California – Page 8 – Slow Shutter Speed

Posted on May 12, 2016 by Anne Sandler · 10 Comments

Macro Madness: Sacramento Historical City Cemetery

We visited the Sacramento Historical City Cemetery with a sense of loss. Not for people who have died and are buried there; for the flowers and archways the City wants to take out. The goal they say is to bring the cemetery back to what it would have been in the 1800s. What, they didn’t have flowers then?

We come to shoot here at least twice a year. We come for the history and the beauty of the gardens. We came this time because the flowers were blooming and there was no breeze. Well, just a slight intermittent breeze, but great for macro work. I haven’t been able to use my macro lens all winter. Fortunately, my walk around lens does a great job on close up shots, and I’ve been making do with it.

But this Tuesday was macro madness indeed! And, I came upon some head stones and statues I hadn’t shot before. You could keep going back and come home with images from a different perspective.

We also met the head volunteer who is fighting the City, trying to keep the gardens as is. I hope she wins. This is going to be a 2-part post because I have so much to show you. I hope my next post about this amazing cemetery isn’t to say that the flowers are gone, because that would be a great loss.

Got up close inside this flower.

I carried 2 cameras so I could take wide angle shots.

I wanted to show you how beautiful the plants make the cemetery.

I wonder what this will be when it opens?

Bee’s were also enjoying the flowers.

They were buzzing from one flower to another.

And there were many types of bees.

Pretty flowers.

Another flower; another bee.

The flowers add to the peacefulness.

There are plenty of trees in the cemetery.

A bench by a mausoleum.

More of the grounds.

It is so beautiful here, but it wouldn’t be the same without the flowers.

The light was shining perfectly on this statue.

Posted on April 23, 2016April 23, 2016 by Anne Sandler · 2 Comments

Someone’s in the kitchen:Crystal Hermitage Gardens

Right now there’s 35 matzo balls boiling on the stove, a turkey roasting in the roaster and chicken soup cooling on the counter. I’m in the kitchen to make sure there’s enough water in the stock pots so the matzo balls don’t burn. They can when the water gets low; I’ve done it before!

Happy Passover to all of you who celebrate the holiday also. It’s late this year. I look back at this holiday with fondness. I remember my entire maternal family gathered around my grandparents long table, my grandfather reading the entire hagadah (story) in Hebrew, and the rest of us reading from mismatched hagadahs just to keep busy. It seemed like agony then, but now, if I could only go back. After my grandparents passed, Passover was never the same.

I have tried to create my own holiday tradition for my children and grandchildren. I hope that my older grandchildren will create a tradition for their families when that occurs.

Of course, this has nothing to do with the Crystal Hermitage Gardens which are located in Ananda Village located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Grass Valley, California.

The Exploring Photography Meetup group organized a visit to these beautiful gardens to photograph the amazing variety of tulips planted. I can’t imagine the effort it took to create this beauty for residents and garden visitors. This will be a two-part post because I have many images to show you. Today, I’ll show you the flowers. Most are tulips and there are some others.

No captions again. I’m way too busy in the kitchen preparing my portion for a pot-luck Seder with friends!

Posted on April 21, 2016April 21, 2016 by Anne Sandler · 6 Comments

All caught up: UC Davis Arboretum

Yes, I’m all caught up with my photo editing! It’s a great feeling, and I had the opportunity to learn some of the wonderful advantages of my processing programs, mainly their filters. I also have been putting single images into Photomatix to get that HDR look. It works well.

Next, I need to delve into Photoshop. Right now, I’m using it to remove unwanted things in a picture, but I do want to learn how to use layers. I know I said that in my last post. So much to learn!

Taking the photo is just one part of being a good photographer, but for me, it’s the fun part. I love going to new places and back to places I’ve been before. In today’s post, I re-visited a favorite with the Camera Totin Tuesday group—the University of California at Davis Arboretum. I like it there because it’s just a beautiful and calm place to walk through. This trip we went through the flower garden and were treated to beautiful blossoms and color. Our stroll through the arboretum proper was less colorful since the red buds weren’t blooming yet, or maybe they bloomed already.

This wet winter has nature’s cycles off kilter! There was also algae in Putah Creek. I remembered it being there the last time we were there, but there was so much more this trip. I’m also wondering if the algae is keeping the birds away. We usually see egrets and other water fowl, but this trip—none!

But there’s always beauty to be found. I’m going to show you some flowers and the creek with algae; however, I won’t be putting in captions since it’s mostly self-explanatory.

I may be caught up with editing, but I do have more outings to post in this blog. So stay tuned.

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Anne Sandler

Almost caught up: Going home from the Sonora area

Yes, I just have this week to edit and then I’ll be caught up. But, that won’t happen before our next outing! I went on two shoots this week–fun, fun, fun. It will be even longer before you get to see the images from my adventures. So much to do and so little time.

I’m delving more into the Nik software. It’s fun and not too difficult to figure out. However, I need to pay more attention to Photoshop which is intimidating and not so easy to figure out. So I’m going to challenge myself to learn layers next. Someone keep me to it!

While I’m pledging my time to software, this post is about our trip back to Sacramento from Sonora. Some people would just go home; not me and Marlene. We decided to take many back roads. I wasn’t worried as long as we were going north and west. We found Copperopolis , Farmington and Lockeford after leaving our hosts and Tuolumne City.

This drive was fun, but eventually we had to find the highway and head home. It was a great tip. Thanks again Sandy and Ken!

Old and abandoned in Tuolumne.

Tuolumne fire department.

A large furnace in Tuolumne.

The saloon was an add on to a lodge.

An old theater in Tuolumne.

The Farmington fire house.

The Farmington general store.

View from a vista spot.

This overlook was beautiful.

So glad we stopped.

Lockford is a larger town.

I liked this building’s design.

An old clock.

Door, window and reflections.

A Pawn Shop. Should have gone in!

Posted on April 8, 2016April 8, 2016 by Anne Sandler · 4 Comments

The photo journey continues: Day 2 in the Sonora area

It’s living a dream. I wake up in the morning and my friend asks, “Where would you like to shoot today?” Of course, I didn’t have a clue, but it felt great to have someone willing to guide you through a day of photography. Our second day of fun was about to start.

Sandy and Ken first took us to the Red Hills ACEC, an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. This land was designated ACEC in 1993 to protect flora, a rare minnow (Red Hills roach) and the bald eagle wintering habitat. We didn’t see any eagles and wouldn’t know a Red Hills roach if we saw it. Sandy and Ken had never been there, but Sandy heard that wildflowers were blooming in that area. So this was an adventure for all of us.

It’s a good thing Ken’s Subaru has all-wheel drive because our adventure took us through some very rough and ready dirt roads. We had to cross three streams. I think Ken enjoyed the drive. There’s a daredevil in that body! While we were being jostled around, we did get some beautiful images of beautiful scenery.

After lunch, we went to Railtown 1897 State Historic Park. Ken serves as a docent there so we wanted to see what captures his heart. Another docent, Paul, took us around. This is a working facility. They rebuild old trains, give train rides on the weekend and house several stars! Do you remember a television series called Petticoat Junction which ran from 1963 to 1970? Train number 3 was on that show. It was also featured in many movies and is still in demand.

Paul took us through many areas of the roundhouse and showed us the grounds. It was a great tour. When I wake up tomorrow, where will my dream take us?

Wildflowers were at Red Hills ACEC.

This was a tiny but beautiful flower.

The color yellow was dominate.

Another yellow landscape.

We found an area where these red flowers were blooming.

This is a ranch pasture land.

Poppies grow near a stream.

This is one stream we drove through.

Flowers help make a beautiful landscape.

Railtown star – Enigne #3.

This worker is fixing another train.

Paul our tour gide.

The belt room.

Outside the roundhouse.

The watertower from Petticoat Junction.

The turntable for the roundhouse.

Posted on April 1, 2016April 1, 2016 by Anne Sandler

Discovering history: Old Folsom

There are many old towns with history in California, but this one is close to home. Old Folsom or the Historic Folsom District as they it’s correctly called is a typical shopping and dining area like you’d find elsewhere. However the difference is their free parking garage and Historic Powerhouse. This hydroelectric plant, which is now a State Park, began delivering electric power to Sacramento in September, 1895 and continued to do so until it was shut down in 1952.

Unfortunately, we were not able to go inside because it was closed, but we did shoot the outside. But, fortunately, Tom was able to give us a complete history because of his association with the local newspaper and having lived in Folsom. One of these days, we’ll go back when we know it’s open. By the time we walked around Old Folsom, we were tired. Remember, this was the second half of a Tuesday outing. I’m sure Tom will have more interesting and historic stories to tell us.

This is a replica of the way trains were turned around.

It’s built directly on top of the original.

A closer look.

A musician. Edited in Nik Silver Efex.

A bike rider.

Shot through the window of a beauty salon. Edited in Nik Color Efex.

Peaking through a barber shop window. I thought this was perfect for the old time look, except for the cell phone!

The hotel.

Now we’re on the grounds of the Historic Powerhouse. This building housed various offices, etc.

One of the three generators that delivered power to Sacramento.

A close up of the top of the generator.

The Powerhouse Building.

A good view of the 3 generators.

A view at the top!

These butterflies were feeding on the flowers.

I managed to get 3 good pictures.

So you have to look at all of them!

Posted on March 29, 2016March 29, 2016 by Anne Sandler · 7 Comments

Getting lost: Folsom Lake

We weren’t lost, we found the exact parking lot, went down to the trail head, but couldn’t find the Old Salmon Falls Trail. This trail was supposed to be flat and a 2 mile loop. Yes, I could do that. However, we ended up walking about ½ mile up and came back down. But, what landscapes there were to be shot!

We think the trail was under water now that Folsom Lake is full. One photographer suggested that we didn’t drive far enough to find the correct trail. It all comes down to the fact that we were lost, didn’t find the right trail, but had a great time roaming around Folsom Lake.

After our lake shoot we did our usual out to lunch routine and then on to walk Old Folsom. This part will be in the next post.

What did I learn? I dabbled a little in the Nik software I downloaded (Silver Efex and Color Efex). I am now a Nik fan. What fun! I’m also getting better results in Lightroom. Remember, this is the year for learning to use the software programs I have. I’ll admit that due to personal stuff, I haven’t been as diligent as I want, but that’s life. However, my commitment is still there.

The moral to today’s story is never give up. I’ll learn the software; and when we get lost, we find wonderful landscapes to shoot and have lots of fun.

The first landscape shot.

Love the moss on the trees.

Lake view.

The clouds were perfect.

The water was still.

Green, green, green!

Leafy growth on the bark.

Moss.

Marlene poses.

Lovely meadow.

Reflections.

Linda and her shadow.

More reflections.

Posted on March 18, 2016 by Anne Sandler · 3 Comments

It’s all happening at the: Sacramento Zoo!

Getting to know you–at least getting to know the animals at the Sacramento Zoo. I and others from the Camera Totin’ Tuesday group bought zoo memberships. That means I’ll be practicing more and having more zoo fun throughout the year. And, you’ll be coming along with me.

We got there when they opened during this trip and the large animals were active. The lions and their three cubs (teenagers now) were going in and out of their enclosure. I didn’t get to see the leopard, but got a shot of the jaguar.

The giraffes are always a favorite. I need to spend more time there during my next visit. We tend to go to shoot the big cats and spend more time in front of their enclosures. I also had fun watching the orangutans and gorillas.

The birds were tough to shoot in their enclosures because my 300 mm wasn’t enough to make the cages disappear. And, always, the flamingos are so beautiful.

Enough talk, here’s the first session of zoo animals from my year’s membership. I’ll be getting to know them better–by name!

Here’s dad enjoying his domain.

Siblings at play.

Here comes a cub.

Watch out.

Licking his chops.

Baby wallaby

Zebras. It’s breakfast time.

Up close and in black and white.

Pelican. Preening.

Flamingo. If the pelican can do it, so can I.

Jaguar. Here’s looking at you.

Gorillas. Let’s have a talk.

Yes, you have a pulse.

Orangutans. No I don’t want to discuss it!

This giraffe is hungry.

What’s the other giraffe eating?

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Anne Sandler · 5 Comments

I lost what? Martinez Regional Shoreline and Large Metal Prints

Now, you’re curious and really want to know what I lost: not a camera or lens–my photos! I knew I had an outing to show you, but it didn’t show up on my hard drive. I found it in Lightroom, my photo processing program. The only thing I can conceive that happened is that I accidentally deleted them after I processed the batch. It’s either that or there’s a little gremlin living in my computer and playing jokes on me!

Fortunately, I hadn’t taken them off the SD card yet. The trick, after I downloaded them again, was to transfer my Lightroom edited images back onto the hard drive. You have to fool Lightroom a bit, but I did it. Now, all is well. Take that gremlin!

I put the effort into this because I wanted to show you how they make metal prints. The tour of this print shop, Large Metal Prints, was fun and educational. As a bonus, they gave us each a free 6 x 9 inch print of one of our images. The next week, I had two more 8 x 12 prints done. You don’t need to put these in a frame, and they come out beautiful. These were the first of my pictures I’ve had printed to put on the walls.

And, before we went to the print shop, we stopped and shot photos at the Martinez Regional Shoreline. It’s a pretty little park with walking paths and bridges. We had just enough time to do a brief walk around and grab lunch.

In the future, I’ll be more careful with my images. If I lose a batch, I might not be so lucky to still have them on my SD card.

The park is very pretty set against the shore.

Here a biker uses the path.

American Avocets doing synchronized swimming.

One of the bridges.

Variations of color.

Another bridge.

An old boat in the grass and a train across the bay.

I loved this willow tree.

First stop at the print shop. We look on their monitor to see which of our pictures would print the best.

The print is then printed on paper. The metal plates are cleaned.

The metal plates are then taped to the prints.

The sheet of prints and plates are then put through this machine that imprints the image onto the metal.

My untrimmed picture.

The pictures are trimmed.

And then sanded so there are no sharp edges.

Posted on March 12, 2016 by Anne Sandler · 8 Comments

After a rain, shoot, shoot, shoot; part 2

Right now in Northern California no one is shooting pictures. We’re experiencing a series of storms. I’m not complaining! My go-to-practice place, Dry Creek, has water past its shore line, and there are flood warnings in place for the rivers and other creeks.

Being stuck inside has its advantages, I’m catching up on a few things, completing this post and giving you exciting news.

For the exciting news: I’m being featured on, Australian photographer, Leanne Cole’s Blog, Introductions post this week. I’ve known Leanne since I started shooting and had the privilege of shooting with her when she visited the U.S. last September. She’s given me advice and watched my progress these 4 years. The post will appear in the States on Monday and Tuesday across the ocean. You can find the post at http://leannecolephotography.com/.

I’ve also submitted an article for the upcoming Dynamic Range digital photography magazine for women in the coming issue. This is a great magazine full of information and beautiful photography. And, you don’t have to be a woman to enjoy it. Check it out!

Now, back to this post’s continuation. Today I have pictures from Schweitzer Grove and McKinley Park. Schweitzer Grove is a 17-acre park tucked into suburbia, and McKinley park is known for its rose garden. Fortunately, there are people and other flowers at the park. Take a look while I continue to catch up on things.