Posted on by Anne Sandler

On the road again: Sedona, Arizona

Beautiful red rock is what will first catch your eye when you venture into Sedona, but for me, the attraction is the vortexes. What, you ask! A vortex is an energy field that affects you in various ways.

A masculine vortex will energize you and a feminine vortex will calm you down. And, it works. Today we spent the day in a calming vortex and I’m so relaxed even though we went for a short hike. Because of these vortexes, Sedona has become the center for all things spiritual. You’ll find all sorts of shops dedicated to the spiritual arts: readings, crystals, massage, and more.

In addition, sorry to say, Sedona has become some what of a tourist trap. We are staying in West Sedona away from the heart of the tourist frenzy. I will tell you more about this area in subsequent posts. We are here until June 6, so enjoy the red rock beauty with me.

Posted on by Anne Sandler

Learning through the fog: A Sacramento Photographers workshop at the Aerospace Museum, McClellan Park, California

Wow, that’s a heafty title! But, that’s what it was. We gathered at the Aerospace Museum for a workshop sponsored by the Sacramento Photographers Facebook group given by Pedro Marenco. We covered topics including HDR, DOF, Focus Stacking and more. (Did you like how I threw out those acronymns!)

Except for the dismal weather, it was fun. My big take away was how much I already know. I keep berating myself about the technical aspect of photography, but I have learned quite a bit. And when there’s math involved, I can get around it. I’m much more confident now.

Most of the images I’m going to show you are HDR. High Dynamic Range explained simply takes three or more shots taken at different exposures of the same image. These different exposures are then brought into a software program that compresses the shots into one image. This eliminates the washed out skies, dark areas, etc. Most HDR programs have presets that can create all sorts of looks. It’s really fun. These old planes are perfectly suited for this.

I also realized that I need to be inspired about what I’m photographing. Although this is an interesting museum, it’s not what I would abosultely go out of my way to shoot. Once we got outside photography got a litlle more interesting. Oh, Richard is totally into planes and docents at this very museum!

Posted on by Anne Sandler

New year, new project: Marina Bay Trail, Richmond, California

I never wanted to get into portriat photography, but today Gem, my dog, was my subject and he did a great job of trying to sit still and look at me. I’m only on day 4 of the 365 challenge and was shooting Gem because I didn’t get out. But, I was learning. I’ve made a secondary challenge to shoot most of my daily photos on manual, and Gem had to be very patient while I was doing the learning curve! I was so excited that I finally managed to shoot him on manual, but he didn’t high five. That’s okay, he got his treat anyway. I’m sure there will be more shots of Gem throughout the year.

Yesterday, I went on an all day Exploring Photography Meetup to Richmond and had to process one of the images so I could post in the challenge group. I posted a sunset, which, as it turns out, wasn’t the best of the sunset shots. But, day 3 was covered. I’ll show you part of the day’s images in this post and finish it up in the next.

The Marina Bay Trail is somewhere between 3 – 4 miles along the Richmond shoreline. They have a yacht club, marina, condos, etc. It’s in stark contrast to the city of Richmond. I think I’ll show you the grounds in this post and the birds in the next.

I’m getting out to shoot tomorrow so Gem won’t have to model.

Posted on by Anne Sandler

Photography can be expensive: Fort Tejon State Historical Park, California

I’m feeling it now–the dollars are just flowing out. First, my lens (18 – 55 mm kit lens) breaks and then my external flash says goodbye. I’m not too upset about the lens, but the flash was only used a couple of times! Of course, I’m trying to see the opportunity in both these items breaking: I have a slightly better lens (didn’t want to opt for the one that was $500.00 more) and a much better flash that I’m determined to use more.

I haven’t had much opportunity to use my flash in the 2 1/2 years I’ve been shooting, doing day or night photography. But, today I’m taking a class in how to effectively use it. This lesson and my paying for a new flash. hopefully, will bring me to seek out more opportunities to use the flash.

One of the bright spots in all this is Action Camera. They managed to fix my old flash from my film camera days, clean the D7100’s sensors and, of course, sell me the new flash. They advised me against using the old flash on the digital camera because the electrical has changed, but I can still use it as an off camera flash.

Meanwhile, on our way home from a Los Angeles (San Fernando Valley) trip this past weekend, we stopped at Fort Tejon State Historic Park. This is located near the summit of the Grapevine off Highway 5 in Lebec California. The sun was blaring, and it would have been an advantage to use a fill flash, and I was using my prime 50 mm lens. I enjoyed using the nifty 50, but still have to get used to it. Today, I’m showing you some of the images from this little fort. Most of the buildings are recreated, but you can still get the feeling of how it was in the 1800s.

Posted on by Anne Sandler

Tuesday practice: I finally made friends with my tripod and more from Capay Valley

I made a promise. When I make a promise, I usually keep it–even if it is to myself. Yes, it’s Tuesday, camera practice day. Even though I didn’t go anywhere except for my back yard, I still made progress. I’m confident now with using the tripod. I went back to Action Camera and bought a remote shutter release that will bracket. The cordless remote would do single shots, but not bracket. And, I’m comfortable with using the remote.

In fact, I did take a lot of bracketed shots–of my rose tree and a bush. Don’t worry, you won’t have to look at them. Now on to learning what to do with the bracketed shots. Maybe tomorrow afternoon I’ll download some trial software and get ready for a little frustration.

So, with the first week of Tuesday practice done, I’m posting some more shots of Capay Valley.