enjoying photography – Page 4 – Slow Shutter Speed

Posted on April 22, 2017 by Anne Sandler · 6 Comments

Not like last year: Crystal Hermitage Gardens, Ananda Village

Last year, the sun was shining, the tulips were open and we were in a drought. This year, it was drizzling, threatening to pour as we visited the Crystal Hermitage Gardens in Ananda Village, Nevada City. It was still beautiful, in fact the flowers were more vibrant.

This was a learning experience also–isn’t every outing. I had never shot in rain, and it was a challenge at first. I put my camera into a protective plastic sleeve, but had difficulty turning the lens barrel. So I shot with the cover on top of the camera. Very inconvenient! Between shots, I tucked my camera under my jacket. The drizzle kept up most of the time we were there. One time it came pouring down and we ducked for cover.

Ananda Village is a cooperative spiritual community dedicated to the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda, founded by his direct disciple, Swami Kriyananda. It’s a peaceful place and the people are great. Yearly they plant tulips in a terraced garden and invite the public to visit. We weren’t the only people walking the garden that morning, and not the only ones with cameras. I wish it wasn’t so far away. I enjoy meditating and this place would be great.

We were there on a Tuesday, and the sun didn’t shine until Friday. I heard that we had more rain this year than Seattle, Washington. One ski resort is thinking of staying open all summer! Could you guess–the drought is officially over. As I write this blog, it’s overcast and threatening to rain.

Rain or sunshine, I’m not worried about the tulip garden. They will have visitors no matter what the weather.

This gazebo is a lovely image.

Beautiful landscaping

Tulips aren’t the only flowers.

Cherry blossoms.

A meditation pool.

Closed tulip with a green streak.

One of the tulip beds.

The benches are also beautiful.

Water drops.

Another flower bed.

I love the colors.

This isn’t one tulip. It’s two.

Beautiful color and water drops.

Pretty in purple and white.

The path to the chapel.

Flower bed.

Even a squirrel can get thirsty!

Posted on April 9, 2017April 9, 2017 by Anne Sandler · 19 Comments

When life gets busy: Capay Valley, California

Have you ever felt like a dog that’s chasing his tail? I’m sure you have at one point or another. March felt like that for me. Between getting ready for my Georgia trip, going on it, and doing photography to help with the emotional stress I knew it was bringing, I forgot to post my trip to Capay Valley.

Our Camera Totin’ Tuesday group went there to shoot the blossoms of the almond trees. There are many orchards in the valley, and fortunately they are all on different time tables of blooming. We were too late for some and just in time for others.

Timing in landscape photography is critical, and so is knowledge of the area. What I’m realizing is that I’m not the most patient photographer! I also rely on other photographers’ knowledge rather than research it for myself. I guess that makes me lazy in addition to impatient! I’d like to climb out of that rut but there are other things grabbing my time. I keep reading that a good photographer should do the research on the area they are shooting, go during the right time of the day and have the patience to sit there for the shot. I’m lucky I have people I can rely on!

Back to Capay Valley. We had a fun day of driving, finding almond orchards, farms and more. We took off with an end in mind and wandered until we got there. Cell phones helped us keep the three cars together.

I did enjoy it, and I’m sorry that I didn’t post sooner on this beautiful area, but………..you know!

An almond orchard in overcast skies.

Almond blossoms.

More blossoms.

One farmer let us shoot on his mother’s property.

His mom was just placed in a home and he is taking care of her land.

This is a large farm. Good for collecting stuff.

Some of the stuff was old and rusted.

A mirror reflection! If you look in the window, you can see a reflection of the mirror.

Watch out for those turkeys!

A house with an adobe type exterior wall.

I thought it was pretty.

More of the same.

A artistic rendition of the almond orchard.

A different angle.

Mustard and an almond orchard.

Landscape from Cache Creek Casino.

Stained glass door at the casino club house.

Posted on March 27, 2017 by Anne Sandler · 12 Comments

Bittersweet visit: Historic Senoia, Georgia

Today I visited Chuck, my older brother, by myself. My visit to Peachtree City, Georgia is almost coming to a close and it has been bittersweet. Chuck, is fighting Louie Body Dementia and has been placed in an assisted living home. I knew he wouldn’t know who I was, because he stopped recognizing me on the phone a while ago. But today was a special visit. I was able to help feed him, and he ate a little bit food I knew he wasn’t fond of. It gave me time to gain some emotional closure over his ordeal. He’s fought cancer and won; had heart surgery and bounced back, but this illness has no turn around. I was soon joined by his son-in-law Greg and we were able to joke, not with him, but between ourselves. It made things less real.

Dementia is difficult for the caregiver and other family members, but this form is even more so since it involves Parkinsons also. I care gave to my mom, who had dementia, for 9 years, but she had a strong body. Chuck is suffering on all accounts. Through it all, the family here continues to take amazing care of him.

During my week’s visit, I told my sister-in-law, Brenda, that I wanted to take her places, getting her away from the house to relax. Brenda doesn’t drive, so we go to visit Chuck and then take off. Taking off sounds like we go a distance, we don’t. Everything is close here.

Through it all, photography has brought me out of the sorrow and into a different time and space. Our first get away was to Senoia, a small town with a Main Street shopping area. It was an easy walk through and fun. Since then, we visited Starrs Mill and Serenbe. My niece Roberta took us to Serenbe yesterday, and it was a lovely afternoon drive. And, last night, we joined the rest of the family for a birthday dinner celebration–the first without Chuck present.

Today’s images are of Senoia. I probably won’t have time to post from here again before I return home. And I’ll be taking sweet memories back with me.

This chandelier was in a store. When I saw it, I knew I had to shoot it.

Close up of a bulb.

Kids playing on a railroad track.

A gazebo on one end of town.

The water tower.

The first of some of the beautiful southern homes.

A table and chairs outside a restaurant.

Outside a store.

A mirror reflection in a store.

Brenda’s reflection.

A cute store.

Inside the cute store.

Outside the cute store. The store was really done well.

I liked this church’s windows.

A close up of the window.

Another house that caught my eye.

The last house!

Posted on March 21, 2017 by Anne Sandler · 5 Comments

Three years for a first: Daffodil Hill, Volcano, California

I finally made it to Daffodil Hill, in Volcano, after 3 years of trying to get there. Explanation: It’s only open a short time and if it rains, they close. And, it’s closed each time I was scheduled to go.

This ranch has been privately owned by a family since 1887. They open for about a month in the spring, inviting the public at no charge. They do accept donations, but you are never pressured to make one.

Richard and I went on the first Sunday they were open. A weekend visit meant more people. More people meant shooting either close ups of the flowers or include the other visitors. I did both.

But, this was a day of “firsts.” I’ve never been able to take a photo of a peacock with its colorful feathers open, but I did this time! What fun. One photo buddy said they only grow and display those feathers during mating season. I guess timing was on my side. The males are the peacocks, females (who don’t have the brilliant feathers) are peahens, the little chicks are peachicks. It takes about 3 years for male peachicks to have feathers to display.

So, here are my first images of my first visit to Daffodil Hill. I’m putting more than usual in because I wanted you to have a good idea of the farm. I have twice this amount edited.

The farm is very hilly, but not difficult.

This white daffodil is one of the many varieties.

There were many old structures, and many people taking pictures near them.

Another variety.

I like this one the best.

Small flowers.

Some more landscape.

Another variety. I’m sorry I don’t know the names.

The different flowers may not have different names!

Another structure among the daffodils.

An old wheel spoke.

Many people were taking posed pictures.

Look at this handsome dude.

They manage pretty well with their large tail feathers.

There was a good amount of old rusty equipment placed near the flowers.

And they had a donkey!

A close look of the feathers.

A cropped in view of a peacock.

I wasn’t the only photographer there!

Posted on January 14, 2017 by Anne Sandler

Cabin fever: Sacramento Delta Area

Wednesday was supposed to be partly cloudy and the first day of no rain in two weeks. So, I asked Richard if he wanted to take a ride down to the Delta–just to get out of the house. We were astounded to see rain drops making perfect round circles in our pool Wednesday morning. I checked the weather forecast and it said RAIN!

We went anyway. Going south, the rain lessened and by the time we got to Locke, it was just a light mist. We were amazed at how high the Sacramento River was. Everywhere we walked that wasn’t paved was soft so our shoes sank into the soaked earth. You’ll see in some of the pictures that piers were floating well above their normal levels.

We started in Locke’s Historical District, drove through Walnut Grove, went on to Rio Vista for lunch and then home. It rained on and off the entire morning. Of course I brought my camera along–just one camera and lens. But, I didn’t go out of my way to find environments to shoot. I’ve gotten so that I don’t go anywhere without my camera!

This was not primarily a photo outing. We were just two people trying to get out of the house for a short time. We got out and it did put a dent in our cabin fever. Oh, I read in the newspaper that Northern California is out of the drought, but parts of Southern California is still in severe drought. It’s progress.

Locke’s Main Street. This was my 4th time in Locke.

New was this store for sale.

This alley was the same, but glistened in the rain.

A leaf holding water like a spoon.

This is part of a door on a building that is holding on for dear life.

This shop is new and has a new look.

This is the most photographed in Locke. This time I just went for the sign.

And I went for a close up of the tub’s leg.

I hadn’t seen this painted van before.

I liked the flag reflection in the window.

The pier at Walnut Grove. The river is high.

At Rio Vista, the pier is floating well above it’s normal level.

Here a Blue Heron surveys the scene.

Picnic table in a flooded area.

Shot out of the car window as were were moving at 55 mph. This orchard could have been flooded in the heavy rains.

A field mostly under water.

I was really trying to capture the clouds over this soaked field.

Posted on December 10, 2016 by Anne Sandler · 8 Comments

Coming home: Palm Springs Indian Canyons

It took us two days to get to Desert Palms and my cousins two hours! But, I think it was worth it for both of us. We had vacationed in that desert area before, but never had seen so much.

Our first outing was to the Palm Springs Indian Canyons. “Fifteen miles long, Palm Canyon is one of the areas of great beauty in Western North America. Its indigenous flora and fauna, which the Cahuilla people so expertly used and its abundant Washingtonia filifera (California Fan Palm) are breathtaking contrasts to the stark rocky gorges and barren desert lands beyond. A moderately graded, foot path winds down into the canyon for picnicking near the stream, meditating, exploring, hiking or horseback riding. While in Palm Canyon visit the Trading Post for hiking maps, refreshments, Indian art and artifacts, books, jewelry, pottery, baskets, weaving, and conversational cultural lore,” taken from their website.

The images in this post are from Murray and Palm Canyons. These oasis are amazing and beautiful. At Murray Canyon a Ranger gave us a talk on the history and unique features of they canyons. It was fascinating that water was flowing enough in this harsh desert to create these oasis.

Take a look at what we experienced.

Posted on November 2, 2016 by Anne Sandler · 2 Comments

Photography, art, both:Lagoon Valley Park, Vacaville, CA

I follow many terrific photographers and learn from their blog posts. Reality hit when I read a tutorial by Leanne Cole, Australia. I met Leanne in person last year when she was in the States and visiting in Saratoga. I thoroughly enjoyed the day of shooting with her. Back to her blog post on inserting a sketch into a picture. I’m not going into the details of how she did it, but what emotional reality it stirred up for me.

I followed along with the tutorial until she came to the point of putting a shadow under a thumb. I would never had thought to put a shadow under the thumb. She explained it was necessary because of the lighting of the over all picture. Lighting? I would have never thought of that.

A former member of my All About Photography Toastmasters Club said that the way to become a better photographer is to study the famous painting masters. At the time I thought that he was just into art more than me. Now, I understand.

Photography as I do it, is just photography. I choose to shoot a scene I like, compose it, shoot it and do minimal editing. I edit until I like the picture, having no prior knowledge of art. I work on highlights, shadows, etc. However, a photographer who is an artist understands and can do a great deal more.

As a recent example, I posted a picture I shot at Lagoon Valley Park in Vacaville asking which was better the color or black and white.

Although most of the votes were for color, I was drawn to the black and white.

dsc_8435_tonemapped

Three respondents in favor of the black and white, suggested I lighten the bridge to draw the eye into the image. What? A great photo buddy, Karen, changed it for me and I could see what they meant. So I re-edited the image and lightened the bridge.

dsc_8435-3

Are you more drawn into the image? I learned that a dark foreground stops the eye and a lighter foreground draws you in.

Art is not natural for me. I’m sure I can learn some things, but I’ll never be an artist. And, I’m okay with that. I love the photography I do. I’ll just keep learning from the terrific photographers I follow. It’s just another turn in my photographic journey.

I’ll post the rest of the images from Lagoon Valley Park in my next post.

Posted on October 15, 2016October 15, 2016 by Anne Sandler

Good to be back: Downtown and Historic Roseville, California

For Richard, it was back surgery; for me it was a dreaded cold. We were stuck inside and not even wanting to go anywhere. Richard is progressing well after back surgery, and I’m finally over my cold. So, he’s driving short distances now. For him that’s freedom! If’s tough on a Californian when you take the car away!

My first outing after my role as caregiver and receiver of a cold was to the Action Camera Swap Meet. They host this event twice a year. It’s a great way to get filters, camera bags and old equipment. One gal was selling off all her Dad’s old film cameras and gear. I bought a camera bag. I needed something that would hold enough, but not be heavy.

After that, Marlene and I went into Downtown (Old) Roseville. I was there a couple of weeks ago with friends from Los Angeles, so I tried to find other things to shoot. It was quiet. There was no farmers’ market or kids jumping through the fountains of water. There was just Marlene and I with our cameras. I’m hoping the only duplicate you’ll see here is the sculpture bench which is in need of repair. I call this area Old Roseville because the office buildings, new restaurants, etc. are located in East Roseville. If there’s an East, then there must be a West Roseville too. And there is–it’s mostly houses.

Soon hunger got the best of me and off we went to Historic Roseville. I think it’s historic because of the history of some of its buildings. I’ll tell you a bit of the history in the picture caption. This area certainly has a different look and feel from Downtown Roseville. After lunch we took our time to discover and shoot. We did find Dr. Bob’s Donuts and DoYos...”The World’s Most Delicious and Nutritious Donuts!” You just cannot walk in to see what it was all about–and we did.

After that, I went home. I was tired and happy with just one regret: I was too full from lunch to try a Dr. Bob’s Donut! It was great to get out with my camera again.

Posted on March 20, 2016March 20, 2016 by Anne Sandler

On a mission to find one: The Santa Clara Mission, Santa Clara, California

Imagine living in a place for 12 years and not knowing one of California’s Missions was nearby! I’m no longer unaware, but the Santa Clara Mission was difficult to find. It is hidden within the campus of Santa Clara University. Well, not really hidden. It’s the centerpiece of the campus. However there is no sign saying, “Hey, Anne, look here for the mission!”

Fortunately, students were at the Starbucks where I stopped and told me how to find the Mission. It’s location and lack of signage got me wondering: I know the mission came first, but how did Santa Clara University manage to build around it?

Here’s the answer from the University website.

Historic Mission Santa Clara is a beautiful icon that sits at the center of our campus. First established in 1777, the Franciscan Order handed the Mission over to the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in 1851, who then started Santa Clara College, the first institution of higher education in California. Today, the Mission serves as the student chapel for Santa Clara University.

If you’re not familiar with the California Missions, they are a series of 21 missions founded by Catholic priests of the Franciscan order between 1769 and 1833, in an effort to expand Christianity among the Native Americans along the California coast. I’ve visited many, but not all, of the Missions. This one blends so well with the College architecture.

I did get inside the chapel, but wasn’t prepared with my tripod. I did the best I could with a high ISO and Lightroom. The images are little grainy, but you can still see the simple beauty.

The surrounding campus is also beautiful. It must be nice to be a student there. Enjoy your Mission and campus tour. I did, once I found it!