The night would be perfect: some clouds and sun. This was a rarity for us in Sacramento lately. Taking the opportunity, Laura and I went to photograph the sunset at Gibson Ranch Regional Park.
This is a Sacramento County park and equestrian center that has picnic areas. a dog park, small lake, and other activities. It’s a perfect place that is local to catch a sunset. We were not disappointed.
Before sunset: The equestrian area was gated off, but these facilities were available to photograph.
As the sun was getting low in the sky, fishermen were still trying to catch their limit.
And I became taller! Okay, with the help of my shadow!!
Finally a great sunset and lake reflection!
After all those weeks of overcast and rain, I was a happy camper! The damp, overcast and rain did come back, so I was glad we went that evening.
Oh my, we were late in getting to the Sacramento Zoo and the small parking lot in William Land Park was almost full. And, the big yellow school busses were dropping off school aged kids. It was going to be a tough day of photography! I’m guessing the big cats already enjoyed their bones, because the ones that were in their enclosure were just about to nap.
One cheetah had begun to rest when the other one came over and this happened.
When we got to the giraffe enclosure, Cheyenne, the new young giraffe was out in the yard. What a treat!
Older giraffe eating.
All in all, it was a pretty good morning at the zoo after all. Next we went to the WPA Rock Garden, and I’ll show you that in my next post.
I have been remiss in posting. This is caused by some traveling and a broken computer. You don’t realize how much, as a photographer, you depend on your computer until you don’t have it. Not only could I not edit photos, I couldn’t get to my archived images. Frustrated doesn’t begin to explain how I felt.
So here I am playing catch up. For this post I’m showing you images from the nesting trees where great egrets and blue herons build their nests each year. The birds feel safe there because the two trees are in the middle of a gully. One sits in the nest while its mate flies and brings back twigs. It’s fun to watch them.
This is a stretch for my Tamron 18 – 300mm lens but I did get some nice images.
This is about the only instance where I can predict they will be flying. This type of photography helps me learn how to watch carefully and be fast.
I love where I live even though I came here kicking and screaming. Sacramento and its proximity to beautiful environments like rivers, forest, farms, ranches and cities makes this a great location for photographers. In fact, I’ve blogged about it many times and have shown beautiful images of my favorite spots. So, in response to Tina’s challenge, I’m going to show you a recent new environment I traveled to.
Among our choices for a ship’s tour of the island was “Luecila Beach and Scenic Drive,” and that’s the one we picked. Our drive to the beach was a little more than one hour. We did see flowers and traditional houses as promised in the tour’s description. Photographing through the bus window was nearly impossible. I can describe the area as beautiful, lush and green. What amazed me were the houses with huts in their yards. I asked the guide about the huts. He replied that they were for guests who come to visit. Hospitality?
The beach was worth the long drive. It was beautiful. When we arrived, I was hungry and tried to purchase a piece of papaya fruit. The women in the kiosk didn’t take credit cards or American dollars–just francs. They ended up giving it to me without payment. It was delicious. I thought they were very gracious.
Sandy and Peg didn’t want to walk on the beach so I discovered its beauty on my own. Here’s a gallery.
Our bus.An old church near the beach.Before going down on the sand.On the beach.A woman showed me a shell she found.Yes, it’s time to get back to the ship.
I’m so glad to have walked this beach since I was sick and couldn’t see Mystery Island. I spent two days in our cabin. That’s life!
This was one of the new environments I experienced during my trip to Australia. Please remember to link to Tina’s original post when you respond and use the Lens-Artists tag. I’ll be sharing more of my trip on my blog. I enjoyed your responses to Siobhan’s challenge of Glowing Moments. Your interpretations were varied and creative. Next week, Patti will present the challenge so look for her post.
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.Â
The sun may be shining, but the devastation is still being cleared. The front entrance to the Sacramento Historic City Cemetery was closed because they were still clearing the trees that were downed in the recent wind and rain storms. Also, access to that area was mostly closed. That’s what we found during last week’s photo visit.
We did manage to get in via a side entrance and decided to stay in the back area of the cemetery. It looked newer but there were some beautiful headstones, statues and trees. I’ll put all the pictures in a gallery for you and caption where necessary. Oh, the ground was still a bit muddy and soft.
I liked the shape and texture of this headstone.I’m so glad this beautiful tree is still standing.A closer look.This tree’s trunk is not twisted but is interesting.I liked how beautiful this family headstone was.Another unusual monument.A sense of humor?Pretty iron work.One of the few statues.A cared for grave.The words say it all.I’ve never seen a headstone shaped like this.A stump left behind.Someone put shells on the stump.I couldn’t resist a close up!
The sun is still out and we are enjoying dry but windy weather. I’m so glad this cemetery didn’t get any more damage. These statues and headstones are so old. You can’t replace history.
This is my last post for about a month. I’m going on a dream vacation. You’ll find out who, what, where when I return. Take care and stay safe.
Three weeks of constant rain had just ended. The greater Sacramento area had experienced downed trees and flooding. It was the first day of sunshine. We wanted to get out with our cameras, but where? We chose to visit the Morningsun Herb Farm in Vacaville. It promised not to be too muddy.
It was a short, fun outing. This description is from their website: Our family-owned nursery and display gardens have been in operation since 1995. We grow over 500 species of herbs, vegetables, unusual and drought-tolerant perennials and pollinator plants. We specialize in a huge selection of lavenders, propagating over 45 varieties in our greenhouses. Our display gardens, located in our family walnut orchard, are wonderful teaching tools for gardeners, chefs, herbalists, and crafters. The gardens are also used by amateur photographers and artists for inspiration. Bring a picnic lunch to relax in the gardens, and some extra treats to share with our donkeys (although we may post special diets due to doctor’s orders).
They did welcome us, allowing us to freely roam the area. Here are some of the buildings.
I found two sculptures of interest. The first shown are two images of the same sculpture. I thought the cactus looked happy.
I did find the farm animals. This goat had an itch before it went to the fence to get acquainted with me.
And, of course, they had a store.
Lastly, I liked this weathered bench with a shirt thrown on it.
We were glad to get out and happy to be welcomed at this small herbal nursery.
We’ve been to the Crocker Art Museum many times so as I walked around I was looking for new art and maybe a new slant on things. I settled on shadows. Here are some art and shadows.
Some walls and indoor architecture were interesting also.
We are in the new building which is attached to the old building across the courtyard. This is their dining area. The cafe has been closed since the Pandemic.
The Antique Trove always has new items and booths to explore. I was attracted by the neon signs. Of course all of them were advertising beer.
Here are some other items I found interesting.
Where do you go when it rains and you want to take your camera out? We have more museums to explore in the greater Sacramento area. We do need some more rain to get us out of this drought, but maybe not those atmospheric rivers we had. If I had my way, it would rain at night and the sun would shine during the day!
I have a lot to look back at; but, at 79, I prefer to look forward! However, Sophia is challenging us to look back and see how things have changed. I remember having a party-line phone when I was a kid, and now I have a phone, small enough to hold in my hand and it’s all mine!
But getting back to photography, my New England trip showed me old architecture and new. Here in Boston one side of the street has old buildings and the other has new.
Sacramento also shows old and new. Here’s a building in Old Sacramento and another on Capitol Avenue near the State Capitol building.
Also in Sacramento I found old and new escape routes. Fire escapes (But, maybe not as I’m looking at them now. They may just be terraces, but we can pretend they are fire escapes!) and a stairwell. They used the Fire escapes instead of stairs and the stairwell instead of the elevators.
Now on to the Crocker Art Museum. The old home was gifted by the Crocker family to be used as an art museum. You are only seeing the outside, but the inside is beautiful. A new additional building was added on and is the main entrance. The two buildings are connected and can be accessed inside.
My last trip down memory lane and back is the Peanuts comic strip. During my recent visit to the Charles Schultz Museum in Santa Rosa I photographed a couple of Schultz’s early strips.
This is what the strip looks like today as Classic Peanuts after Charles Schultz’s passing.
Sophia, this was fun! Thanks for the journey. I am happier with my cell phone then a party line
We all enjoyed seeing your 2022 fabulous favorites last week. When you respond to this challenge, please remember to link to Sophia’s post and use the Lens Artists tag. I’ll be leading the Challenge next week so stay tuned!
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.Â
To be honest, 2022 wasn’t my favorite year. I spent most of it in the blahs with a few exceptions. Now John has tasked us with the challenge to pick our favorite images of what was my blah year! To do this, I decided to pick one favorite from each month.
January: Laura and I went to the Point Reyes National Seashore. The Tule Elk were out. What is this one trying to tell me?
February: An outing to Grass Valley in the Sierra Nevada Foothills yielded this pine cone in perfect light.
March: Ray and I made our yearly pilgrimage to Lincoln to photograph Great Egrets and Blue Herons nesting in three trees.
April: Again another yearly visit to Ananda Village and their Tulip Festival. It’s the same each year and it’s always beautiful.
May: My year can’t be complete without showing you a visit to the Sacramento Zoo. One of my favorites is the pelican who lives with the flamingos. He’s missing a wing and can’t fly. This time he was close.
June: Our yearly trip to the Land Park pond to photograph the Lotus wasn’t as spectacular as previous years, but you never give up.
July: My wanting to get Downtown Sacramento building images ended with me getting a flat tire and the AAA driver getting lost! But I was able to get a few photographs.
August: brought us down the the Amtrak station in Sacramento. I tried in-camera double exposures and got one fairly good shot.
September: Another annual event, Chalk It Up. This artist’s piece of Gene Wilder was amazing.
October: I finally had the opportunity to photograph outside of my local area. I joined friends on a New England cruise. Before the cruise we spent time in Virginia. Here’s an image from the Luray Caverns.
November: My photo buddies and I went to the California Museum. It’s a place I need to return to without my camera. I spent a lot of time photographing angles and lines.
December: We were staying with the grandkids in Reno, Nevada when a snow storm hit. This is a picture of the sun rising on the mountains with houses and Reno below.
So that was my year in pictures. Thank you John for helping me realize it wasn’t a blah year after all. I’m anxious to see all of your favorites. When you post please remember to link to John’s post and use the Lens Artists tag. Next week Sofia leads the challenge so look for her post.
 For more information on joining the challenge each week, check here.
Happy New Year everyone! Each year we wish that this brand new year brings health, happiness and prosperity. I’m wishing for good health. Health brings happiness and a prosperous attitude. Above all, let’s keep smiling through this year! Smiles are catching and have a healing quality.
We did a lot of smiling during our brief stay at Bodega Bay. On day two, we went to the beach. Again we had cloud cover with a hint of sunshine. Almost sounds like an ice cream sunday, doesn’t it. Yum!
Here are pictures from our beach visit. Here a seagull found its best photographic side.
Learning how to fish.
The beach.
Beach views from the top of the hill.
A colorful kite shop in town. I resisted buying the candy.
This was a great way to end 2022. What will 2023 bring us? I gave up predicting years ago. I also gave up making resolutions. I just try to be the best me that I can be.
Right now it’s still raining in the Sacramento area, and that is good even though some areas are flooding. Our lakes are filling up and we will probably get a good snow pack in the mountains that will give us water during the summer.
Take care everyone, and I wish you the best this year.
Slow Shutter Speed 