Finding cooler weather: Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley, California

Yes, we ran away! At least 1 1/2 hours west where the temperatures were about 20 degrees cooler. And, we enjoyed it. Camera Totin’ Tuesdays went to Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley and visited the Botanical Gardens, Golf Course, steam train and carousel.

It was a wonderful day. The park is magnificent and large, and the weather was delightful. While we didn’t expect any flowers this late in summer, we managed to find small blooms in the Botanical Gardens. The gardens were large and separated into different areas. We managed to walk through the entire garden before we stopped for lunch at the Golf Course.

After lunch we rode the miniature steam train and went to shoot the carousel (merry-g0-round). But, we didn’t get to everything. Maybe we’ll go back. Right now it’s in the high 80’s and low 90’s in the Sacramento area so we stayed local yesterday and visited the Sacramento Zoo.

In this post I’ll show you some of the Botanical Gardens. In my next post, I’ll show the rest. I hope those of you who are enjoying summer, are cool!

After a rain, shoot, shoot, shoot; part 2

Right now in Northern California no one is shooting pictures. We’re experiencing a series of storms. I’m not complaining! My go-to-practice place, Dry Creek, has water past its shore line, and there are flood warnings in place for the rivers and other creeks.

Being stuck inside has its advantages, I’m catching up on a few things, completing this post and giving you exciting news.

For the exciting news: I’m being featured on, Australian photographer, Leanne Cole’s Blog, Introductions post this week. I’ve known Leanne since I started shooting and had the privilege of shooting with her when she visited the U.S. last September. She’s given me advice and watched my progress these 4 years. The post will appear in the States on Monday and Tuesday across the ocean. You can find the post at http://leannecolephotography.com/.

I’ve also submitted an article for the upcoming Dynamic Range digital photography magazine for women in the coming issue. This is a great magazine full of information and beautiful photography. And, you don’t have to be a woman to enjoy it. Check it out!

Now, back to this post’s continuation. Today I have pictures from Schweitzer Grove and McKinley Park. Schweitzer Grove is a 17-acre park tucked into suburbia, and McKinley park is known for its rose garden.  Fortunately, there are people and other flowers at the park. Take a look while I continue to catch up on things.

 

 

 

 

It’s not raining; let’s shoot! Stock Ranch Nature Preserve

That’s something I haven’t needed to do in the last 4 years–run out and shoot in between rain storms. But, Linda and I did. There are many places in Sacramento to spend an hour or two shooting and feel like you’ve seen the whole place. Stock Ranch Nature Preserve is one of those places. Located in Citrus Heights, this 47-acre preserve has 1.5 miles of nature trails running along Arcade and San Juan Creeks.

It’s very easy to wander through; but, I did find that without foliage, it was stark. Branches were strewn all over, and there was a small amount of water in the creek. It’s important to know that this little preserve is located in suburbia surrounded by large warehouse shopping, apartments and single family homes. However, when you’re walking the inside path, you have no indication of what surrounds it.

I’ll be back in the spring to see how foliage changes the scenery. In the meantime it’s great to have it so close. It’s important to have a place to run to when you’re needing to shoot quickly in between storms!