Salmon life cycle – Slow Shutter Speed

For her first challenge as an LAPC Team member, Donna Holland of Wind Kisses has chosen the topic of Messages. I am challenged with this challenge!! When I photograph and later look at my images my messages are in the form of feelings. So I’m hoping my feelings will turn into messages for you.

My first visit is to the Sacramento Historical City Cemetery. This is a very old cemetery, full of history and simply beautiful. When I bring my camera to this cemetery, I’m overwhelmed with sadness and peace. There are family plots containing large and beautifully engraved monuments and/ or statues, and then there is the simple statement of great loss like this one grave marker. I guess the message is to live your life in gratitude.

The cemetery’s beauty is given to us by wonderful volunteers who plant flowers to bring joy for those of us who visit. There are roses, poppies, bushes and other beautiful florals. This rose had a guest and I just couldn’t resist taking its picture. The feeling is joy and the message might be any shelter is a good shelter!

On the topic of flowers, sunflowers always help me smile and feel great. I guess the message I get is “Don’t worry be happy!”

Typically, after we photograph our sunflowers, we go over to Mezger Zinnia patch in Woodland where the family plants flowers each year and encourages people to pick them and give them to someone who cannot come and pick the flowers themselves. They even provide vases. Typically, people will pick two bouquets; one for themselves and another for someone else. What does charity feel like. To me it feels like hope. The message I think is that people do care about each other.

Keeping with the yearly theme, Wide Open Walls happens once a year in Sacramento. In 2020 we found a very special mural dedicated to Ruth Bader Ginsberg shortly after her death. This mural symbolizes her determination to do the right thing while she sat on the Supreme Court. Seeing this mural filled me with pride as a woman. I guess the message is “Yes you can!”

Another image of determination is from the Nimbus Fish Hatchery. Each year salmon swim upstream to lay their eggs. Following their instincts, they do this facing certain death. I’m amazed at nature’s plan for survival. I would call that courage. I’m not sure what message it sends except that you need to do what your instincts tell you to do.

I’ll close with an image from the annual Chalk It Up Festival in Sacramento. Artists from all over gather and create their art with chalk. This art is beautiful, but it can’t last long. After the weekend festival, people will walk on it and sprinklers will spray water on their beauty. Why do the artists put all that effort into it? Do they get pleasure from seeing the enjoyment people get from their effort. I feel grateful that I get a chance to see their art. Maybe the message is to create joy for others.

Thanks Donna for this soul searching topic. At least it was for me. When you post your messages, be sure to link to Donna’s wonderful post. I know she, and the entire team, will want to see all your replies. Oh, be sure to use the Lens Artists tag. Next week it’s Patti’s turn to challenge us and she’s giving us a hint on her theme: Shadows & Reflections in Monochrome.

If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.

I’m still amazed by my recent visit to the Nimbus Fish Hatchery. Salmon work hard to complete their journey and spawn. The hatchery plays an important role in insuring the salmon life cycle.

Here’s what Wikipedia says: From November through March river water flows down the fish ladder to encourage fish to enter and climb the steps to the hatchery. The gate at the foot of the ladder is closed when the holding pool at the top is full in order to prevent overcrowding. Ripe (ready to spawn) fish are brought from this holding pool into the hatchery spawning deck, where workers collect eggs from the females and milt from the males. Fertilized eggs are placed in hatching jars, with river water upwelling from the bottom to simulate natural conditions. When the eggs are ready to hatch the jars are tipped into large tubs where the baby fish (alevin) will remain while they absorb their yolk sacs and become free-swimming. They are then moved outside to raceway pools where they are feed multiple times a day and grow rapidly. Once the fish are ready to begin their outmigration to the ocean, at 60 fish to the pound for salmon and 4 fish to the pound for steelhead trout, they are loaded into tanker trucks and transported to the river for release. From here they make their way downstream and eventually journey out to sea.^[7]

The salmon work hard, jumping to get out of the holding tank. Taking their picture was also difficult. At first I tried to follow a possible jumper. That didn’t work. Then I tried zone focusing, which worked better. I was shooting at a shutter speed of 1/160, but still some of the fish were not in focus. My other problem was a slow reaction time. Sometimes I didn’t push the shutter down fast enough. They jump so fast, water splashing all over the place, and some jumping around the one I had in sight. I did get enough though.

My lesson for the day: patience. I just stood there, camera aimed and waited. I know, that’s not me, but I did it!

At certain intervals, the salmon are pushed into the building where their eggs are collected. I was about to shoot the last fish being gutted when a worker stepped in front of my camera. All I have is a shot of them cleaning the table.

We were fortunate enough to have a Ranger show us a female that still had some eggs in her.

So, take a look at my adventure.