It’s that time of year here in Northern California–RAIN! But this year, it started in December, giving our rivers more than an adequate water level. It started again in late January and so far in February. Discovery Park is at the confluence of the American and Sacramento Rivers, and in years of heavy rain fall, it tends to flood.
Of course I can’t miss a good opportunity to photograph a flooded area. But, we were almost too late. I remember one year the picnic tables were under water. Here are some pictures from that area.
River View from the I St. BridgeFlooded Parking LotFlooded Parking LotNot under water, but look at that burl.
After Discovery Park, we went to Old Sacramento to see what we could find.
It’s still raining, but not as hard. I’m not complaining too much because most of the rest of the year we are dry. Summer rain is not normal for us.
What are you going to do when you retire? You’ll have a lot of time on your hands. I asked myself that question when I knew I was going to close down my business. That’s when I dove into photography. George in my Toastmaster club decided to get his hands dirty at Soil Born Farms. A non-profit organization, their “mission is to create an urban agriculture and education project that empowers youth and adults to discover and participate in a local food system that encourages healthy living, nurtures the environment and grows a sustainable community.”
This non-profit is open to the public and has a store, cafe, docent walks and more. It is located near the American River in Rancho Cordova. I visited during the Halloween holiday when they had activities especially for the children.
The children were enjoying activities, wearing costumes and eating in the cafe. Some adults were in costume also. Most staff members were in costume. I didn’t have time to explore the trails, but I will go back. Here are some pictures from that morning.
Halloween scarecrow.Father and daughter.Yoga lesson.Staff working.Tour beginning.
I’ll be back and I’ll take the tour so I can bring back more information for you also.
We live in a three dimensional world. Photography shows the world as two dimensions unless we give the image a sense of scale. In this week’s challenge, Sofia encourages us to use many ways to show our photos in three dimensions using a sense of scale.
Using people to show magnificence.
Living in California, I can’t escape visiting BIG trees. This one is in Calaveras Big Trees State Park. My friend is standing in front of a tall redwood tree. No, I didn’t shrink her!
My next two show mountain height. Climbers practice here. There are much higher mountains in California. But this one makes for great practice and good photo opportunities. You have to look hard to find the person in the photo on the left.
Here we are in the California dessert. That’s my husband walking through a canyon.
Using a tall tree in the foreground.
This next image is of the Yosemite Water Fall during the drought. Photographers use this shot to capture the “Fire Fall.” I got the fire, but not the fall. The foreground gives the mountain a sense of scale.
Now I’m twisting the theme a bit. As I was going through my images, I came across this picture of the now inactive Empire Mine in Grass Valley. It shows a scale of depth as the tracks go down into the mine.
Finally, this last image definitely has me plunging in a downward spiral showing the depth of the three stories. What kid wouldn’t like to ride down that staircase?
Thank you Sofia for showing us the importance of scale in helping to give our photos a three dimensional look and feel. When you reply with your post, please remember to link to Sofia’s post and use the Lens-Artists tag.
I truly enjoyed seeing all of your gardens last week. Next week John is hosting our challenge so please look for his post. Until then have a wonderful week!
Sunflowers always make me smile. It seems like they are smiling as they follow the sun through the day. We recently went on a Yolo Arts & Ag Project outing to 3M Ranches to view their sunflower field. They had a warning to alert us of the bees, asking us not to interrupt their mission of pollinating the countryside.
Thanks to the bee boxes along the field, there were plenty of industrious bees working hard. I’m glad they were concentrating on their work because I’m allergic to them. I give them plenty of space. Watching them is amazing. They have one job and that’s all they do.
It was difficult to find a flower without a bee on it, but I managed. You’ll have to look into the full field pictures to find a sunflower with no bees. Unfortunately there was one casualty. I don’t know what happened to that one flower since the field looked young.
This ranch also had old equipment that we were allowed to photograph. In my next non-LAPC post I’ll show you the beauty of rust.
Although we couldn’t get close because of renovations and repairs, here’s a brief history taken from its website.
The 115-foot Pigeon Point Lighthouse, one of the tallest lighthouses in America, has been guiding mariners since 1872. Its five-wick lard oil lamp, and first-order Fresnel lens, comprised of 1,008 prisms, was first lit at sunset, November 15, 1872. The lens stands 16 feet tall, 6 feet in diameter, and weighs 2,000 pounds. Now on display in the fog signal building, it sat in a lantern room constructed at the Lighthouse Service’s general depot in New York before being shipped around the Horn. Although the original Fresnel lens is no longer in use, the lighthouse is still an active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation using an automated LED beacon.
Aside from the lighthouse, the coast is beautiful. Wildflowers were blooming and a couple was enjoying the view.
All Laura had to do was ask if I wanted to go to the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum and I jumped at the chance. I haven’t been anywhere since my August 2023 auto accident for more than 2 – 3 hours. Since Laura was driving, the 3 hours both ways, I knew if I needed rest, I could sleep. It was a wonderful day out. I had never been to the arboretum, and anything floral has me feeling great. Laura wanted to photograph the humming birds and I just wanted to leave.
The humming birds were confined to one bush that was blossoming. I got my one hummer picture and walked around. Laura has patience, where I don’t, and a longer lens. She stood by the bush for about 1/2 an hour, taking pictures. Of course, she was more successful in the number of hummers.
Here’s my one picture! Of course, the colorful hummers sort of blended into the bush.
We walked around through the various zones. It was relaxing and fun. Here’s a sample:
Our day didn’t end at the arboretum. We took the long way home through Half Moon Bay, stopping at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse. Those pictures will be in my next regular post.
When you’re a suburbanite, driving on various country roads that are labeled County Road __ or __, can be confusing. And you can never count on your GPS to get you there. That’s why I appreciate directions given by the organizers of the Yolo Arts & Ag visits! The visit to the Pollock Farm in Woodland was no exception.
Fortunately, we only had one wrong turn. This farm is 137 acres of olive trees. The owners Lynnel and Herb Pollock have left the original structures dating from 1861 – 1872 to decay at their own pace, giving photographers and artists a wonderful opportunity to capture those times. They live on the property in a 1950s house.
Here’s a glimpse of what we saw.
An artist chatting with a photographer.
I love how carefully the wood is chopped and stored in this last photo. Might we expect a cold winter? That would be great!
It’s nature at its closest: Effie Yeaw Nature Center. This amazing place is on the American River in Fair Oaks, about 15 minutes from my home. This Sacramento County Park has a visitors center and bathrooms near the center. Other than that, it’s up to Nature to make changes. Sometimes when we visit, there are no deer in sight and other times: WOW!
Our visit in August was one of those WOW moments. We saw many moms, their fawns and young bucks. I also got a good shot of a woodpecker and two of the American River.
WoodpeckerWhat’s she thinking?A Jack RabbitAmerican RiverAmerican RiverOlder buck
The deer at Effie Yeaw are used to us humans walking by, but we are still careful not to get too close. It’s all about respect and that this is their home we are walking through.
It’s been three years since we went searching for sunflower fields. The pandemic shut us down in 2020 and it has taken us that long to go scouting. By scouting, I mean getting in the car and heading out to the countryside of Yolo County. After getting lost on various County numbered roads, we did find two or three fields.
One had a beekeepers boxes on the side of the field. Since we were respectful of the owners private property, we did not walk into the fields. We stood on the side and used our long lenses. We also took advantage of flowers in the front of the field. Because of this, the bees didn’t bother us.
Here is a sample of our Sunny bounty. Sunflowers help me smile. They are happy flowers!
This is my lucky morning. I was trying to think of how to approach Brian of Bushboy’s challenge on fragments when I remembered taking my new Fujifilm XT3 camera down to Old Sacramento for some practice in May of 2020. My photo buddies and I masked up for the morning and drove down to the waterfront. I was trying all sorts of photography, like these closeups.
You can all these fragments of a train, boxes near the train depot and the gate closing in a train. I thought my new camera did well.
Could a fragment be a moment in time? Here we have some children having fun on the swings in front of the old school house in Old Sacramento enjoying their portion of play time.
Oh, I just love the candy shop and the tasty free and for purchase treats they offer. Can a candy shop be fragmented into separate bins of candy?
My final image isn’t a fragment, but an image of a train that has been moved elsewhere.
Since that day, my Fuji and I have been on all sorts of adventures. I’ve grown to love that camera, but, like life, it took some getting used to.
Thank you Brian for taking me on my fragmented memory. Looking back is such fun. When you reply to Brian’s post please remember to link to it and use the Lens-Artists tag. Last week was such fun as we saw all your buggy images. Some species I’d never seen before. Next week, look for Tina’s challenge on her Travels and Trifles blog. I wonder what she has in store for us. Until then, stay safe!
Slow Shutter Speed 