WPA Rock Garden – Slow Shutter Speed

Posted on June 18, 2019 by Anne Sandler · 16 Comments

Happy Birthday to me! WPA Rock Garden, Sacramento

I remember my Mom was excited to reach her 65th birthday because she thought she’d not make it. I don’t know why, but when that day came, I made her a nice party. She lived to make it to her 87th birthday. So here I am doing this post on my 76th birthday.

It’s fitting that this is on the WPA Rock Garden, in Sacramento, because I do love shooting macro. And, I’m happy that I can still bend down and get up to take a picture of a tiny flower or bug. However, age does have its restrictions like no more hiking up mountains, etc. Carrying heavy equipment is difficult too. I often say that I started photography 20 years too late!

I got my first camera, Nikon d3100, in June of 2012, didn’t know what ISO was, didn’t understand the exposure triangle and shot on auto and JPEG for a while. This journey has been fantastic. I’ve learned a great deal and my photography has progressed.

I recently looked through the photo book I made about our cross-country trip in 2013. After looking at the photos, I told Richard we needed to go again because I can take better pictures now! He refused!! However, they are good enough to jog a memory.

So here I am, 76 and loving it. My chosen hobby fills my soul and writing for my community’s monthly newsletter keeps me in touch with my original passion.

Enjoy the macros and close up images from the Rock Garden.

Posted on April 2, 2018April 2, 2018 by Anne Sandler · 6 Comments

Comfort food needed: Sacramento Zoo & WPA Rock Garden

I’m still not moved. I’m still frustrated. I need comfort food. I went to the Sacramento Zoo. I love that place and haven’t been there since January. You never know what the animals will be doing.

One of the snow leopards was pacing in the enclosure, the mighty lions were asleep on top of their new platforms, the wood ducks were hiding, the new flamingo babies were finally placed with the grown ups, the orangutans were hiding, the wolf guenon exhibit and tiger exhibits were closed, the red river hog babies are almost full grown and the wallabies were finally letting me take good pictures. A gal can miss a lot in a few months!

Yes, the animals put me in a better mood, so did one young lady destined for stardom. I took her picture with her mom’s permission.

After the zoo, we went to shoot at the WPA Rock Garden for a few minutes. It was great to get out with my camera and away from the move.

A crested screamer sitting on her nest.

I don’t know what kind of duck this is, but it posed nicely!

Baby flamingo in the large enclosure.

Baby showing off.

Oh my, shedding his beak–normal, but not happy.

Baby blowing bubbles.

Red Panda got up from his nap, but briefly.

The Wallaby.

Eye on the Snow Leopard.

It was a difficult morning for this tiger.

This young girl had it all together!

Now at the WPA Rock Garden.

The sun was high in the sky.

Made shooting a little difficult.

But, you work with what you have.

Posted on September 18, 2017September 18, 2017 by Anne Sandler · 2 Comments

Finally got it!: WPA Rock Garden, Sacramento

I am tenacious and never give up. I went back to the WPA Rock Garden in William Land Park, Sacramento with my macro lens for more practice. Finally, I now understand my lens and how to shoot macro.

This was my second time shooting there, and there were new flowers and small critters to find. The first time, I learned that I needed a higher ISO to get a faster shutter speed to capture the close up detail. This time I learned that I also needed to narrow my aperture (use a higher F stop) to get less of a shallow depth of field.

Now I’m ready to go back just to enjoy the shoot. Tenacity is a great trait, but offers little relaxation.

I also experimented with what else I could shoot with my 105 Macro Lens. Enjoy the pictures! (Captions not necessary!)

Posted on July 29, 2017 by Anne Sandler · 4 Comments

Macro time: WPA Rock Garden, William Land Park, Sacramento

If it weren’t for a friend’s gentle push, I would have gone back to the car and swapped out my macro lens for my walk around lens. I’m so glad she persuaded me to use the macro. It’s a great lens: 105 mm, 2.8, Sigma; and I hardly use it because there’s always a slight breeze.

Karen taught me to increase my ISO so I could shoot at a faster shutter speed, and I got amazing results. I’ll be using that lens more because I do love macro photography. Although the WPA Rock Garden is a small area, we were shooting for about 2 hours!

This was my last time out shooting because we needed to prepare for our trip to Glacier National Park. Right now I’m exhausted. We packed the trailer today, except for refrigerated food in triple digits. I did try to do a lot during the morning. This is our first vacation since our 2013 cross country trip. We’re also going to be in Idaho for the solar eclipse, and in a great vantage spot. We’ll be attaching my D3100 to a small telescope, so wish me luck. I have a couple of days to practice. Richard will be using his sun scope to capture images.

After that, we’ll head into Oregon to visit my older granddaughter. I’m so looking forward to this trip. And, yes, I’m bringing my macro lens with me.

Images from the WPA Rock Garden.