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When life hands you lemons; shoot anyway: Rodeo Beach, Golden Gate National Recreation Area

We weren’t exactly handed lemons at our Rodeo Beach visit, but the dead seal, dog poop and crustacean pieces didn’t help create an atmosphere for beauty on the beach. I just decided to make the best of it, wait for the sunset and do the best shooting I could do. After all, the beach itself was nice.

But then, my shooting was hampered when I needed to clean the inside of the filter on my main lens. I couldn’t unscrew the filter and neither could three other photographers. So the day’s shooting was done with my 300 mm telephoto and ultra wide lenses. I enjoyed the day, meeting two great gals I carpooled with and more from the Meetup group, Exploring Photography.

When 29 photographers get on a small patch of beach, it can get crowded; but, everyone cooperated. I would go up to photo enthusiasts and ask them what they were shooting, what they were using, etc. In the end, the fog made the sunset less than spectacular, giving us an orange glow before it went behind the fog bank.

Life may have handed us lemons, but we did shoot and I did get some very good images.

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Practice makes perfect–I hope soon!

Does practice make perfect? Well, I practice and I’m far from perfect, but I know I have to keep it up. Last week was so busy I didn’t have a chance to take my camera out. I felt like life had been cheating me of my passion. Yes, I’ve gotten that attached to this hobby. But, practice chances are where you make them.

I’ve been in San Jose, California for some R&R and to celebrate my dear friends’ birthdays. As part of my R&R, I took my D7100 and 50 mm lens out for practice, shooting on manual. First I walked around the area where my friends live, and the next day, I walked a nearby lake/park.

How did the practice go? I’ll be honest, I’m not sure. Of course, I’m more critical of my abilities than someone else would be. This prime 50 mm lens is fast, and I guess I’m not used to having a fast lens that lets in more light. My struggle during these last two days was with the exposure. I did work with the settings until I ended up with a good shot, but it was frustrating.

I’m sure if I keep it up, the struggles will get less. So the only thing I can do is practice until perfect comes along–at least good comes along.

Posted on by Anne Sandler

Not enough memory and the Governor’s Mansion, Sacramento, California

“Not enough memory.” That’s what the dialogue box was saying. While editing in Lightroom, I was amazed to see those words. I immediately took about 500 photos off my laptop and tried again. What happened? “Not enough memory!” I’ll have to ask my tech support husband for help when I get home. But, I have some images of the Governor’s Mansion State Park to show you tonight. Please follow the link for the Mansion’s history. It is interesting and I hope my images give you an example of its beauty.

Right now I’m staying with my younger set of grandkids while their parents are on their first weekend since they adopted the kids 2 1/2 years ago. Things were going well; in fact they earned ice cream and a cookie after dinner two nights in a row. However, today–well things changed. Our little 3-year old princess locked the downstairs bathroom door and now we can’t open it. I don’t know how she did it from the outside, but she’s becoming inquisitive about how things come apart and work. The day went on from there. No ice cream and cookies tonight! My son has work to do when he gets home.

Speaking of work, I spent my spare time doing my chiropractor’s newsletter, so I didn’t study Lightroom. I go home tomorrow and leave again on Wednesday for San Jose to spend some time with my dear friend and faithful blog follower Carol.

In the meantime, we will have to solve the issue with the laptop so I can study and edit. Here are some images I edited before I ran out of memory!

 

Posted on by Anne Sandler

Colds and Disney World unedited

What can ruin a vacation? Maybe lost luggage, rainy days, getting sick? Well, we didn’t lose our luggage, but the other two are something we’ve experienced. Even though three of us are down with a cold, we went into the parks anyway. Right now Richard and I are in the timeshare resting while the rest of the family went into Disney Hollywood Studios. When Greg called, he said that they were freezing. Greg also has the cold.

My post today is about Epcot. It was great. I wasn’t that impressed about the various “land exhibits,” but the rest of the rides and shows were wicked wonderful. One nice ride was about how they are growing vegetables in different ways like rice in dirt and tomatoes in trees. There was a lot for the children to enjoy, which they did. Here are some unedited images.

 

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Some lessons are hard to learn: Disney World unedited

Yes, I did it again. I forgot to check the battery in my camera before we left for the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida, and didn’t bring my spare. I got in a few shots before we got too far into the park and then stowed the camera back into the car. Fortunately, my daughter-in-law had her camera along and was the picture taker for the day.

I brought along both my cameras, but decided to use the D3100 since I would be taking mostly snapshots and didn’t want anything to happen to the D7100. We came to Orlando with our son, Greg, daughter-in-law, Jessica, and young grandkids, because our company is involved in a trade show here and thought it would be a great vacation. So, right now it’s day 5 and three of us out of six have colds. Jess is down at the pool with the little ones. This is a good time to do a blog, I thought. But, I have no editing program or computer with me! It’s a good thing Richard brought his laptop.

Our first two days in Disney were at the Magic Kingdom. It was crowded and they have a different system for using fast passes. It took us a while to catch on, but we did. Here are some memorable moments: Olivia was chosen to play the part of the beast in Belle’s castle play and danced with her (I have to get the pictures from Jess).  Ryan wants to be a pirate after going through the Pirates Of The Caribbean ride. We found some characters and took pictures with them. And, I got my highest score ever on the Buzz Lightyear ride!

Here are some images of our experience so far–unedited! I hope to get some study time in on the D7100 today, and tomorrow I will remember my extra battery and SD card!

 

Posted on by Anne Sandler

A cause to celebrate

She calls it her “Birthday Celebration.” Harriet Baum is 20-years sober and considers her sober anniversary her rebirth. I was fortunate to be invited to this Birthday celebration on Sunday, January 19, 2014.

Before she made the decision to enter the 12-Step Program she describes her life as one of depression and terror. She was doing things that were not good for her body and couldn’t share her feelings with anyone. She felt alone and friendless. “I had a birthday party for myself and nobody came–not even my family,” she says.

Now life is wonderful for Harriet. “People love me, want to spend time with me. I’m hanging out with people who are not drinking alcohol or taking drugs. I finally have the life I’ve always wanted,” she says.

But, maintaining this happy life is not easy. It’s still a daily struggle for Harriet who goes daily to an Alcohol Anonymous meeting and talks with her sponsor. And, she’s helping others by sponsoring someone. “I’m still working on staying sober. I’m very blessed,” she says. “I’m back in college, working towards being a doctor. I’m a work in progress, and I’m not backsliding!”

Happy Birthday Harriet.

Posted on by Anne Sandler

The Bald Eagle

One way to get a bird to pose is to catch them while eating. We were almost finished with the auto tour at the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge when my friend Sandy saw an eagle. I immediately stopped, backed up a little and started shooting. After my excitement waned a little, I noticed what the Bald Eagle was doing. He was dining on his dinner, a Coot (a fellow meetup member told me). Talk about being a sitting duck!

I watched and shot. The eagle even looked at me, but didn’t move from his task. It was simply amazing. I’m posting some images from the more than 100 I took.

Posted on by Anne Sandler

Learning the hard way and The Sacramento Wildlife Refuge

Why do I insist on learning the hard way? I haven’t had, or taken, the time to fully learn the D7100 before I used it at the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge  on Friday. So, that meant I lost a couple of potentially good shots because I was trying the camera on different settings without truly knowing how to set them or get out of the setting. I’m also having trouble with the auto focus–way too sensitive. There’s probably a setting that will help, but!! And worse, I left the camera’s field guide at home.

Now, I’m going to make sure I prioritize time for the camera and me! In spite of that frustration, my friend Sandy and I had a wicked good day. I finally used my sling with both cameras, and it made shooting easier because I didn’t have to switch lenses. Most of all, the sling made carrying the cameras comfortable. It was worth the cost.

We got to the refuge about 2 p.m. and stayed until sundown. This was a Meetup originally scheduled by Dennis Ariza, Wildlife and Landscape group. Even though I couldn’t go on Saturday, Dennis allowed me to post my shots on the website. If you are local to the Bay Area and surrounding California communities and do photography, check out this Meet Up group. Dennis always has interesting places for us to go to.

One good thing about going out during the week is the quiet as you walk around. It was peaceful. By the time we got onto the auto tour, the sun was starting to set, and the marsh took on an orange glow. We saw one “fly up” by the snow geese, but I wasn’t too thrilled with my images as compared with last year’s. I’m beginning to get more picky. We ended the drive with a nice sunset that lit up the waters.

That was Friday and today is Sunday. I still haven’t picked up my manual, book or field guide for the D7100. I’ve got to set that priority. Today I’ll show you some images, excluding the eagle. Tomorrow more about the eagle. Suspense!

 

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 2 Comments

Expectations and the Sand Hill Crane

I must be setting my expectations a little too high when it comes to the Sand Hill Crane. After not being able to photograph them very well at the Woodbridge Ecological Reserve, yesterday I went to the Consumes River Preserve hoping to capture some images of the gray creatures.

When I read that there was a Visitor’s Center at Consumes, I was excited. I go there and be guided as to where the best viewing spot was. The Visitor’s Center consisted of two small billboard type signs and a pit toilet! Fortunately, there were bird watchers who helped guide me to where I could see the cranes.

Also, when I left home, the sun had come out and all was calm. I expected to have a great morning, relaxing and capturing the cranes with my camera. By the time I drove 30 minutes to the Preserve, the wind had picked up and was wreaking havoc in the marshes. Small birds were having a difficult time feeding, and even the large hawks were having trouble flying. The wind was harsh and cold. No one was hanging around, sitting and watching the wildlife.

So much for my expectations! It was windy, cold and the wildlife and my camera were struggling. It was difficult to focus as the camera kept correcting for the constantly moving marshland. I was able to capture images of the birds in flight, and have some of those shots to show you.

As you could guess, I didn’t stay very long. But, I did get some images of the cranes in flight and experienced the wetlands in not so friendly conditions. The ducks were huddled against little islands in the water, geese were staying on top of the islands and only large turkey vultures, geese and Sandhills were taking to flight.

Did I set my expectations too high? I guess I’ve learned that you can’t assume what nature will deliver. I might try again before the Sandhill Cranes leave the area.

 

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!