Posted on by Anne Sandler · 18 Comments

Poppy field? Not this year! Mokelumne Hill & Jackson

Maybe we didn’t go far enough last time we went in search of a poppy field. So we drove further south on Highway 49 to Jackson. No poppy field. It was then I decided that there would be no golden orange field for me this year. Little clusters of poppies were along the road. We even went further than Jackson to Mokelumne Hill, a quaint little town that Marlene and I had been to before. No poppy field!

So here are some pictures from Mokelumne Hill.

  • A spotless Lady Bug?
  • You can’t miss this sign!
  • A quaint small church.
  • I liked the trees in front of this house.
  • Take a nap?
  • The very old part of town.
  • A secret society?
  • These stores were here a few years ago. Nothing changed.
  • So was this wagon.
  • These windows grabbed my attention.
  • A cluster of poppies

Now on to Jackson and lunch.

  • In an antique store window.
  • How much would you pay for this?
  • A model trailer made from wood.
  • We didn’t go downstairs.
  • Timed reflections.
  • The old courthouse.
  • I’ve taken pictures of this church before. It’s still beautiful.
  • This gentleman was walking with his banjo in a case. He seemed glad to have his picture taken.
  • Cute little dog!
  • I call this picture “Feed Me!” What would you call it?

Next year will be the year for me to find a poppy field! In the meantime I did have fun taking photos with my photo buddies.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 4 Comments

Been shooting too much? The Gold Country

I never thought I’d say that I’ve been shooting too much! But here I am, way behind in editing and still shooting. I’ve even fallen behind in posting my 52-week images. So I’ve vowed to not shoot any more photographs until our Camera Totin’ Tuesdays group goes out on Tuesday.

I have been exploring the new Nik software I recently downloaded free from Google. I love it, especially the Silver Efex module. It helps create great black and white images. I’ve also started using some Lightroom features I hadn’t tried before. I have created an editing haven.

Okay, so just what have I been so busy photographing? Today, we’ll begin a trip to the Sonora area I took with Marlene. We were graciously hosted by my friends Sandy and Ken who are also photographers. Unfortunately, Sandy’s small Sony broke the day we came down and she had to use her heavier Canon. This wouldn’t have been a problem if she still wasn’t recovering from thumb surgery on her right hand! She shot as much as she could.

Ken was our driver. I’m sure he had fun going over a very rough dirt road with his all-wheel drive car–actually he did! They took us off the beaten path.

Today’s post is from our first day. We stopped at Mokelumne Hill, an old town along the Mokelumne River. The town had the usual old charm, and we had the good fortune to talk with one resident. He filled us in on what happened to all the businesses and people.

We stopped along the river, and I practiced with my neutral density filter. We then went to Ironstone Winery after meeting up with Sandy and Ken. Although it was overcast, windy and raining at times, it was beautiful.

So, here’s day one of our four-day photographic trip. And we did shoot every day!

A large Radio Flyer in town.
This black and white was processed in Nik Silver Efex.
The resident we talked with.
His house.
One of his many humming bird feeders. I caught this little guy in mid flight.
Red doors that shutter this closed down business.
The town’s hotel.
I was told this old phone booth was transplanted from England.
Here I’m practicing creating silky water.
The river was running fast.
I was happy with the outcome.
We’re now at the winery.
The wind was blowing, so I didn’t bother taking out my macro lens.
I think my 18 – 140 mm walk around lens did a great job.
Daffodils were all over the winery.
My walk around lens got in nice and close.
My last sample.