandchildren while their parents are working the trade show. And, I’m taking the opportunity to at least start this blog about the Animal Kingdom. I just loved that park. There’s a lot for the children to do, and the decor is wicked wonderful. I was a little disappointed with the Safari ride mainly because the road was so bumpy and it was difficult to take pictures. I carried both cameras, and thanks to my new sling, I was comfortable all day. Richard, the grandkids and I are going back tomorrow, but I think I’ll just take one camera. After all, I still have the cold and the going is sort of tough.

 

Posted on by Anne Sandler

Colds and Disney World unedited

What can ruin a vacation? Maybe lost luggage, rainy days, getting sick? Well, we didn’t lose our luggage, but the other two are something we’ve experienced. Even though three of us are down with a cold, we went into the parks anyway. Right now Richard and I are in the timeshare resting while the rest of the family went into Disney Hollywood Studios. When Greg called, he said that they were freezing. Greg also has the cold.

My post today is about Epcot. It was great. I wasn’t that impressed about the various “land exhibits,” but the rest of the rides and shows were wicked wonderful. One nice ride was about how they are growing vegetables in different ways like rice in dirt and tomatoes in trees. There was a lot for the children to enjoy, which they did. Here are some unedited images.

 

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Some lessons are hard to learn: Disney World unedited

Yes, I did it again. I forgot to check the battery in my camera before we left for the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida, and didn’t bring my spare. I got in a few shots before we got too far into the park and then stowed the camera back into the car. Fortunately, my daughter-in-law had her camera along and was the picture taker for the day.

I brought along both my cameras, but decided to use the D3100 since I would be taking mostly snapshots and didn’t want anything to happen to the D7100. We came to Orlando with our son, Greg, daughter-in-law, Jessica, and young grandkids, because our company is involved in a trade show here and thought it would be a great vacation. So, right now it’s day 5 and three of us out of six have colds. Jess is down at the pool with the little ones. This is a good time to do a blog, I thought. But, I have no editing program or computer with me! It’s a good thing Richard brought his laptop.

Our first two days in Disney were at the Magic Kingdom. It was crowded and they have a different system for using fast passes. It took us a while to catch on, but we did. Here are some memorable moments: Olivia was chosen to play the part of the beast in Belle’s castle play and danced with her (I have to get the pictures from Jess).  Ryan wants to be a pirate after going through the Pirates Of The Caribbean ride. We found some characters and took pictures with them. And, I got my highest score ever on the Buzz Lightyear ride!

Here are some images of our experience so far–unedited! I hope to get some study time in on the D7100 today, and tomorrow I will remember my extra battery and SD card!