There are some areas worth going back again and again. The Sacramento Historic City Cemetery, in Sacramento, is one of those sites. I like to visit to read the old head stones and take close up/macros of the flowers.
In the 1800s people, especially children, were buried with their age in years, months and days. Monuments included large full-sized sculptures. I think the most poignant were two tiny grave stones reading “Baby” and “Our Baby.” No names or year; just those words. I’m thinking they were stillborns.
Our visit was on a day when the volunteer gardners were working on the flowers and plants. They are truly dedicated to keeping this cemetery beautiful and extraordinary.
This visit, since it was too breezy for true macro, I tried to concentrate on how the flowers adorned the head stones. I did get some close ups though.
Go there once, it’s amazing. Go there twice, it’s repetitive. I’m not complaining, because this private estate is still beautiful. Maple Rock Gardens is in Newcastle, and is affiliated with High Hand Nursery in Loomis California.
They are open for private events and to the public twice a year. Linda and I visited them last September and you can view that post here. She thought there would be more flower blooms in the spring, so expectations were high. It was definitely more crowded and the blooms were repetitive. Not much had changed. If you were there for the first time, it would not disappoint. It was still beautiful. Take a look.
It’s 4:50 a.m. and way too early to be up, but I can’t go back to sleep. Today I’m taking my photos down to Columbia in Tuolumne County for the competition. Since I blogged about two of my images making the finals, a lot has happened, and the person responsible is my photo buddy Lucille.
I was talking about my 8 x 12 prints and that I wasn’t thrilled with them after getting them home and seeing the difference in color on my monitor. I’m also thinking she wasn’t happy with the idea of me taking small prints to the competition. She invited me to her home and together we worked on producing larger prints.
When I left, a whole new world opened for me. I couldn’t believe how wonderful the pictures looked larger. I thought I couldn’t resize them and not lose any of the image. The whole new world is that of do I want to start investing in printing and selling my pictures. I thought about it and decided to wait to see what happens in Columbia. I’m not sure, even if I do well, I want to walk through that door. Do I really want all that pressure at my age? Do I want to turn this photography passion into a small business? I have lots of questions and, right now, no answers.
And, now for the cold. I’m not talking about the weather even though it has been cold and raining for weeks. I’m talking about the sneezing and coughing kind. I’ve been tired for a few days, thinking it was just jitters and being anxious. I’m anxious especially since streets in Tuolumne were flooded a couple of days ago, and I don’t drive a boat!
But, last night at a Toastmaster contest, I realized I had a cold. Just my luck! I fully intend to take my photos down. However, whether I say for the weekend events will depend on my friends Sandy and Ken accepting me with a cold. I’m due to stay with them in Tuolumne City.
Right now my mind is in a quandry and my body is working hard to get me through the weekend. Since, this is a blog about pictures, here’s a few from another rainy day outing at Emigh’s Hardware in Sacramento. When I shoot in a crowded store, I try to isolate my subject and shoot mostly close up.
Yes, it’s still raining here in sunny California. In fact, we are getting atmospheric storms. A woman in Toastmasters this morning told us that her neighbor’s tree ended up in her pool! They are preparing for floods in certain areas that usually flood in rains like this. Discovery Park, a nice picnic area on the American River has been closed off. Many years in the past, those tables were under water!
Today, I was able to walk my dog, Gem, on his usual 2-mile trek. But, as I write this, the rain is coming down.
So, back to the Antique Trove in Roseville. I always bring money in with me when I shoot inside because I mignt find something I can’t live without. It’s also nice to buy something as a way of saying thanks for letting a photography group invade the store. Here are the last of the images I took.
An apple a day may not keep the doctor away, but it keeps people coming to Apple Hill in Placerville, El Dorado County each year. Everything is “apple” in this area where member growers show and sell their pies, apple fritters, apple doughnuts, etc. The months of October and November are so busy that crafters and more also show their wares.
This was my 4th trip to Apple Hill, so I decided to photograph different things. If you follow this blog, then you know I enjoy shooting close ups, lines and patterns, people, flowers and rust. So, that’s what I’m showing you today.
First close ups and rust.
This was a BIG pumpkin.
A bad hair day or unique style?
Old rusted drum.
An old drain???
Now flowers:
Now lines and patterns:
Empty apple crates
Another view
Pallets
Rusted truck grill
Now people:
Caring in motion.
Loading the kids on the truck for the hay ride.
Wiping down the fish cleaning area.
Okay, not a real person. He’s in the museum at Larson.
Remember that cold I was complaining about? I still have it! But, at least I’m still standing when so many of my friends have succumbed to the flu. This isn’t a complaint, okay it is! When I’m sick, I can’t regain enough energy to not be tired. And, this affects my ability to do photography.
Before this cold/flu hit the Sacramento area, my Tuesday group was given a special tour of the Historic Folsom Powerhouse in Folsom. This small power source once lit up all of Sacramento. The following from Wikipedia illustrates the significance of the powerhouse.
“Before the Folsom powerhouse was built nearly all electric power houses were using direct current (DC) generators powered by steam engines located within a very few miles of where the power was needed. The use of rushing water to generate hydroelectric power and then transmitting it long distances to where it could be used was not initially economically feasible as long as the electricity generated was low-voltage direct current. Once it was invented, AC power made it feasible to convert the electrical power to high voltage by using the newly invented transformers and to then economically transmit the power long distances to where it was needed. Lower voltage electrical power, which is much easier and safer to use, could be easily gotten by using transformers to convert the high voltage power to lower voltages near where it was being used. DC power cannot use a transformer to change its voltage. The Folsom Powerhouse, using part of the American River‘s rushing water to power its turbines connected to newly invented AC generators, generated three phase 60 cycle AC electricity (the same that’s used today in the United States) that was boosted by newly invented transformers from 800 volts as generated to 11,000 volts and transmitted to Sacramento over a 22 mi (35 km)-long distribution line, one of the longest electrical distribution lines in the United States at the time.”
The tour was great, especially since it was led by a photographer who has since joined our Tuesday group. While our guide explained the history and how the Powerhouse operated, I listened and continued shooting. Unfortunately, I should have been taking notes!
But since I didn’t, follow the link for more information on the Powerhouse.
We have since been on other outings, and you’ll see those in future posts. Maybe by then the cold will just be a memory and I’ll be out there clicking away.
The grounds.
Close up of the machinery.
This old phone booth was their only way of communication.
The next few are more close ups.
The main room.
Another room was behind the main part of the Powerhouse.
Yes, hens sometimes crow like roosters. My neighbor had one. So, I’m crowing because I’ve noticed vast improvement in my photographic skill level.
I happened to be looking back at the photos I took during our cross country trip in 2013, and I was amazed at how poor some of the images were. Some challenges had to do with composition, but most with processing. I knew little about each! But that’s how I learn–by doing.
In fact, that’s why I started this blog–to track my progress. My followers are great in motivating me and cheering me on. Thank you everyone. Looking back, the most significant tool for me was doing the 365. Having to shoot a photo a day for one entire year taught me many lessons.
While I’m bragging, Richard is looking into his wallet because I told him he had to take me on another cross country trip to retake some pictures. Well, he’s really not looking for cash; he just gave me a stare and said NO!
Now I’m printing some images and gaining more valuable information. Once I understand that, maybe I’ll tackle Photoshop. Digital photography is not easy to grasp if you don’t have a technical mind, which I don’t. I’ll continue to learn and share those experiences here.
One of my favorite places to practice is the UC Davis Arboretum, It’s not far, in Davis, and is great for macro, landscape and telephoto shots. Just choose what you want to concentrate on and bring that lens. This results in a great learning curve. This trip I shot with my 18 – 140 mm lens.
Here are some samples from that visit. I didn’t see any crows though, just a horse in their horse barn, but I’m still crowing.
I am tenacious and never give up. I went back to the WPA Rock Garden in William Land Park, Sacramento with my macro lens for more practice. Finally, I now understand my lens and how to shoot macro.
This was my second time shooting there, and there were new flowers and small critters to find. The first time, I learned that I needed a higher ISO to get a faster shutter speed to capture the close up detail. This time I learned that I also needed to narrow my aperture (use a higher F stop) to get less of a shallow depth of field.
Now I’m ready to go back just to enjoy the shoot. Tenacity is a great trait, but offers little relaxation.
I also experimented with what else I could shoot with my 105 Macro Lens. Enjoy the pictures! (Captions not necessary!)
I needed to challenge myself because we were going back to Locke on a recent Tuesday, and I’ve photographed the small town many times. So, I decided to dedicate the shoot to using two lenses I seldom take out: my 50 mm (Nikon) and 10 – 20 mm (Sigma). With the 50 mm, I wanted to see just what difference the 1.8 would make. And, it did make a big difference in getting a smooth bokeh. I enjoyed working with it even though I did try to get it to zoom!
Zooming is the only problem with that lens. I couldn’t walk back far enough to get more in the picture, so I concentrated on close ups. I switched to the ultra wide lens to see what distortions I could get. I was a little disappointed. It worked great with little distortion.
When we took a side trip to Rio Vista, I put on my walk around lens. I love that 18 – 140 mm. When it’s windy, it will catch a close up of a flower. It was dark, cloudy and dreary there. The last time I posted pictures from Rio Vista, the water was high and flooded part of the shore line. This time the waters had receded.
So my self-challenge taught me that the nifty fifty is a great lens, especially for portraits and close ups, that the ultra wide is great for landscape and buildings and my all-purpose go to lens is just that.
Here are the results.
Capturing color and texture with this door.
I liked that I was able to have the chairs in focus and the fencing soft.
Look at how smooth that bokeh is.
I liked the color and texture of this hoe.
An old ornate bench.
I think this might be an old outdoor water system.
When newly painted, these were probably beautiful.
Two animals at the beginning of Main Street were willing to take your money.
I’m hoping that someday this old swing will be restored.
A whimsical trash can.
Captured from a cactus bed. Again the smooth bokeh from the 50 mm.
Colorful shop selling Chinese medicine.
This was shot with the ultra wide and cropped.
These were also shot with the ultra wide and cropped.
We’re in Rio Vista now. The sky was dark and cloudy.
Right now, I have about four photo outings to edit, and very little time to do it. May has been a horrendous time gobbling month. Right now, I’m taking time away from working the Sacramento Music Festival, which is a four-day event in Old Sacramento. We’re just not going in this morning. I haven’t brought my camera and probably won’t. Last weekend I shot the District 39 Toastmasters’ Conference. Jill and I went up a day earlier to shoot in Redding, and haven’t even imported those images into Lightroom. I have edited about 400 of the conference images. Next week, Linda and I are spending two-days in San Francisco shooting. Oh, and Mother’s Day weekend, I was enjoying staying with my two younger grandchildren.
Have you ever hit a point when you need to stop shooting and just edit what you’ve taken? What has your experience been?
This post won’t be just my complaining via words. I did go to McKinley Park to shoot the Rose Garden. I heard it was at full bloom, and it was. I did take time to edit this outing while I was working on the Toastmaster images.
Since my goal this year was to learn some Photoshop basics–which I haven’t accomplished yet. Maybe I should shoot less and edit more–with whatever time I have!
Slow Shutter Speed 