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I had to go there too: Beeks Bight, Folsom Lake, Granite Bay, California

I saw images, read posts, heard about taking clients there; but I had never been there. Where? Folsom Lake! So photo buddies Greg and Linda joined me and we went to Beeks Bight, a popular photogenic spot. Greg had been there before, but Linda and I hadn’t.

It was sad and beautiful at the same time. The lupine were blooming (the reason most professionals take their portrait clients there), but the lake’s water level is so low. You could imagine what it would look like with a full water level. The drought is really taking its toll.

Drought or not, this area of the Lake has always been called Beeks Bight. A bight is a geographical term for a bend or curve in any geographical feature,or can refer to a large (and often only slightly receding) bay. Beeks has something to do with whom it’s named after.

This name is often written incorrectly, it’s strange. But, the area is pretty. Since Beeks Bight, I’ve been on other shoots, and you’ll be seeing those images as soon as I can finish editing them. Meanwhile look at what I saw, read and heard about.

Posted on by Anne Sandler

Trying out the macro: Amador Country wine country

“Bring your macro,” said Marlene Frankel. “Shooting flowers is a great opportunityto use it.” This was the second time we were scheduled to visit Daffodil Hill and it closed due to rain. The next option was a nursery, The Amador Flower Farm, in Plymouth. With that as our destination, we headed out to beautiful Amador County and its wineries, and Sutter Creek.

On our way to the flower farm, we stopped at Young’s Winery to shoot the beautiful landscape. Although the sign said by appointment only, we thought they wouldn’t mind if we shot some images. Today, I’m going to show you the winery. In my next post, I’ll show you some of the macro shots and Sutter Creek.

Young’s Winery is just beautiful, and is a photographer’s dream. I’m tempted to call them and ask if they would give us a photo tour. In addition to making and selling wine, they rent out space for weddings and other celebrations.

The best part of Amador County is that it is only one hour away from Sacramento. It’s easy to get to and you don’t have to set aside an entire day for a photo outing. Here’s Young’s Winery. My next post will show you how the macro did. And, yes I did buy it.

Posted on by Anne Sandler

A full day of beauty: the UC Davis Arboretum

When you’re in or near Sacramento, California, you’ve got to visit the UC Davis Arboretum. Laura, Marlene and I walked the approximate 5 – 6 miles around the area, stopping for lunch. Even though I carried my cameras on a two-camera sling and everything else in a photo vest, my back was protesting during the last third of the trip.

The arboretum is a 100 acre park that borders Putah Creek. About 17 gardens have been planted along the creek, giving variety to the eye and much to shoot for photographers. I don’t know whether I’m just getting better at my craft or whether the gardens were beautiful even though it wasn’t spring yet; but, I do have a lot of photos to show you. So I’ll do it in three parts. Tonight I’ll show you the wildlife, next the landscape and finish up with the people.

The arboretum wildlife consists of birds, turtles and water fowl. And, they were pleantiful when we were there, especially the egrets. I’ve always seen one or two at the arboretum, but there were more that Sunday. No more words–here are the images.

 

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 2 Comments

A fun and learning experience: Yosemite National Park

California is a true wonderland when it comes to visiting National Parks. So many are within a 5-hour drive. Yosemite is one of them. I’m so glad that I saw Yosemite before the drought.

Photo buddy Laura and I went there for a couple of days to catch the “fire fall effect.” Once a year when the sun is in the right place and water is in abundance you can get the “fire fall” effect just like the old days when they used to drop fire over the falls. Even though it rained the week before, there was not a drop of water coming down the mountain. The drought was evident elsewhere too with the meadows dry and brown. I remember green meadows.

Our journey began with our first night outside the park. We light painted a gazebo across from the lodge. Then at 4 a.m. the next morning we went into Yosemite to catch the sunrise from the Swinging Bridge. This will be a three part post. Today’s post will take you though first evening and morning at Yosemite. We waited on Swinging Bridge for the sunrise. It was an experience!

 

 

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Sacramento Museum Day part 2: The California Automobile Museum

Muscle cars, race cars, classic cars. You can find them all at the California Automobile Museum in Sacramento. And we found them all, including lots of people. You sort of expect that when it’s free museum day. We were’nt allowed to bring in our tripods because of the crowded condition, so we made the best of it.

I decided to shoot parts of the cars rather than the entire vehicle. A surprise was the small cafe made to look like the interior of a 50s ice cream parlor. That was fun to shoot. I also met a nice couple who were curious as to why I was shooting the top of a table. I wonder what they were thinking until I explained that I was shooting the reflection of the neon sign.

I was also surprised to learn that this museum changes exhibits quarterly. Marlene and I are going back to shoot the next exhibit. You’ll see what it is next month.

Meanwhile enjoy the best of the classic, antique and muscle cars.

Posted on by Anne Sandler

Back from Death Valley, part 5

I just don’t understand WordPress and their new setup. This is going to be a short post since it’s the second time doing it. I wrote and added pictures and accidentally published without adding tags and categories. In the old setup, you could edit the published post and update it. I did find where I could revert to a draft, pressed the button, and lost the entire post!

Enough grumbling. Death Valley is so diverse geologically that you could never be bored. Even though we couldn’t do major hiking and some trails were closed, we did get a good sense of this beautiful park. Today I have shots of Ubehebe Crater, The Sand Dunes and Mosaic Canyon. Our favorite was Mosaic Canyon and most of the images are of it. Explanations of the areas are in the captions.

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Photographer error: Benicia, California – part 2

One of my photo buddies posted that she had made the same error of shooting on JPEG instead of RAW which limited her editing. I could only post a reply that she wasn’t alone. So did other photographers of various levels. So, how do we overcome photographer error. Again every problem I’ve had with my cameras have been mine. Sometimes is not understanding the camera fully; sometimes it’s just brain fade. Routine may be the answer for me. Before I leave, check the camera settings. When I get to where I’m going to shoot, re-check the camera settings. The night before I leave, make sure batteries are charged and SD cards have ample room. We’ll see how it goes. If anyone has a better way, please let me know.

Meanwhile, today’s images are from the Benicia Marina. This was a stark contrast to the State Park which I didn’t find very well kept or pretty until I reached the shore. The marina was full of boats and yachts. Condos lined the shore. And, the sun was peaking through the clouds.

Still running on JEPG here, so editing was limited on these images. No more photographer error in the future!

Posted on by Anne Sandler

Photographer error: Benicia, California

I’ve come to believe that Nikon has arranged for everything to be photographer error. Things happen, but it’s never a Nikon problem! For instance, at a recent outing where we learned more about flash photography, my new 18 – 55 mm lens wouldn’t work. An accomplished Nikon photographer helped, but he couldn’t resolve the problem. So, I shot with my 55 – 300 mm lens all evening. The lens and flash (remember, that is new also) were really heavy and got heavier as the night pushed on. I did learn a great deal about using my flash, and I bet I’ve increased muscle mass too!

Oh, how did the lens issue come to be photographer error? Our fearless leader of the Sacramento Photographers looked at my camera during dinner. He asked me if I knew the lens was locked. I had totally forgotten the lens had a lock. Of course I knew when I first tried it out, but……

And, yesterday I didn’t realize that with all the moving of knobs, etc. the camera must have been put on JPG image quality. Yesterday’s shots in Benicia were all shot at JPG, leaving me less ability to edit. Anyway, you’re going to see some images from the Benicia State Recreation area today. This is going to be a three parter since I was there all day and visited three different areas.

I’m hoping to get to Hakone Gardens before I leave San Jose. I’m going to carefully look over the camera before I start shooting. I’ve got to because Nikon won’t help me prevent photographer error!

Posted on by Anne Sandler

On the road again: Fall foliage found in Quakertown, Pennsylvania

It was like coming home–at least our home for a week last year. We camped in Quakertown during our cross country trip last year! This time we came for cousin Karen’s son’s wedding. She kept telling me that Pennsylvania had the beautiful fall colors, and she was right. I knew that our campground was in the country and would be the perfect area to find what I was looking for.  So off we went, and I wasn’t disappointed. Richard drove and I scouted.

I didn’t have a chance to edit the images until we returned home yesterday. I’ll show you the best. Most were shot with the D7100 and a few with the D3100. Next year I’ll look for the autumn colors here in the Sierras–just a little closer to home!

 

Posted on by Anne Sandler

On the road again: Looking for Fall foliage at Hyde Park, NY

Coming back east for an October wedding had a promising bonus–shooting the Fall foliage! So with that in mind, Irene, Neil, Richard and I went upstate to Hyde Park for some Fall color. I was ready with my cameras, lenses and tripod, but alas, we may have been too early for full Fall color. However, we did have a great time at the FDR library and home. It was a trip worth doing.

The library was as interesting as the Lincoln Museum we enjoyed in Springfield, Illinois last year. I have a few pictures to show you. I wasn’t able to take many in the library because of the no flash rule. And, we were too late to book a house tour. But just to be there was terrific.

As for Fall foliage, there is some promise in Pennsylvania. I did take some shots at a highway overlook while going through New Jersey. Time is getting short, so let’s cross our fingers for some great Fall colors in Pennsylvania.