If you read my previous post, you’d know that I left my tripod at home and was without it for our Tuesdays With Seniors Sacramento Delta trip. So when we reached Locke shortly after lunch, my challenge was to shoot this wonderful town full of historical buildings without doing HDR.

And, those of you who have been following this blog for a while know that I’ve worked hard to become one with my tripod and to rely on it for many types of shooting occasions. Past shoots have taught me that you can’t really do HDR handheld, and I almost always shoot HDR when I come across rustic buildings, etc. So I shot Locke handheld and tried to add an HDR look in processing.

“Locke was founded in 1915 after a fire broke out in the Chinese section of nearby Walnut Grove. The Chinese who lived in that area decided that it was time to establish a town of their own. Levee construction originally brought the Chinese to this area, but by the time Locke was built most of the work was in farm labor. Locke had many businesses that catered to the farm workers and residents of this region. In the 1940’s restaurants, bakeries, herb shops, fish markets, gambling halls, boarding houses, brothels, grocery stores, a school, clothing stores, and the Star Theater lined the bustling streets of Locke. At its peak 600 residents, and as many as 1500 people occupied the town of Locke.  By 1920 Locke stood essentially as you see it now.

“On August 2, 1970, Locke was added to the registry of national historical places, by the Sacramento County Historical Society, because of its unique status as the only town in the United States built exclusively by the Chinese for the Chinese.” Check www.locketown.com for more information on this amazing town.

Now, you can see Locke shot with my handheld camera. Did I overcome the challenge?