Posted on by Anne Sandler

A change of attitude: The Optainium Cup Race at Mare Island, part 2

When you wake up at 5:30 in the morning to find a busted pipe, a flooded back yard and a broken water heater, it’s difficult to concentrate on a change of attitude! All is well now. Wow! We were lucky to find a plumber who came out right away and worked on both projects. But, I’m still working on changing that attitude. You know the one where you say, “I’m not good enough.”

So today I bought a new software editing tool from On One. The only problem is that it won’t work on my computer which is a 32 bit. For now, I’ll install it on my laptop and upgrade my desktop which really needs it. I did go through the thought process of I have a new camera that I haven’t learned all about yet, Lightroom that I haven’t mastered all the way, Photomatix that, again, I haven’t mastered, am I good enough to get more software. YES! Eventually I will be master of all my software.

Now for the continued story about the Optainium Cup. At each challenge station, the racers had to complete some tasks. Jayne and I were at the Mad Hatter station. You really had to choose one because you couldn’t walk from one to the other without missing some of the action. One photographer rode her bike around from station to station, but didn’t stay long.

At the Mad Hatter they had to talk to the bunny who gave them a special egg, great the Queen and wake the sleeping mouse. It was set up to be fun and it was.

Posted on by Anne Sandler

A change of attitude: The Optainium Cup Race at Mare Island

Yes, there needs to be a change of attitude on my part. When I was looking at other photographers’ photos of the Optainium Cup Race at Mare Island, I thought how could mine compare. That’s what you get for posting to the Meetup a few days late! But, that’s been my feeling, everyone is better than me. I need to change that. I may not be great, but I’m better than some. And, I’m learning. Each time I go out, I learn. Each time I look at other photographers’ images, I learn.

My recent outing to the Optainium Cup race was fun and another learning experience. The race was exactly that except it was in homemade peddled vehicles that were decorated with a theme. You’ll understand when you look at the pictures. My photo buddy Jayne and I had never been to this fun activity before and it was a learning curve for us.

In this post, I’ll show you the line up and the start. Tomorrow, I’ll show you the challenge stop that we were at. I’ll explain it also. Oh, the people staffing the race were also in costume. Visitors were too; however, it was hot. I don’t know how they managed in costumes.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 4 Comments

Beyond the comfort zone: sunset, full moon and light painting – Mare Island

Everyone has a different comfort zone. When it comes to photography, mine is on aperture priority and hand held. I’m just making peace with the tripod–I no longer feel like throwing it when I try to set it up! I’ve just started doing HDR, and have only mastered part of Lightroom. It’s safe to say that I’ve not gotten fully knowledgeable with my D7100. So with all this learning to be done, I headed back to Mare Island in Vallejo California with Mary Gromer and the “Shoot or Go Home” photo Meetup group.

We were going to shoot some buildings during the golden hours before sunset, catch the sunset, do full moon photography and end with light painting. I have never done full moon photography or light painting so I was really excited and knew I would be out of my comfort zone.

For today’s post, I’m going to show you some of the buildings. I know I’ve done the Mare Island buildings before, but not in the golden hours. My next post will go into the full moon and light painting photography.

 

Posted on by Anne Sandler

Second Annual San Francisco Bay Osprey Days, part 2

Don’t waste gas! Now that we’ve done our best to capture the ospreys and their nests, Laura, Jean and I decided to shoot more of Mare Island. I’ve shown you some of it in a previous post, but this time I’m working on mastering HDR.

The Island is being transformed into a multi-use area including a golf course, restaurant, museum and more. We went down to the dock to shoot some of the vacant buildings. This is a short post since I mostly wanted to show you the images that weren’t related to the ospreys.

We do try to get as much done during out outings–we don’t want to have to come back again. But, I have a feeling I will be back!

 

Posted on by Anne Sandler

What happens when you wake up way too early? Mare Island, Vallejo, California

It was way too early to wake up, but there I was at 4:30 a.m. with my mind processing stuff. Has that ever happened to you? So I made myself a cup of coffee, sat down at the computer, went through email, did a search on photo software and now I’m posting this blog.

Mare Island was a photo meetup with the Shoot Or Go Home group. Closed as a U.S. Naval Shipyard in 1993, Mare Island is a peninsula alongside the city of Vallejo. Now the Island houses boarded buildings, a museum, a golf course and more. The city of Vallejo wants to preserve the historical value of the shipyard and create more use for the land. A great place for an amateur photographer who loves old buildings, etc.

It was a cold and damp Saturday with half the group staying home. I was not feeling well (that cold I’m still not completely over) and we got there late because of heavy traffic. The outing was supposed to start at 1 p.m. and end with full moon shots; however, the cloud cover made that impossible.

But, the outing wasn’t a complete bust. I met Jayne West who knows a lot more about editing and shooting than I do, and I found the caliber of photographers in the group amazing. I need to buy HDR software and learn how to use it. Some of their photos were fantastic compared to mine–given the same shot. Some were overdone, but most were excellent. I still posted my images, but with the conviction to learn more.

So here are some of the Mare Island images. After completing this post, maybe I can go back to bed and sleep!