Posted on by Anne Sandler

U.C. Davis Arboretum

Some of us learn our lessons in a difficult way. I’m one of those people which is why I named this blog Slow Shutter Speed!

Yesterday, my friend Jean and I went to the U.C. Davis Arboretum. Fortunately we went at the golden hour before sunset because in winter the arboretum is stripped of its colorful beauty. However, the position of the sun and the still water, gave us beautiful shadows and reflections.

I brought along my two cameras and new sling. However, at the last minute, I decided not to hook on the D3100 and a telephoto lens. The last time I was at a photo shoot here, there were no birds–nothing really to shoot with a long lens. Mistake! Of course there were three birds and a hang glider!!

By the way, the sling was so comfortable; there was no need to switch it to the other shoulder. I’m also slow at learning the D7100. Things keep coming up, but the David Bush book I ordered should be coming today. He is so much easier to understand than the manual. I am becoming comfortable with the camera and the extra 1/2 pound weight doesn’t seem to bother me.

Now, back to the Arboretum which borders a creek. It’s an easy walk, and plants are along side the road. Even in winter, it’s a pleasant place to visit. In fact, we passed bicyclists, runners, dog walkers, drummers, and folks just conversing. I plan on visiting again in the spring, maybe in the early hours to catch the sunrise glow. Oh, yes, I’ll be carrying both cameras. By then I hope I’m a pro with the D7100.

Some of my images are in the gallery.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 1 Comment

Birthday and practice, practice, practice

Did you ever have those days where what you did was governed by outside forces? Today, I wanted to go photograph the Sandhill Cranes–the very same cranes that have been eluding me. Well, they still are!

Here’s how the day went. With gift cards in hand, I went to Action Camera in Roseville on Friday. Now that I have two cameras, I needed a way to carry them on all-day photo meetups. I’m so glad I was using gift cards because the Yeti Slim that I bought was expensive, but durable and would hold my cameras safely. It was figuring out how the Yeti Slim worked and setting it up that closed the slim window of my being able to go to Galt and photograph the cranes.

But all wasn’t lost. I did go to nearby Dry Creek for practice with the D7100. By the time I left for my practice session it was 3:30 p.m., and a great time to shoot photos. I practiced using different exposures and close ups. The D7100 makes it easy to change the exposure, and now that I understand what the sub-command dial does, shooting on aperture priority is easy. I’m putting some of these in the gallery.

More important than the practice was my granddaughter Madison’s 19th birthday dinner. We celebrated late, her birthday was in December, because I was in Simi Valley at the time. She’s an amazing young lady and is beautiful inside and out. I don’t have too many images from the dinner to show you, but you’ll get to see all the grandkids.

Tomorrow, we are going to the U.C. Davis Arboretum. I went there with a group last year, and it is a beautiful experience. I just hope the day goes as planned!

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 2 Comments

Happy New Year

I had big plans for our grandchildren–A New Year’s Eve party. Here’s what I was going to do: have a festive pizza dinner, bake the chocolate chip cookies, get out the hats and noise makers, watch last year’s festivities on the TV via the internet, blow the noise makers, have ice cream and cookies and, finally, put the little kids to bed at 7 p.m..

Here’s what happened: Madison couldn’t come because she was working, Christopher came (wicked wonderful), the little ones were staying for an overnight, we had our pizza, Richard and Christopher unsuccessfully tried to get the New Year’s Eve festivities on the large screen, Ryan finally learned how to blow the noise maker, Olivia couldn’t blow the noise maker and I was disappointed! Ryan and Olivia didn’t seem to mind though. I told Olivia that next year she’ll be able to blow enough air into the noise maker to make noise. She seemed okay with that. The little ones were in bed at 7 a.m.

I had a difficult time with the indoor lighting when I was taking the photographs. That’s something I’ll have to work on this year. Maybe if I had changed the white balance!!

That was the way 2013 ended, and we are ready to see what 2014 will bring. Hopefully 2014 will bring joy, health and prosperity. Happy New Year everyone.