Posted on by Anne Sandler

On the road again: Family reunion, part 3

Here we were this morning walking around the hospitality suite, wearing our buttons, eating our breakfast and trying once more to meet family. Some I recognized from last night. One cousin, he’s a Friedman, actually remembered where we were from! Now that’s good remembering for someone with grey hair! More of the younger set showed up this morning too.

After the meet and greet, Richard and I took off to eat lunch and find the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop of TV fame. If you’ve ever watched the show on the History channel you know what I’m talking about. The shop was pretty much as it’s shown in the TV series, except for the owner’s desk area. That wasn’t in the shop. We strolled through the store like the others who wanted to catch a glimpse of TV history. I didn’t bring my camera in because it was a long, narrow and crowded room. But, now, when I watch the show, I can say, “I was there!”

Back at our resort, I took advantage of the down time to edit some shots I took of the Las Vegas strip the other day. I really don’t like to vacation in Las Vegas. I cry when I lose money, I don’t drink and the shows have gotten very expensive. It was hot when we were out so we just walked a little.

They make it easy for you to walk the strip with elevated walkways going from casino, to shopping, across streets, etc. I remember when I was here last for a trade show. We walked from casino to casino, soaking in the lavish interiors. I do have a disclaimer–where our cousins live, it is nice. Their home is near the mountains and is beautiful. The people who live here seldom come down to the strip. Just us tourists walk from shop to shop and casino to casino. It’s like living in Manhattan, you seldom go to Times Square. It took me 12 years to visit the California State Capitol building and we live in the Sacramento area!

Here’s a glimpse of what we saw. Tonight is our dinner and then a large family portrait.

 

Posted on by Anne Sandler

On the road again: Las Vegas family reunion, part 2

What do you do when you’re shy and know you’re about to meet a whole bunch of family for the first time? You get anxious–at least I did. But, cousin Anita did a great job of helping us sort out the branches of the family tree.

Since we arrived in Las Vegas early, we went to help Anita and Jim Ziegler prepare for the reunion. Actually, the only help we could give was to cut pictures. Anita had asked us all to send her family photos. She edited them, printed them, cut them (that’s where we came in) and glued them on poster board according to family. She also made up family organization charts, showing us where and which part of the family tree we belonged to. To say that she put in a lot of effort is an understatement.

This effort began last summer with her asking for phone numbers and emails of all family members. She had no idea that she’d have 80 of us attend. This afternoon was the day we all met at the LVH Hotel. Even though I was anxious to begin with, I rapidly got caught up in the “who are you?” game. Anita had made up button badges of various colors according to our family branch. So once you understood the color/branch connection it was easy. Everyone was eager to meet and learn.

The Zieglers took time away from their photography business to plan and execute this reunion. I was amazed at their images, or should I say ART. From portraits to landscapes, their work is wonderful. And, they made sure that 66 high school seniors who couldn’t afford their senior pictures got them taken with out charge.

We have taken time to visit other places in the area and I’ll show you some images in a later post. Right now here isare some photos about the reunion itself–the preparation and first meeting. Tomorrow is breakfast and dinner. I won’t be so anxious.

 

Posted on by Anne Sandler

On the road again: to Las Vegas, Nevada for a family reunion

I’ve been busy; so busy that I’ve hardly had time for photography. My schedule has kept me from several photography meetup opportunities, but I have taken photos–not many–but enough to practice. This trip to Las Vegas will provide me with some photo opportunities.

I’ve decided to turn this blog into, for a short time, a series on our Family reunion in Las Vegas. It took us two days to arrive in Las Vegas, stopping for the night in Tehachapi, California. I did take some shots of the Tehachapi Historic Depot before the sun set.

The depot was built in 1904 along a Southern Pacific Railroad line, which founded the town of Tehachapi, and was one of the most active rural stations during World War II. Later it was a warehouse and a railroad office. In 2008, the depot burned down, was rebuilt in 2010 and is now museum.

We saw many trains come through. Some with three engines to carry the load they were pulling. These were long trains. They continued moving down the tracks all night.

The California desert is not pretty. I remember thinking that when we began our cross-country trip last summer. Things were bleak until we got into Arizona and New Mexico. The Nevada desert is also bleak, except for the casinos. Just as you cross the border into Nevada, there’s a small town with many casinos and hotels. “Welcome to Nevada,” the sign said.

In this post, you’ll see the train depot and a windmill farm. Tomorrow, I’ll tell you more about the reunion and its preparation.

Posted on by Anne Sandler

A love of horses part 2

Yesterday I admitted that I had not been around horses, but had a yearning to photograph them. I’ve always thought they were beautiful animals. So, the shoot at Dr. Stacey Adam’s ranch was a joy. I got caught up in sensing her love for her animals. Each of the three has their own personality.

Part one of this shoot focused on Lucky, a very handsome and photogenic horse, and Alyda (Stacey, I apologize for messing up her name) the grand old mare at 30 years. I only posted a couple of Alyda’s images because she was muddy on one side, and I really don’t know how to use the clone tool in Lightroom yet. When I master the tool, I’ll post more of our senior horse. I also realized that I had not totally followed the advice in the articles I had read about shooting horses. In some instances, I did not get down low enough and the horses’ legs did look a little short. Fortunately, I took a lot of shots. Lesson learned, and I’m sure there will be more to come! Each shoot is a learning experience for me.

Today you will meet Honeymoon, a frisky 3-year-old. Right now, she is the only horse that is able to be ridden. Stacey’s goal is to get another horse so she and her husband can ride together. Age and health conditions are not problems here. All the horses are loved equally. I think Dr. Stacey is amazing.

Meet Honeymoon!

 

 

Posted on by Anne Sandler

A love for horses

It’s not that I have a love  for horses (never having been around them), but I know someone who does. Stacey Adams, DC in San Jose loves her horses and shows it. I recently visited her ranch with a friend because I wanted to shoot horses. What I found and learned is that they are majestic creatures who feel, love, get jealous and enjoy attention–at least these three horses did.

First we have 30-year old Alyda, who in her day must have been even more beautiful than she is now. Next comes Lucky, 20-years old, the handsome and photogenic one (especially when the sun hits his body). Last is Honeymoon. She’s the baby of the family at 3-years old. She’s frisky and playful. You can meet them in the gallery that will be posted in two parts.

Before we went for the shoot, I did my homework and read tutorials on how to shoot horses. Some of it was applicable to the environment in which I shot, but much wasn’t. I love all the information available on the internet, and most of it is free.

My friend, Kim, and I got to Stacey’s ranch about 4:15 p.m. to catch the golden light and left at about 8 p.m. A great big thank you goes out to Stacey who worked with each of the horses for us. You can just see the love she has for her animals. I’m hoping that comes through in some of the images. Tomorrow you’ll get to see more of Honeymoon.

Posted on by Anne Sandler

A better solution and more of the Governor’s Mansion

Yes, I came up with a better solution for my computer memory problem and how I handle Lightroom file organization. I now have an external 250 Gig hard drive that will go wherever I go. That means whether I edit on my laptop or desktop, I can save the images to my external drive, keeping them in one place.

I’m also working on the problem of how to view the RAW files. I think the best answer came from Mary Gromer, coordinator of the Shoot or Go Home MeetUp group. She suggested shooting both RAW and JPEG so you can preview the pictures in Windows and eliminate the shots you don’t want to edit. Then import the remaining into Lightroom. Someone else from the group said there was software that would allow you to see RAW files in Windows. I’ll have to check that out.

All this is going to force me not to keep every shot–I shouldn’t anyway! See there was a reason I was procrastinating on shooting RAW! But, it is great to be moving onward.

Today I’m posting the rest of the Governor’s Mansion. Since we were on a tour, I was shooting snapshots. No time to stop. I tried to compose as best I could given the fact that many rooms were roped off or people were just in the way. What amazed me was the elegant detailing in the ceilings, door frames and even the brass door hinges. The Mansion is not being repaired as it falls in disrepair. Our docent said that eventually it would probably be torn down. Imagine tearing down history! I’m also experimenting with the white balance feature in Lightroom. So, if I got something totally wrong, please let me know.

After I post this blog, I’m going to check into that viewing software and create my filing system on my external drive. Glad for that solution!

 

Posted on by Anne Sandler

Not enough memory and the Governor’s Mansion, Sacramento, California

“Not enough memory.” That’s what the dialogue box was saying. While editing in Lightroom, I was amazed to see those words. I immediately took about 500 photos off my laptop and tried again. What happened? “Not enough memory!” I’ll have to ask my tech support husband for help when I get home. But, I have some images of the Governor’s Mansion State Park to show you tonight. Please follow the link for the Mansion’s history. It is interesting and I hope my images give you an example of its beauty.

Right now I’m staying with my younger set of grandkids while their parents are on their first weekend since they adopted the kids 2 1/2 years ago. Things were going well; in fact they earned ice cream and a cookie after dinner two nights in a row. However, today–well things changed. Our little 3-year old princess locked the downstairs bathroom door and now we can’t open it. I don’t know how she did it from the outside, but she’s becoming inquisitive about how things come apart and work. The day went on from there. No ice cream and cookies tonight! My son has work to do when he gets home.

Speaking of work, I spent my spare time doing my chiropractor’s newsletter, so I didn’t study Lightroom. I go home tomorrow and leave again on Wednesday for San Jose to spend some time with my dear friend and faithful blog follower Carol.

In the meantime, we will have to solve the issue with the laptop so I can study and edit. Here are some images I edited before I ran out of memory!

 

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 2 Comments

The battle continues and more from the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament

I did spend some time with Lightroom today, but not enough to come out a clear winner! Every time I use it, I learn more. So, stick with me, and hopefully my editing will improve. I still can’t access the Lightroom presets. Maybe after I post this short blog, I’ll check through my tutorials or on YouTube.

I did find the rest of the church pictures–thank goodness for a great filing system–and I’m posting them.

I’m not sure how much time I’ll have for Lightroom this weekend because I’m sitting for my young grandkids starting tomorrow. Hopefully, I’ll have time and energy left in the evenings to get some time in.

Here are the rest of the images.

 

 

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 2 Comments

Lightroom vs Anne

Yes, it’s a challenge for me. Learning Lightroom that is! One problem is that I’ve been busy caregiving for my brother and sister-in-law in Southern California and came home to doing our family Passover Seder. (That’s the reason for my absence.) Today, I prioritized time for Lightroom and actually got some images edited–well sort of edited. I’m still not all the way through the tutorial.

Also it seems that my Lightroom presets are not working. I don’t know why, but maybe I can figure it out tomorrow. If anyone has a hint, please let me know, or I’ll have to visit the Adobe website!

The images I have for you today were taken on a Church photo meetup. We visited four Sacramento churches, but were allowed only in one–Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. Our leader coordinated a tour for us; however, our tour guides didn’t understand that photographers like less talking and more time for taking pictures! We had less than an hour before the next service began and time was short. All but one of the images are from this church.

I’m still having trouble loading pictures into Lightroom in an order that I want. I think I have more images loaded onto my desktop than I have on this laptop. You might see those at a later date.

During the meetup, my friend and I left the group to tour the Governor’s Mansion which is now a California State Park. Those images have yet to be edited. We then found one more church. So that’s three of the four. We were too tired to look for the last church.

And, I’m too tired tonight to continue with my Lightroom tutorial, so I’ll just post the images and relax.

 

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 3 Comments

A bicycle built for two and the Suisun Wildlife Center

I wish I had my camera with me when Gem and I were walking this morning. We saw a senior couple riding a bicycle built for two! When was the last time you saw one? It’s been a wicked long time for me. And, the fun part was they were talking about this and that, maybe enjoying the ride–maybe not. Yes, I do wish I had the camera. But how to take a quick shot while walking the dog and suddenly cyclists come within view. Do you say, “Please stop, I’d like to take your picture?” I guess that’s what I would have done.

But I did have my cameras at one of this past weekend’s outing to the Suisun Wildlife Center.  Through the help of their all-volunteer staff, and donations this center offers assistance to injured and orphaned wildlife in Solano County, California. While many animals are cared for, we were able to take photos of birds and reptiles during our visit. Handlers were at various stations and we were allowed to take as many images as possible within a two hour period. We didn’t need that much time since there were only five birds and three snakes. That was my only disappointment. But, that meant there were less animals needing help.

Most of the birds we shot were permanent residences at the center. They were unable to be re-introduced into the wild because of broken, malformed wings or missing an eye. What struck me was the caring of the volunteers and the response of the animals. The birds, in particular, seemed to bond with the staff.

Since it was a short morning, my photo buddy and I stopped at the Vacaville Outlets to do some shopping. If I do this outing again next year, I would plan another photo op to round out the day. Not that I didn’t enjoy shopping. I did find a plastic knife that I’ve been looking for.

And, yes, all my pictures were shot on RAW. However, the only program that seems to be able to open them is Lightroom. I tried to open one with Photoshop and PE, but was not able to. If you can tell me why, please do!

My, this has been a rambling post, starting out with a bicycle built for two. Maybe they will be riding tomorrow. Should I bring a camera just in case?