February 2019 – Slow Shutter Speed

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Anne Sandler · 4 Comments

A rain break: Capay Valley Ranches

Finally, a Tuesday with just the threat of rain! This was great timing since Yolo Arts and Ag had scheduled time for artists at Capay Valley Ranches in Capay Valley. This organization provides artists access to various ranches and farms in Yolo County. Painters will bring their easels, brushes and whatever medium they use and photographers bring tripods and cameras.

They let us roam the venue at will, giving us the opportunity to get great images and to get a feel for what life on a ranch is. Capay Valley is home to almond orchards. The trees are normally in bloom now; but with the cold and wet weather, they are not in full bloom.

This was disappointing, but we made the best of it, and enjoyed the partial sunlight. Oh, the wind was furious and gave us an additional challenge! I love my walk around 18 – 140 lens. Even with wind, it can stop action.

Here are some of my images from that windy, cold morning. It was great to be outside without an umbrella!

Posted on February 20, 2019February 20, 2019 by Anne Sandler · 11 Comments

Anxiety: Finalist in the INFOCUS competition

I was on overwhelm. I had bought my first DSLR, a Nikon D3100 in late 2012. Digital photography was slightly out of my technical expertise. Like what was ISO? Nikon wrote a pretty good manual, but assumed that the reader understood the terminology.

So, I looked for help, and I went to visit my friend Sandy, in Sonora, who’d been shooting for years. We had a great couple of days. Mostly, she showed me how to relax with the camera and gave me composition tips.

Since then, my expertise level has increased, mostly because of doing the 365 (taking a picture each day of the year) and joining the Sierra Camera Club in Sacramento which offers juried competitions twice a month. I’m not there to win; I’m there to learn. But, I always wondered if I should enter into a more broad type of competition.

I watched Sandy winning or placing at small county fair compeitions and asked her to let me know about one when it came along. The California State Fair, right here in Sacramento, seemed daunting to me. Could I really compete with the wonderful photographers in this region?

Sandy did let me know of the INFOCUS Photography Competition & Exhibition in Columbia, California. I knew if I didn’t enter this one, I would never enter one. I submitted five photos and two made it into the finals. So why am I anxiety ridden? It’s the printing, matting and framing that has me in a tizzy. The wonderful owner at Image Pros Photo, in Orangevale, helped me understand that I couldn’t make the images larger. I would lose some of the picture. Since these were macro and closeup photos, I kept them small. She also worked with me on the lighting in the picture.

So, here I am, ready to frame and bring the pictures down to Columbia for judging and exhibition on March 9. Still on overwhelm!

Here are my entries that made it into the finals. Wish me luck!

Posted on February 15, 2019 by Anne Sandler · 2 Comments

It’s raining, it’s pouring: Antique Trove, part 2

Yes, it’s still raining here in sunny California. In fact, we are getting atmospheric storms. A woman in Toastmasters this morning told us that her neighbor’s tree ended up in her pool! They are preparing for floods in certain areas that usually flood in rains like this. Discovery Park, a nice picnic area on the American River has been closed off. Many years in the past, those tables were under water!

Today, I was able to walk my dog, Gem, on his usual 2-mile trek. But, as I write this, the rain is coming down.

So, back to the Antique Trove in Roseville. I always bring money in with me when I shoot inside because I mignt find something I can’t live without. It’s also nice to buy something as a way of saying thanks for letting a photography group invade the store. Here are the last of the images I took.

Baby owls in metal.
Momma owl.
Thirsty birds.
A flower cart.
Wheel.
Flying.
Camera with a special flash.
Bulbs!
Nice still life.
Baby doll in old stroller.
Low angle.
Motherly love.
I should have posted this yesterday!
Old record player.

Posted on February 10, 2019 by Anne Sandler · 2 Comments

Shooting inside: Antique Trove, part 1

If the weather is forcing you to shoot inside, try an antique store. The bigger the store, the better. One thing: always ask permission before you go. The Antique Trove in Roseville is becoming my Tuesday group’s favorite inside place to shoot. It’s huge, has a lot of vendors, and the items change frequently.

We’ve been there twice now and have not been disappointed. Okay, some of us bought things we couldn’t resist. The plaques I purchased are now hanging with my photos in the kitchen dinnette area.

I do have a problem though, I don’t like clutter and price tags. So, I tend to do closeups with a short depth of field. I look for lines, texture and items that tend to tell a story. I also don’t like to use a high ISO, but I do what’s needed. Stores don’t take kindly to tripods! Fortunately, I have a 2.8, 17 to 70 Sigma lens expecially made for crop sensor cameras. It typically gives me enough light. Flash photography is not allowed.

During our first visit in January, I didn’t find much to shoot. Maybe I was having an off day and didn’t find items that inspired me. However, last week was a different story. With our outing three weeks apart, the stock in the vendor stalls had changed and, since it wasn’t raining at the moment, the back outside stalls were open.

Because I have edited photos from two visits, this will be a two-part post. There will be more images from last week’s shoot. So here we go. Enjoy my take on the Antique Trove.

Texture, rust and message.

This vendor loved light.
This was some sort of harp.
Lines and more lines layered.
The windmill and open slats provided lines and circles.
This was painte on wood.
Who could resist a nice shell.
More lines and a circle.
Sky.
I was intrigued by the little treasures inside.
Baby owls.
Momma owl.
Old books.
I love neon.

Posted on February 5, 2019 by Anne Sandler · 6 Comments

A slow start to 2019: January

If I thought 2019 would start off with a BANG, I was wrong. I didn’t hold a camera in my hand for the first two weeks. After that there were five photo opportunities, but few great photos. A lot had to do with the rainy weather, which we’re still having, and also with my not feeling well.

So here we are in February and the rain is still coming down. I’m not complaining because California needs the rain. We have a great snow pack now that will hopefully see us through the dry summer. What does that mean for photography? If you can’t make it up to the snow, you’re shooting inside! I’m amazed at how many businesses welcome photographers. This year we’ve been to the Antique Trove in Roseville twice, most recently today. You’ll see those pictures in my next post.

So, here are some picks from January!

These were from an experiment with oil and water. It’s more difficult than the tutorial made it seem!

These are from an outing to Old Folsom Historic District. It’s a section of Folsom where you can walk, shop and eat. Best of all, the parking is free!