It’s so close to Thanksgiving here in the U. S., and it’s time to soul search and find what we are truly thankful for. I am truly thankful for the Yolo Arts & Ag Project. Each spring and summer the Project arranges for artists and photographers to visit farms and ranches in Yolo County. It’s refreshing for a suburbanite to get out into the country and experience amazing lifestyles. This outing was to Turkovich Family Wines in Winters.
The farms/ranches are open to artists/photographers twice a month for 4 hours in the morning. Sometimes we have full access and others limited access. Here we were able to ramble around the entire ranch. They had a small tasting room outside near the patio.
An artists sketches on the patio while the tasting station is being set up.
While roaming, I saw other artists busy creating. It’s interesting to watch them. Each has their own method of producing beautiful art.
I’m not sure what trees were on the property, but I did see nuts and fruits in the orchard.
And what would a winery be without grapes?
But there is work to be done.
I’m not sure what is in these containers. Grapes? Wine? I’m not sure of the process, and we are not to disturb the workers.
I just can’t close a farm visit without rust!
Thank you Yolo Arts & Ag! It was a great year of visits.
I’ve learned another thing about the way I take photographs, and thank you Patti for this challenge that gave me the lesson. I tend to photograph wide as in landscape or close as in close up or macro. In this week’s challenge, Patti wants us to focus on details, meaning getting closer or moving around our subject. It just so happens I already did that a few weeks ago.
My friends and I were roaming around the Yolo County countryside when I saw a complex that featured a rusted wheel sculpture in front of a nondescript building. You know I like rust. Since I was driving, I pulled in and announced I was getting out to photograph the rusted wheel.
My first mistake was not taking a full wide angle picture of the wheel. I just ran over and started photographing pieces and details, missing the image of the entire wheel. It’s amazing how excited I can get about rust, and isn’t that what Patti asked for? Here’s what I photographed, but unfortunately I can’t show you what the whole wheel looked like! I think you can tell from the first image.
As a bonus, when I looked inside the wheel, this is what I found.
So while a good image may bring in the details, I will remember to take a wide angle of the whole! Lesson learned. The building was a community center, complete with pool.
When you post your detailed images, be sure to link to Patti’s post and use the Lens-Artists tag. Silence was truly golden last week as we all replied to Egidio’s challenge. I loved the relaxation I received when viewing your posts. Next week Tina will be challenging us, so look for her post.
In the meantime, go wide, medium and close! We are always learning.
Does anyone remember HDR? It was all the rage 10 years ago. At least it was in Sacramento and Yolo Counties. That was also the time I started doing photography. So I learned how to bracket photos and and process them in Photomatix (The go to program of the day.) to get that painterly look. I’m sure Photomatix would have given me a less painterly look, but that was what we were looking for “in the day!”
I’m bringing this up because looking for balconies in my archives for PR’s Balconies challenge, I realized that most of my photos were HDR images. I also realized that the painterly look made them look soft, or it might have been my skill level at the time.
What fun I had reprocessing them, trying to get them to look less like a painting. Here’s the bunch I worked on. All of them were taken in small country towns. Wood structures with wood balconies. Today, I wouldn’t use HDR for these photos. However, Lightroom will process HDR images without the painterly look. I do like the “look” in the last photo.
I did find two images that I didn’t photograph in HDR. The one on the left is our California Governor’s Mansion. I had an opportunity to tour it when they were restoring the home.
Here’s a blurb on the residence from Wikipedia: The California Governor’s Mansion is the official residence of the governor of California, located in Sacramento, the capital of California. Built in 1877, the estate was purchased by the Californian government in 1903 and has served as the executive residence for 14 governors. The mansion was occupied by governors between 1903–1967 and 2015–2019. Since 1967, the mansion has been managed by California State Parks as the Governor’s Mansion State Historic Park.
The house on the right was a house I liked because of the way it was framed and the green trim.
So these are the balconies from the first two years of my photography education. As far as HDR, it’s still useful. I used it when I shot Real Estate photos. I didn’t have any light systems, so I used HDR. I would go in a dark closet, take my three frames, process it in Lightroom and end up with a lighted closet.
Thanks PR for taking me back to the fad of the day when I started photography. When you respond to this fun challenge, please remember to link to her post and use the Lens-Artists tag. And didn’t everyone have fun pairing photos in response to Elizabeth’s Challenge. I was amazed at the varied interpretations that were presented.
And thank you to our three guest hosts: Leanne, PR and Elizabeth. The Lens Artists team will be back next week with Patti presenting the challenge. Be sure to look for her post.
When you’re a suburbanite, driving on various country roads that are labeled County Road __ or __, can be confusing. And you can never count on your GPS to get you there. That’s why I appreciate directions given by the organizers of the Yolo Arts & Ag visits! The visit to the Pollock Farm in Woodland was no exception.
Fortunately, we only had one wrong turn. This farm is 137 acres of olive trees. The owners Lynnel and Herb Pollock have left the original structures dating from 1861 – 1872 to decay at their own pace, giving photographers and artists a wonderful opportunity to capture those times. They live on the property in a 1950s house.
Here’s a glimpse of what we saw.
An artist chatting with a photographer.
I love how carefully the wood is chopped and stored in this last photo. Might we expect a cold winter? That would be great!
It’s been three years since we went searching for sunflower fields. The pandemic shut us down in 2020 and it has taken us that long to go scouting. By scouting, I mean getting in the car and heading out to the countryside of Yolo County. After getting lost on various County numbered roads, we did find two or three fields.
One had a beekeepers boxes on the side of the field. Since we were respectful of the owners private property, we did not walk into the fields. We stood on the side and used our long lenses. We also took advantage of flowers in the front of the field. Because of this, the bees didn’t bother us.
Here is a sample of our Sunny bounty. Sunflowers help me smile. They are happy flowers!
I was out lensed as usual. Laura and I went for a tour around the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area before it got too hot for us and the birds. Laura is a great nature photographer and uses a zoom that extends to 600 mm lens. I use my trusty 300 mm lens. You can understand what I mean by out lensed! But, we have great fun and lots of laughs. I’m happy when a bird is spotted close enough for me to get a good picture.
This big bird did get close enough; almost too close. We couldn’t figure out what he was doing since he wasn’t spraying crops. I just kept thinking of Sesame Street’s Big Bird. That’s what happens when you’ve raised kids!
This Great Blue Heron was just about close enough for me. He was still and watching his prey.
If you’re dreaming of a wedding set in the country, Pheasant Trek at Dunnigan Hills may be the place for you. A working ranch of olive groves and vineyards, Pheasant Trek, in Yolo County, mostly bills itself as a wedding and event destination. We were invited there through the Yolo Arts and Ag Project.
On the way there we stopped to catch this scene and more.
The actual ranch consisted of buildings, a barn, a water tower converted into a bridal dressing room, an enclosure for a cow and two donkeys. Here are some of the buildings seen from the central part of the ranch.
Here are the animals.
I walked around to the back of the ranch and found these.
Yes, I was a little disappointed, but there was enough to photograph and keep me busy. I’m wondering what Yolo Arts and Ag has in store for us in July? Really, I’m very appreciative that we are allowed to photograph in these venues.
There are challenges and there are challenges! This post is late because we need to drive up to Reno last night to help my son who is sick. At 12 pm EST today we were in emergency with him. He will be okay. So let’s get on with my original post and see some local vistas. Thank you for your patience.
Sometimes you need a nudge to realize what’s going on around you. For me that nudge was photography. Before I found this passion, I really wasn’t paying much attention to what the greater Sacramento area had to offer. I was busy caregiving to my mom, being daytime guardian for my older grandkids, running a part-time business and helping in the family business when needed.
But wonderful grandkids grow up, my mom passed away and eventually, I shut down my business. I had a void to fill, and I chose to fill it with photography. And how lucky I am to live in the Sacramento area. There is so much to see, so much to enjoy and so much to photograph.
Here are some of our local Sacramento Vistas
You know how much I enjoy the Sacramento Zoo. It’s going to be moving a little further away, but still in Sacramento County. The cheetah is enjoying his bone and the Wolf’s Gueron is snacking away too.
We have two rivers for our enjoyment. Old Sacramento sits on the Sacramento River. It’s a great place for tourists, families and is home to the Sacramento Railroad Museum. First is a view of the waterfront from the iconic Tower Bridge and then a sunset image of the Tower Bridge.
Not far from Old Sacramento is the Capitol Mall. I think we have a most beautiful capitol building and its grounds include the World Peace Garden. Here is a picture of the Capitol dome on a full moon night.
Moving into Sacramento City, each year we host Wide Open Walls. Artists come from all over to paint bright and beautiful murals on our buildings’ walls. This is a yearly festival, and most building owners keep the murals up. Some are fading already. This one touched my heart last year. It will always be a reminder of the pandemic and its heroes.
Discovery Park is close by and is part of the American River Parkway (A trail that is 32 miles along the American River.) The trail is for bicyclists and runners. It has picnic facilities. The golden hour adds to its beauty.
Let’s move further down the trail to the Effie Yeaw Nature Center which is part of a “100-acre nature preserve with riparian and oak woodlands, shrub lands, meadows, and aquatic habitats.” There we find deer, turkeys, coyotes, raptors, snakes, etc. Here is one of the inhabitants we come upon most of the time.
I can’t end this post without showing you our sister county, Yolo. We leave our suburbs and in just a few minutes we’re in Yolo County or should I say “country!” Here is where we go to photograph our rural scenes and sunflowers.
And we just have to go over the Tower bridge to the Vic Fazio Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area to find wildlife.
Now you can see why I love living here. But I bet you love your area too. What are your local vistas? Where do you photograph when you don’t have a lot of time or are not on vacation? What about your hometown excites you? Is it the countryside, city, gardens, amusement venues? This week, tell us about and show us your local vistas.
Remember to link to this post as you share your local vistas and use the Lens-Artists tag. Last week we all had fun with Sofia’s Minimalism/Maximalism challenge. So many interpretations and creativity came from all of you. Next week our guest host Sylvia Bacon will present a great challenge so stay tuned!
October 28! We had to get to the Gibson House in Woodland before Halloween. Why? We raced against time because the historic home was decorated for the holiday and on November 1, the decorations would be taken down.
I had never heard of the Gibson House and wanted to see it decorated. So, Marlene, Diane and I went off to photograph it. The house is on the National Registry of Historic Places, is a Yolo County Park and is operated by the Yolo County Historical Museum. The house and grounds were restored by the county and is now a hub for regional art displays, programs and more.
The outside of the house.
The inside was furnished to represent what it might have looked like when the Gibson family owned it. Of course there were a few visitors on display too. We were not allowed to go upstairs.
The blacksmith shop was closed, but the barn had been turned into an art gallery. The museum reaches out to area students for participation. They painted this mural.
We also found a beautiful old, rusty tractor.
This ended our trip to the Gibson House which is a treasure in Woodland. Maybe they will decorate it again for Halloween!
I love suburbia with all its conveniences, but I also like to visit the forests, beaches and country sides. The Yolo Arts & Ag program allows me to take my camera onto ranches, orchards and farms that open their facilities to artists and photographers for two half days a month. It’s a great opportunity for us to wander in and out of barns, see old machinery and have a glimpse of a life we don’t live.
The Hungry Hallow Ranch in Capay was a large facility that gave us access to the entire property. But when we entered, we mostly saw machinery in barns, old vehicles, young olive trees and hay bales. Marlene, Ray and I said that there was nothing new here. Richard was excited saying that this is what he loved to photograph.
I think Richard was right. I did find a lot to photograph and learned a lesson. Don’t judge a photography shoot by first glance. I made the most of our morning. I took close ups of machinery.
Then there was an artist painting.. There were many, but I liked this shot the most.
And the olive orchard. You can see that the trees were young.
And the barns.
I also found a grape vine or two, a wood pile large enough to cover the side of a barn and an awesome tree.
It ended up being a fun morning of discoveries. And lunch was at our favorite Road Trip Bar and Grill in Capay.
Slow Shutter Speed 