Nikon D7100 – Page 3 – Slow Shutter Speed

Posted on January 18, 2018 by Anne Sandler · 6 Comments

Things are looking up: Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge and Gray Lodge, part 2

Hooray, the computer is working! Thank you Kevin!! This technical age has made us so dependent on our computers, phones, tablets. I could say that I remember when, but I won’t bore you. I’ll just say that my typewriter never crashed. It may have needed a ribbon change, or a key might stick–but never crashed.

I do love one digital necessity (at least to me) that has not crashed–my DSLR. I’m still learning, and with each outing I get better. Let’s finish up my trip with Laura to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge (SWR) and Gray Lodge Wildlife Area. Laura is the best bird spotter. Without her I wouldn’t see the small birds.

After seeing three bald eagles and many hawks at SWR, we ventured to Gray Lodge. Tired from climbing up and down to and from Laura’s sun roof, I resolved to just shoot what I could get from the open window. Fortunately, there are more opportunities for landscapes at Gray Lodge. Again, there were many hawks, but the sun was going down and it was difficult to shoot them as they hid in the trees. Take a look!

At Gray Lodge

Dark skies and low light, but still some color.

Cloud reflection

SWR, egret ready to fly

Bald Eagle

Northern Harrier

Something ruffled his feathers!

Bald Eagle

A closer look

Red Shouldered Hawk 9?)

Ducks in a row

Red Shouldered Hawk

Posted on December 30, 2017 by Anne Sandler · 11 Comments

A promise is a promise: Happy New Year

I always try to keep my promises. The operative word there is “try!” In my last post, I said that I would be going out to shoot Christmas lights when my friend Jean got her new camera, and I kept that promise. I was really dragging that night, and I’m so glad that my promise got me up and out. We had a lot of fun in the short time we were taking photos.

Our adventure took us to the Fab 40 area of Sacramento–an area of old beautiful homes. This neighborhood’s holiday effort didn’t compare to the residents of Dove Court in Orangevale; but with my fatigue and Jean’s knee, it was perfect. We walked the two blocks, shooting and talking with some residents. I saw two displays I liked and had fun zooming my lens.

Oh, Jean’s new camera is a tiny Panasonic mirrorless that does a lot. It made my Nikon D7100 look huge and feel heavy! I hope she finds a great deal of joy in using it.

Happy 2018 everyone. My wish if for you to have good health, prosperity and fun!

I liked this display because of its simplicity.

This one is simple too.

This seemed to welcome you.

I think I like this side shot even better.

This I shot in three parts.

On the side lawn the display continued.

And the final piece of the display.

This was a wreath that was hanging from a wire going across the street. Below it, was a string of lights. The following zooms are of this wreath.

I tried different angles.

Different shutter speeds.

And different focal lengths.

This zoom was of lights on top of a small tree.

This zoom was of lights on a small tree covered in lights.

Posted on December 7, 2017December 7, 2017 by Anne Sandler · 4 Comments

Still standing: Folsom Powerhouse State Historic Park, Folsom

Remember that cold I was complaining about? I still have it! But, at least I’m still standing when so many of my friends have succumbed to the flu. This isn’t a complaint, okay it is! When I’m sick, I can’t regain enough energy to not be tired. And, this affects my ability to do photography.

Before this cold/flu hit the Sacramento area, my Tuesday group was given a special tour of the Historic Folsom Powerhouse in Folsom. This small power source once lit up all of Sacramento. The following from Wikipedia illustrates the significance of the powerhouse.

“Before the Folsom powerhouse was built nearly all electric power houses were using direct current (DC) generators powered by steam engines located within a very few miles of where the power was needed. The use of rushing water to generate hydroelectric power and then transmitting it long distances to where it could be used was not initially economically feasible as long as the electricity generated was low-voltage direct current. Once it was invented, AC power made it feasible to convert the electrical power to high voltage by using the newly invented transformers and to then economically transmit the power long distances to where it was needed. Lower voltage electrical power, which is much easier and safer to use, could be easily gotten by using transformers to convert the high voltage power to lower voltages near where it was being used. DC power cannot use a transformer to change its voltage. The Folsom Powerhouse, using part of the American River‘s rushing water to power its turbines connected to newly invented AC generators, generated three phase 60 cycle AC electricity (the same that’s used today in the United States) that was boosted by newly invented transformers from 800 volts as generated to 11,000 volts and transmitted to Sacramento over a 22 mi (35 km)-long distribution line, one of the longest electrical distribution lines in the United States at the time.”

The tour was great, especially since it was led by a photographer who has since joined our Tuesday group. While our guide explained the history and how the Powerhouse operated, I listened and continued shooting. Unfortunately, I should have been taking notes!

But since I didn’t, follow the link for more information on the Powerhouse.

We have since been on other outings, and you’ll see those in future posts. Maybe by then the cold will just be a memory and I’ll be out there clicking away.

The grounds.

Close up of the machinery.

This old phone booth was their only way of communication.

The next few are more close ups.

The main room.

Another room was behind the main part of the Powerhouse.

Looking up.

An old water container?

Going back into the main part of the building.

More machinery

Close up.

An old can used to capture oil.

Outside.

Posted on November 19, 2017 by Anne Sandler · 8 Comments

The more I shoot, the more behind I get: Mather Lake

Here I sit contemplating the 1 1/2 shoots I still have to edit. I’m thinking I enjoy shooting more than editing. I don’t even edit a whole lot, but I’m behind. Maybe it’s because the last two outings have been all-day road trips. You know how those camera clicks can add up!

Plus, I’ve started printing. My son wanted two of my images printed on canvas, size 32 x 48 inches. Now that’s a big number for me. I also learned that for the aspect ratio of my camera I should be printing out 8 x 12 prints instead of 8 x 10. And, then I learned how to export from Lightroom to support the pixel count necessary to print large prints.

To complicate my life, I’ve put my D7100 on back focus. After a slight learning curve, I think I like it. Now I have to get my D3100 on back focus also. It was fun on yesterday’s outing with one camera on back focus and the other not.

I thank my son and the Sierra Camera Club for pushing me to print out my images. The Club’s print competition has me gaining more knowledge in that area. I’m so glad I joined that group. I’m more charged up about photography, and more confident in my abilities.

So, maybe I’m behind because I’m learning so much–okay it’s a lame excuse! Enjoy a few shots from the small Mather Lake. I didn’t know what to expect, and brought a wide angle lens rather than a long telephoto. But I got beautiful landscapes and a few of the bird wildlife.

Fortunately I could get close enough to this blue heron so I could capture it with my 17 – 70 mm lens.

A close up.

He finally tired of being my model and flew away.

A swan with wings up.

Grassy reflection.

A wide angle of the lake.

When we got there, there were no clouds.

I wasn’t the only one who thought this thistle was pretty. A bee was hovering too.

The reflections were great.

When we were leaving, the clouds were beautiful.

If this old table could talk, what stories it would tell!

A couple fishing.

The other half of the couple.

A feather!

Posted on August 23, 2017 by Anne Sandler · 11 Comments

On the road again: Total Solar Eclipse

Exhilarated, excited, frustrated, anxious are just some of the feelings I had the morning of August 21, 2017. It’s now August 23, 2017, and I have all my eclipse images edited and blog ready.

Let’s deal with the frustrated and anxious feelings of that morning. Initially, I was going to use Richard’s small telescope attached to my D3100. We didn’t really get a chance to practice during our stay at Glacier National Park because of smokey skies. I read tutorials on shooting the eclipse, but none were on using a telescope as a lens. I was anxious about that telescope: how do I change the aperture, and what about the proper exposure?

When we went to visit the NASA folks, I saw a guy using a coffee can on a 70 – 300 mm lens attached to a Nikon D3100. He seemed confident that it would work well. I told Richard about it and he fashioned a filter using material from pair of solar glasses and attaching it to the lens hood. It worked great. Now I could use my D7100.

Back to the tutorials! I did get frustrated because they seemed to contradict each other. The worst of all, I really couldn’t work with the tripod. I couldn’t find the sun in live view, and I couldn’t see the live view screen. I saw my reflection. I tried using a loop, but that made it more difficult.

So, I decided to handhold. I knew the risks, but I wanted to enjoy the eclipse. I decided to use my D3100 to capture the crowd during intervals of shooting the eclipse. Actually, it worked out, except for the totality. I did get one good shot of it though.

Exhilaration and excitement came rapidly when the eclipse began. The crowd roared as the sun began to slip behind the moon. There were shouts of joy during each phase, especially during totality. Here are my images from the eclipse: before totality, environmental shots, totality, and after totality.

The front row of RVs and cars were added the night before.

Everyone was getting ready.

Richard was manning his sun scope.

Here’s a side view.

A former science teacher brought this homemade scope she used in her classroom.

The eclipse begins.

The sun actually moved rapidly.

It carved out slices.

Each slice making the sun less visible.

I would catch the sun by first looking with my eclipse glasses.

Then I would move my protected lens so I couldn’t see the sun any longer.

Then I would move my glasses up out of the way.

I would then be able to shoot the sun as it moved behind the moon.

It became a sliver of it’s former self.

And down to this before totality.

This was the best I could get during totality. I knew it would be difficult without a tripod because of diminished light.

Right after totality, people started leaving.

I couldn’t believe they weren’t waiting for the second half of the show!

Coming out of totality.

Forming a crescent again.

Getting larger.

And larger.

And more large.

Almost a full sun again.

Right now we are two days from home, and I’m ready to get there. We’ve decided not to do anymore road trips. It’s destination trips from now on. I would say this trip was a great one to end on. From beautiful Glacier National Park to the amazing total solar eclipse. And a big thank you to the small town of Weiser, Idaho. They did a great job with the amount of people added to their community. Oh, I have just one more feeling to add: wonderful!

Posted on August 5, 2017August 5, 2017 by Anne Sandler · 3 Comments

On the road again: First glimpse GNP

Excitement churned inside me. This was to be our first time in Glacier National Park, located in Montana , but as we approached traffic was backed up 1/4 mile before we could show our senior pass and get in. I thought, not another Yosemite! I have seen many traffic jams in Yosemite Valley.

All we knew was that we needed to go on the Going To The Sun road that stretches across the park. Because we arrived late, we wanted to do something else for our introduction to the Park. Our friendly Park ranger kept telling us to either ride the tram or drive on the Going To The Sun road (GTTS). “You’ll see everything,” she said.

“But what about this area?” I asked, pointing on the map. She mumbled something about the GTTS road. I knew that conversation was hopeless. So we took our maps and literature back to the car. We mapped out a plan while we ate our lunch.

Since there was a 2 1/2 hour wait to get on the shuttle, we decided to walk to Lake McDonald and do the loop along McDonald Creek. Well, we didn’t get on the right trail, but we weren’t alone. Two other couples were walking the wrong trail. It was pretty and moseyed along the creek.

We wanted to build up our walking/hiking legs slowly after sitting in the truck for four days. And this walk was the perfect distance. Tomorrow, we’ll get there early, hop on the tram, go all the way across the Park, and decide where to get off on the way back. I’m also thinking that if we wait until Monday, there may be less people.

We’ll decide tomorrow. At least for today we got our first glimpse of GNP.

Beautiful ferns along the trail.

Wildflowers

McDonald Lake.

The path along McDonald Creek.

McDonald Creek.

Some sort of bee?

Having fun on the creek.

More creek shoreline.

Another wildflower.

And another.

The ice cream cone was almost as big as their faces. No, they did not finish. Shot with permission.

Posted on August 4, 2017August 4, 2017 by Anne Sandler · 7 Comments

We have arrived: Columbia Falls, Montana

Oh, we are the weary travelers. If we visit Glacier National Park again, we’ll be flying in and renting a vehicle! In our youth, driving almost 200 miles of twisty mountain roads would have been easy. But, now, almost 20 years more than the senior entry of 55 years, it’s more difficult. We arrived in Columbia Falls yesterday afternoon to our RV park for the next two weeks. We’re taking a lazy day today and will go into the the park tomorrow.

While on the road, I shot some more images from the truck window. I took these during our drive to Kooskia, ID. In spite of the highway, Idaho is a beautiful state. There are also 3 from the campground we stayed at. The new owners are updating it, but it’s great to be self-contained!

Somewhere along Highway 95.

You have to catch it just right when the truck is going around a curve.

At our campground.

Two swans a swimming.

The current bathroom facilities.

Yesterday, there was more of twisty Highway 95. We got an early start so our truck (a senior also) wouldn’t a difficult time pulling the trailer up the mountain. And, to my non-surprise, I was able to get some golden light drive-by shots. Once we got into Montana, the road was less twisty and the land became more flat. It took us a while to drive around the large Flat Head Lake. Smoke from fires hid the mountains. Just like California, Montana is on fire. When we checked into our RV park, the gal said they are praying for rain to put out the fires and reduce the smoke. Our hope is that when we get into the park, we have visibility.

I think this is the Snake River.

It also has a lot of rapids.

It’s shallow in many places.

Montana!

Fire devastation.

And finally, while I’m doing this blog, Richard has been practicing with my camera and telescope as a lens, getting sun shots. The black dot, bottom left, is a sun flare. I’m hoping to get some good eclipse shots.

That’s all for now, these weary travelers are taking the rest of the day off!

Posted on July 18, 2017 by Anne Sandler · 16 Comments

Ya gotta love them: Sunflowers, Yolo County

I got my sought after shot this year–a sunflower field so dense that when you shot over the top, all you can see is yellow. Thank you Karen A. for scoping the fields out. And thanks to a step ladder! Yes, I’m sort–too short to have gotten the image without a little help.

I remember in past years going crazy to find sunflower fields, only to be there too early or too late. This year things were different in Yolo County.

I’ll make this a short post so you can see them. Oh, what did I learn? Patience prevails and always have a step ladder in your car trunk!

Hope these make you smile!

Back-lit.

Happy sunny.

Bees were busy.

Getting in the middle.

These fields are large.

Shooting over the Sunnies.

From the side.

They are beautiful no matter how you shoot them.

There were wheat fields opposite the sunflower fields.

More wheat.

Trees planted in a pattern.

Back-lit.

Just taking in the sun.

Bees again.

Members of the Camera Totin Tuesday group.

Posted on July 12, 2017July 12, 2017 by Anne Sandler · 2 Comments

Gone, but we do have pictures: Lotus, Vedanta Society, Sacramento

You know what happens when one photographer posts a picture of something that doesn’t, last too long–we all go to shoot it.

That’s what happened with the Lotus located on the grounds of the Vedanta Society Sacramento in Sacramento. They were so nice to let us go to their pond and shoot these beautiful flowers. I had never seen lotus in person. They are stunning.

We were back yesterday to check on whether the hyacinths were in the pond, and we found the seed pods that were left from the lotus. We also found some hyacinths, but that will be for another post.

So please enjoy these beauties. I’m so glad one photographer shared her find.

I’m not sure whether all lotus are pink, but these were!

I tried to capture them in different ways.

I came up from underneath this one.

This one is opening up and starting to drop petals.

The light was changing fast on this one.

Shot from a distance.

The bridge going over the pond.

Not a lotus!

Again, the whole flower.

Another “Not a lotus,” but pretty.

The lotus seed pod captured a couple of weeks after the other images were taken.

Posted on July 7, 2017July 7, 2017 by Anne Sandler

The heat is back! Alpha Fired Arts, Sacramento

This is de’ja vu. When these pictures were taken, we were trying to escape the heat by shooting inside. As I type this, it’s about 107 degrees Fahrenheit! It’s going to be a long hot summer.

Since our Tuesday group shoots each week, we try to find indoor places, go on a road trip to the bay area or get up very early to beat the heat. A few times, we’ve called a virtual trip, asking members to shoot something and post it. It’s amazing what photographers come up with. But this particular Tuesday we were inside.

Alpha Fired Arts, in Sacramento, is a creative outlet for hobbyists, professional artists and teachers who shop for supplies. They even have paint your own ceramics available where you purchase anything from pre-made mugs to more elaborate items, and paint them. They are then glazed/fired. This is a perfect place for kids’ parties.

With triple digits outside, we were delighted to be invited inside by Ray’s wife, Sally, who is a pottery artist. When you enter, you’re inside the store, the painting room is to the left and small gallery to the right. Beyond the double doors in the back the creative work area lies. And, beyond that, are the kilns. We could not escape the heat in there!

I’ll show you pictures of it all. While the pottery was beautiful, it was a challenging shoot. I wanted to shoot from different angles and remain true to the artistic intent. All images were handheld and without flash.

I’m hoping it’s not a hot summer, thinking maybe some cooler temperatures will prevail–SOON!