Posted on by Anne Sandler · 6 Comments

A slow start to 2019: January

If I thought 2019 would start off with a BANG, I was wrong. I didn’t hold a camera in my hand for the first two weeks. After that there were five photo opportunities, but few great photos. A lot had to do with the rainy weather, which we’re still having, and also with my not feeling well.

So here we are in February and the rain is still coming down. I’m not complaining because California needs the rain. We have a great snow pack now that will hopefully see us through the dry summer. What does that mean for photography? If you can’t make it up to the snow, you’re shooting inside! I’m amazed at how many businesses welcome photographers. This year we’ve been to the Antique Trove in Roseville twice, most recently today. You’ll see those pictures in my next post.

So, here are some picks from January!

These were from an experiment with oil and water. It’s more difficult than the tutorial made it seem!

These are from an outing to Old Folsom Historic District. It’s a section of Folsom where you can walk, shop and eat. Best of all, the parking is free!

This next outing was to Old Sacramento. I’ve shown you images from there before. It’s always a challenge to find something new.

So, there you have some highlights from January!

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 7 Comments

Finishing up 2018: Effie Yeaw and Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, Gray Lodge

Since our world is shrinking, most of you know about the government shut down partially in the United States. Let’s put politics aside and think about the people who are being used as pawns in this game. It’s even affected us photographers with some of our National Parks partially closed.

Being a National refuge, all services were gone at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge in Willows. It was, however, open for those who wanted to take the driving tour. Laura and I did just that, and we then drove over to the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area in Gridley.

Before that, my Camera Totin’ Tuesday went to visit Effie Yeaw in Carmichael. I wanted to photograph deer, but I didn’t see any. I know you’re beginning to be doubtful about deer in the Nature Center! Effie Yeaw is always a great place for a walk since it’s along the American River.

So here are some images from both outings. I’m hopeful that the next time I post, I’ll be able to say our government is open!


  • Effie Yeaw has beautiful trees.
  • Trees frame the approach to the American River
  • Coming in for a landing!
  • This woodpecker was upside down and hammering away at the tree.
  • A quiet path in light fog.
  • Water was abundant at the wildlife areas.
  • He posed for me.
  • There were lots of snow geese.
  • Snow capped mountains.
  • A Bald Eagle flying with snow geese!
  • Snow geese take flight.
  • A red tailed hawk.
  • Shhh. They’re trying to sleep.
  • A snowy egret looking for food.

Posted on by Anne Sandler

Just a little rest: Kauai, Day 2

It’s not easy to fly to your destination any more. You need to change planes, pull your carry on luggage through the airport and spend time in between flights. By the time you get to your destination, you’ve had it. So our plan of photographing some of the sites the day we arrived in Kauai didn’t happen.

To make up for it, we went from one end of the island to the other the next day. You’ve seen the pictures in my previous post. So we needed an easy going day. Add to that my and Marlene’s injuries, we were ready to not rush the morning. So, my two terrific guides suggested we visit the East shore and photograph Opaeka’s Falls, go on the Jungle Hike (Which was so muddy that we could only go part way before we were slipping.) and view Wailua Falls.

Marlene and Laura brought guide books and studied them. I basically brought myself! Now you know why they were the guides, and they did an outstanding job. It was a nice short day!

Take a look.

I’m using the new WordPress editor and think I should have added captions before I inserted the pictures! The sequence goes: Opaeka’a Falls, river across from it, goat wondering why we were on the Jungle Hike, strange tree and path on the hike, various flowers, ocean, handsome rooster (plenty of them on Kauai) and Wailua Falls. 


Posted on by Anne Sandler · 8 Comments

Hey, you said this trail was flat! Auburn Quarry Trail, Auburn, California

He really didn’t lie; but when my dear photo buddy Richard promised us a flat trail with one or two hills, he under exaggerated.  You see, Richard is an experienced hiker. We are not! The hills were a huge mountain for us. Now, am I exaggerating?

I do like to complain and Richard gives it right back. We, in our little Camera Totin’ Tuesday group, have a lot of fun. Through all the griping (I wasn’t the only one!), we had fun. After all, it’s the interaction of the group that makes a photo outing great.

We followed the Auburn Quarry Trail, part of the California State Park system, along the American River, and when we reached the top (as far as we were going to go), we were fortunate to come upon a few mountain climbers practicing. The sun was powerful that day in Auburn, so I had to deal with exposure issues. I shot mostly handheld HDR, but wasn’t satisfied with the results. So I basically edited one of the three shots in Lightroom. In the end, I was satisfied. Take a look. No captions needed.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 8 Comments

Searching for fall colors: Markleeville

It seems that with each season Sacramento photographers rush to photograph the Milky Way, wildlife including the Sandhill Crane, snow and Fall colors. I’m no exception which is why my Camera Totin Tuesday group treked up to Markleeville, Alpine County, to capture delightful images.

There were five of us, and we squeezed into one car. Fortunately Marlene drove and her Suby Blue accomodated us easily. It’s a 2-hour ride up to the colorful aspens. Thank you Marlene for driving us. We stopped along the way to photograph the changing colors and had lunch in Markleeville. After lunch and taking pictures of the small town, population of 210 in the last census, we continued looking for color.

While editing the pictures of this outing, I tried to get out of my comfort zone with some creative help from Nik software. I’ve been liking the soft look lately and wanted to do some of my own. So, here’s the California colors of Fall.

A softened Aspen image.
Color in all its brilliance.
Another softened image.
We stopped on the way up.
You’ve got to love sunbursts.
Along the highway.
Around the area.
This guy holds down the bench!
A Markleeville building framed by color.
Two fences and a structure.
Photo buddy Richard showed me this shot.
I’m not sure what flower this was, but it’s still beautiful.
Old barns.
A book worm topiary in the back of the town’s library.
We stopped on the way home.
The tree glow is reflected in the water. Also tried handheld slow shutter.
Rocks and trees, what more could you want!
I liked this leaf’s reflection in the water.

 

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 6 Comments

Only twice a year: Maple Rock Gardens, Newcastle

It’s some place you’d like to visit often, but this home and popular event venue is only open to the public twice a year. Other times, you need to be at a wedding or some other event to see the beautiful gardens. I’ll admit that at the end of summer, the flowers aren’t blooming and the lavender fields are hiding, but the property is beautiful just the same.

Maple Rock Gardens is a private estate, in Newcastle, and is affiliated with High Hand Nursery in Loomis. Its 30-acres is host to one of the largest garden railroads in Northern California. There are themed gardens, like a Japanese Tea Garden, and a 4-acre farm that supplies flowers to the High Hand Nursery. We spent almost 2 hours walking from one garden into another.

Each garden was decorated with sculptures, plants, small water falls and more. The easiest way to describe it is to show you. I did take a lot of pictures, so this will be a two-part post. Oh, you’ll also notice that I am now using a logo rather than a copyright symbol. Since I’ve made a little money with my photography, doing some real estate shoots, I decided to be more professional.

So, come along with me and visit Maple Rock Gardens.

They were selling sunflowers.
An arrangement.
Fixing a train.
One of the trains.
Carrying special cargo.
The land is on a hillside with meandering paths.
One of the water falls. There is so much stuff at each area, it was sometimes difficult to shoot one area. I had to crop in close for this.
Each path was beautifully landscaped.
A peak inside the home.
Another path.
There were many places to sit and rest.
Overlooking the valley and parking area.
One of the waterfall areas.
A place to sit and look at the valley below.
One of the many bird baths.
Part of the tea garden.
An interesting fountain.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 20 Comments

Getting back into the groove: Sunflowers

I can’t believe I haven’t posted since July 2nd. Has life been that busy for me? I didn’t think so! Now, with this post, I hope to get back in the posting groove. I may not have been posting, but I’ve been shooting.

And, since this is about the progression of my photographic journey, I’m proud to say that I now close out of most article-type tutorials because I know the information. So this means I need to focus on post processing. I keep saying that, but I truly need to carry through with it. I’m competent with Lightroom, but Photoshop is still a mystery. I’ll have to just make the time and get into it. Maybe that will take my photography to the next level.

But, on to the sunflowers, or sunnies, as we Sacramento photographers call them. The images in this post are from two outings. These sunnies were located near the small town of Yolo in Yolo County. Photo buddy Karen was our guide for both trips. One is in the morning and the other was at sundown. Of course, when I try to catch a sunset, there are no clouds! However, the flowers had that golden light glow.

Enjoy this post. There will be more!

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 6 Comments

Normal? Indian Festival and Fair Oaks

e’re pretty much settled in, and hanging pictures. How many pictures can one small house hold? There’s still more stuff to find places for, and the sunroom to fix up, but that will just have to take time. It’s good to be back to normal–my going on photo outings and Richard running up to the observatory. Each day, we take time to hang two pictures or curtains, etc.

And, summer has arrived, so we try to plan our outings for early morning, local venue or inside. I have two outings to show you today. Linda and I went to the Indian Festival, hoping to get pictures of traditional dress and dance of our Native Americans. However when the dances were to begin, we were told we couldn’t take pictures, and the few dances that we were allowed to take pictures of, we couldn’t post anywhere. Oh, what a letdown for a couple of photographers. So, I’ll show you some shots I took of the festival and vendors before the dance started. This was held outside the State Indian Museum.

I finally got to shoot some poppies.
Nice lighting on this fountain.
I liked the natural framing on this window.
A shopper and vendor.
A smudging kit that I wish I had bought.
Vendor with colorful jackets to sell.
Opening ceremonies. This woman was singing a traditional song.
The announcement of rules and the type of dancing, etc.

Now we move on to the small town of Fair Oaks and its chickens. Yes,

Mural on the outside of the Fair Oaks outdoor playhouse.
Didn’t I say there were chickens.
Some with attitudes!
I’m still shooting doors.
The American River from the Fair Oaks bridge.
Getting some exercise on an unusual bike.
A Metro Fire training on the bridge.
The bridge
Another view of the bridge
A store in town.

it’s known for being inhabited by wild chickens. They are protected, so no roasted chicken for us!

Now, which pictures should I pick to hang today?

 

 

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 4 Comments

What, still no pizza! Downieville, California

I was looking forward to going back to Downieville and having the pizza that my dear departed photo buddy Greg Morris promised Marlene and I a few years ago. Located at the North Fork of the Yuba River, Downieville is a small town with a population of about 300.

When we were there last, no restaurant was open, especially the pizza place Greg bragged about on our way up. Fortunately, the grocery store was open and we were able to buy our usual lunch there. Well, the term lunch is being generous. I had a cup of noodles, Greg had beef jerky and chips and Marlene ate her emergency peanut butter sandwich.

So, I was not altogether surprised that there was only one sandwich shop, Jadaa’s Kitchen, open in town the day we were there, but I was disappointed. Even though it was almost tourist season, the stores were open only on the weekends. I guess we’d have to go during the summer to see if Greg was right about the pizza.

This time our visit to the small town was cut short due to a thunder storm. We stayed as long as we could, shooting as much as we could. Will I ever taste that pizza?

The visitor’s center!
The local Inn.
The bridge that takes you over the Yuba River.
The Yuba River.
We had lunch at Jadaa’s Kitchen. Great food.
The grocery store.
Yuba River.
I was trying to handhold while using a slow shutter.
The river.
A unique fence made from skies.
Imagination continues.
A rowboat planter!
Viewing a house from below.
An outdoor heat source.
Someone’s property that is quaint.
The court house.

The court house.
Someone’s property that is quaint.
An outdoor heat source.
Viewing a house from below.
A rowboat planter!
Imagination continues.
A unique fence made from skies.
The river.
I was trying to handhold while using a slow shutter.
Yuba River.
The grocery store.
We had lunch at Jadaa’s Kitchen. Great food.
The Yuba River.
The bridge that takes you over the Yuba River.
The local Inn.
The visitor’s center!

Posted on by Anne Sandler

Lost and found: Finishing up the Sedona trip

Great news, I found my rice cooker and some other things!! But, now where is the other speaker for my stereo? I know I saw it sitting apart from the other speaker and stereo, but where? This is the game Richard and I have been playing while trying to get things back to normal activity.

I did go out with my Tuesday group last Tuesday, and I’m still processing those pictures. I finally finished processing the Sedona trip. Time for shooting and processing has been minimal; plus I managed to catch a cold. I really wasn’t chasing after it.

So let’s look back at my fun time at the Blazin’ M Ranch in Cottonwood, Arizona. We went for the dinner show, and it was a blast. I, of course, ate way too much. The chicken was excellent and so were the ribs. The entertainment was even better. If you’re ever in Sedona, this is a must.

 

We got to the ranch early because I expected Old Town Cottonwood to be more of a photo opportunity than it was.
The hall where we dined and saw the show.
Another structure.
Some attendees taking pictures.
One of the shops.
The Jail.
One of the entertainers.
Happy Birthday folks.
The trio.
A little closeup.
This gal can yodle!
Her husband.
The comic relief.
His serious side.

On the way home, when I wasn’t driving, I shared my seat with my D7100. I was able to capture some drive by shots somewhere between Utah,Nevada and California.