landscape photography – Page 32

Posted on December 30, 2018 by Anne Sandler · 6 Comments

Happy New Year: Kauai, Day 3

Good bye 2018! Hello 2019!! Will it be a good year? I don’t have any feelings either way about the New Year. Most years I do. I’m just hoping it will be better world wide. For me 2018 wasn’t without its struggles. Downsizing and moving was horrendous. And, yet, I had two wonderful vacations. You’ve seen my blog post on Sedona and this series on Kauai is ongoing.

Tonight I’m taking you to the north shore of Kauai. We started our day at the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge and its beautiful Kilauea Lighthouse. Actually, we were there before they opened the gates. Just give photographers a day of rest and we’re ready to go the next morning!

After that visit, we stopped at a cute church (Christ memorial Episcopal), two vista turnouts–the Taro field and Hanalei Bay, had lunch and walked the town of Hanalei. On our way back to Lihue we stopped at Anini Beach and park where we saw a guy wind surfing.

Lastly, we stopped to take pictures of the Wai oli Hui la Church. That was quite a busy day, and a great photo taking time!

My next post in this series will be in 2019. Celebrate safely and Happy New Year!!

The walking path to Kilauea Lighthouse
Kilauea Point Wildlife Refuge
Another shoreline
The Lighthouse
Wildlife
Her baby
Christ Memorial Episcopal
Taro field
Taro Field
Hanalei Bay
Hanalei Bay
Hanalei Bay
Hanalei
Hanalei
Wai oli Hui ia
Anini Beach
Wind Surfer
He takes flight

Posted on December 28, 2018 by Anne Sandler

Just a little rest: Kauai, Day 2

It’s not easy to fly to your destination any more. You need to change planes, pull your carry on luggage through the airport and spend time in between flights. By the time you get to your destination, you’ve had it. So our plan of photographing some of the sites the day we arrived in Kauai didn’t happen.

To make up for it, we went from one end of the island to the other the next day. You’ve seen the pictures in my previous post. So we needed an easy going day. Add to that my and Marlene’s injuries, we were ready to not rush the morning. So, my two terrific guides suggested we visit the East shore and photograph Opaeka’s Falls, go on the Jungle Hike (Which was so muddy that we could only go part way before we were slipping.) and view Wailua Falls.

Marlene and Laura brought guide books and studied them. I basically brought myself! Now you know why they were the guides, and they did an outstanding job. It was a nice short day!

Take a look.

I’m using the new WordPress editor and think I should have added captions before I inserted the pictures! The sequence goes: Opaeka’a Falls, river across from it, goat wondering why we were on the Jungle Hike, strange tree and path on the hike, various flowers, ocean, handsome rooster (plenty of them on Kauai) and Wailua Falls.

Posted on December 23, 2018 by Anne Sandler · 6 Comments

Do as I say…..Kauai, Hawaii

Merry Christmas everyone!

I finally finished editing my Kauai trip. Two of my photo buddies, Laura and Marlene, went, using my time share condo. This was my first trip dedicated to photography, and I was grateful to have two great friends along. It seems I never stop learning.

I made mention of my trip in a prior post, and my photo blogging buddy, Donna Robinson of Donna Robinson Photography, said she was looking forward to my Kauai posts so she could get some great tips of what to do when she goes. Well Donna, I can give you tips on NOT what to do!

First don’t pack every lens thinking you may need them. Really, do you want to miss any photo opportunity Hawaii can offer? I packed 5 lenses and two cameras. You do need a second camera if one breaks! Fortunately, I had a case that just fit all that stuff. Oh, I forgot to mention a flash and loop.

Second, don’t pack anything heavier than you can carry. I decided to put my camera bag and overnight tote on a luggage carrier and wheel through the airport. This worked until it was time to get on the plane. Then I had to carry the camera bag, tote and luggage carrier onto the plane. This wasn’t easy for a 75 year old weakling. Worse, when we were trying to catch our connecting flight, I didn’t have time to load up the luggage carrier. That night, my hip hurt and was hurting through the entire trip.

Third, check the camera settings. I shot on JPEG the whole week! I’m blaming the fact that I didn’t realize it on being 75!

Last, make sure you put your new logo into Lightroom on your laptop!

So Donna, that’s what not to do!

We spent our first day traveling to Waimea Canyon, stopping along the way at various turnouts, enjoyed our first introduction to shaved ice at Joe Joe’s, went on to Swinging Bridge and then caught our only sunset along Waimea Canyon Drive.

Here’s day one!

A drive by on the way.

A natural frame with a view.

One of the many waterfalls.

He’s just struting his stuff. Kauai has way too many chickens.

A colorful taco stand.

The trees in Kauai were beautiful.

A scene from an overlook.

The swinging bridge.

Looking away from the bridge.

A beach scene.

I think this is a sandpiper.

Fishing in the surf.

The waterfalls are tall and thin.

Another lookout capture.

Butterfly posing at one of the lookouts.

Waimea Canyon

Waiting for sunset.

The pink clouds looking away from the sunset.

The sunset. It was cloudy and threatening to rain every day. So this was the only chance at a sunset we had.

Posted on December 21, 2018December 21, 2018 by Anne Sandler · 8 Comments

Discovery: Christmas at the Capitol Building, Sacramento

I have discovered Color Efex Pro, and I love it. I love it just as much as I do Silver Efex Pro which I use all the time when editing for black and white. I don’t edit my photos that much because I still have not gotten into Photoshop or other programs. So, these presets are a great way for me to give my images a fresh look and a start at creativity. I do work on them after I apply the preset.

I’ve been using Color Efex on my outdoor landscapes. You’ll see some of it when I start posting my Kauai pictures (I still have the last day to edit.). I can see the opportunity. I can compose the image. I can do the basic editing. But, when it comes to giving the image that creative touch, I’m unable to do it on my own. I can’t see the final image in my mind, let alone know how to get it there! In comes the preset or profile. They give me ideas to jump off on. Then, away I go. Maybe with practice, I can do it on my own in Photoshop with layers, filters and more.

Every year, I promise myself that I’ll get into Photoshop, but it never happens. Life takes up the time I’ve set aside. I remember when I ran my home-based business, and I actually blocked off office time. I’ll have to do that for studying processing. It’s not only Photoshop, I’ve got other programs that I haven’t learned.

In the meantime, I’m so happy with the Nik collection. Take a look at a recent outing to the Capitol Building in Sacramento and the beautiful tree on the front lawn.

This was the first shot I took that evening. The clouds were great. Color Efex helped make them greater.

Of course I had to get the reflection on the tree ornaments.

Another shot of our beautiful Capitol Building.

I couldn’t resist shooting other buildings.

The clouds were so perfect.

Inside, shooting up into the rotunda.

Another shot.

Christmas decorations.

Another shot.

A little fun with zooming, handheld.

Up on the second floor.

At dusk on the front lawn.

Getting darker.

A dramatic edit.

Posted on December 14, 2018 by Anne Sandler · 4 Comments

This and that: Sacramento Zoo, sunset and roses

December is almost gone and I haven’t posted! But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been shooting. On Dec 1st., Laura, Marlene and I went to Kauai, Hawaii for a week. This was my first dedicated photography vacation. I’ll tell you all about it when I finish editing the images.

I had a cold before I left and have been busy since I’ve been back. So, this post is a catch up on an outing to the zoo, a West Sacramento sunset and my very own rose garden.

I wanted to visit the Sacramento Zoo to see Coconut the new snow leopard cub and the new meerkats. I was fortunate to see Coconut out with his mom, Misha. Dad, Blizzard was out on his own for a while. Coconut is a bit mischevious as are all kids, and mom takes it in stride.

The meerkats are much smaller than I expected. After all, I had only seen them in the Lion King! Also, they were behind glass which made it more difficult to photograph them.

I also went by the Red Panda enclosure, hoping to catch one of them awake and moving around. Well, one had an eye open!

From daytime to an evening sunset at the Deep Water Channel in West Sacramento. We were lucky enough to catch a decent sunset without going too far. The roses?? I have a small rose garden in my yard, and they were beautiful one morning.

Have a look!

A meerkat resting.

Standing up.

Looking in another direction.

Coconut playing.

Coconut posing.

Misha and Coconut.

Pretty Misha.

Blizzard.

A Wolf Guenon.

Baby Wolf Guenon feeding.

The pelicans–one of my favorites.

Sunset.

My rose garden.

Somehow the pink roses were pretty that morning.

Posted on November 14, 2018 by Anne Sandler · 8 Comments

Hey, you said this trail was flat! Auburn Quarry Trail, Auburn, California

He really didn’t lie; but when my dear photo buddy Richard promised us a flat trail with one or two hills, he under exaggerated. You see, Richard is an experienced hiker. We are not! The hills were a huge mountain for us. Now, am I exaggerating?

I do like to complain and Richard gives it right back. We, in our little Camera Totin’ Tuesday group, have a lot of fun. Through all the griping (I wasn’t the only one!), we had fun. After all, it’s the interaction of the group that makes a photo outing great.

We followed the Auburn Quarry Trail, part of the California State Park system, along the American River, and when we reached the top (as far as we were going to go), we were fortunate to come upon a few mountain climbers practicing. The sun was powerful that day in Auburn, so I had to deal with exposure issues. I shot mostly handheld HDR, but wasn’t satisfied with the results. So I basically edited one of the three shots in Lightroom. In the end, I was satisfied. Take a look. No captions needed.

Posted on October 30, 2018 by Anne Sandler · 8 Comments

Searching for fall colors: Markleeville

It seems that with each season Sacramento photographers rush to photograph the Milky Way, wildlife including the Sandhill Crane, snow and Fall colors. I’m no exception which is why my Camera Totin Tuesday group treked up to Markleeville, Alpine County, to capture delightful images.

There were five of us, and we squeezed into one car. Fortunately Marlene drove and her Suby Blue accomodated us easily. It’s a 2-hour ride up to the colorful aspens. Thank you Marlene for driving us. We stopped along the way to photograph the changing colors and had lunch in Markleeville. After lunch and taking pictures of the small town, population of 210 in the last census, we continued looking for color.

While editing the pictures of this outing, I tried to get out of my comfort zone with some creative help from Nik software. I’ve been liking the soft look lately and wanted to do some of my own. So, here’s the California colors of Fall.

A softened Aspen image.

Color in all its brilliance.

Another softened image.

We stopped on the way up.

You’ve got to love sunbursts.

Along the highway.

Around the area.

This guy holds down the bench!

A Markleeville building framed by color.

Two fences and a structure.

Photo buddy Richard showed me this shot.

I’m not sure what flower this was, but it’s still beautiful.

Old barns.

A book worm topiary in the back of the town’s library.

We stopped on the way home.

The tree glow is reflected in the water. Also tried handheld slow shutter.

Rocks and trees, what more could you want!

I liked this leaf’s reflection in the water.

Posted on October 6, 2018 by Anne Sandler

Finishing up: Maple Rock Gardens, part 2

Finishing up is not exactly correct since there is so much to see at Maple Rock Gardens in Newcastle. But, I’ll focus this post on the small touches and sculptures. If you missed the first post on this fantastic place, here’s a summary.

The garden is a private residence associated with High Hand Nursery in Loomis. When you visit, you’ll walk from one themed garden into another. It also has acreage that supplies flowers to the nursery. It’s only open to the public twice a year and is available as an event venue for special occasion parties, like weddings, the rest of the time.

Look back at my last post to view the grounds, and now for the rest!

There were quite a few of these metal sculptures.

Taking a siesta in the garden.

An artist at work.

Another metal sculpture looks like a dinosaur egg hatching!

Now for the bird houses.

House for rent!

Occupied!

Gribit!

Napping in the garden.

A small ceramic home.

Let’s talk. This was my favorite.

Posted on July 18, 2018 by Anne Sandler · 4 Comments

Just enjoying it: Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park

We just wanted to go shooting for enjoyment, and not too far. So we found the Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park in Volcano, California. This land preserves a large amount of marbleized limestone with about 1185 mortar holes–the largest collection of bedrock mortars in North America. Women would gather together and visit as they ground their grains in the mortar holes.

There’s also the Chaw’se Regional Indian Museum and a reconstructed Miwok village on the grounds. The one building I had fun photographing was the Ceremonial Roundhouse which is used for various social gatherings and ceremonial events. Since it is used currently for those purposes, we couldn’t go in.

My challenge during this outing was the brilliant sunshine and the shade. This drove the camera sensor crazy–me too. I tried some handheld HDR (tripod wasn’t with me), and focusing on the shade and then raising the camera which blew out the sunny area. The best I could do was to focus on the sunny area and move the camera. Fortunately Lightroom has a graduated ND filter and a shadow slider. Both came in handy during post processing!

But, it was a perfect outing, and we did enjoy it. Sometimes you just have to get out!

The museum

On the way to the village

Miwok dancer sculpture

Eating area

Another eating area view

I loved the structures that we think were made from tree bark.

A close up of the texture

One of the buildings

The large rock

Another view

A smaller mortar rock

The Ceremonial Roundhouse

A side view

Around the back

Posted on July 2, 2018July 2, 2018 by Anne Sandler · 8 Comments

Now a yearly trek: Lotus blossoms

They are so beautiful, but only bloom once a year. But, that’s also what makes the Lotus flowers so special. The flowers in this post are from the Vedanta Society of Sacramento in Fair Oaks (Where last year’s images were shot.) and my chiropractor’s farm in Auburn. Who would have thought that a small Lotus pond would be on a farm!

At the Vedanta Society, the mature Lotus were more inside the pond and the buds surrounded them on the outside. That made shooting them a little tricky, but with the lens extended all the way out to 140 mm and creative cropping, I managed.

At the farm, it was just the opposite. The featured image is a black and white from the farm. No matter, they are beautiful no matter where they are. And, pictures are a way of enjoying them all year round.