Northern California

What’s happening on the farm?

Started this post about a month ago. I’m just now catching up.

Three weeks after spine surgery, and I am out with my friends and my camera. For California we are having a wet winter/spring. Hopefully, this will quell the noise of a drought during the summer. Our group has to be flexible because each day brings a chance of rain.

I brought my Fuji x100f which is a light mirrorless single focus camera. My first outing was to two farms in Woodland, Ca. Yolo County farms provide a time once a month where photographers and artists are invited to visit. This time our invite was to Valley Oak Wool Mill and Fate Sole Olive Oil Orchard.

Came a bit late for the full tour of the Valley Oak Wool and Fiber mill in Woodland, Ca.

Walked around to another farm that produces olive oil.

Frate Sole Olive Oil tasting room

Friendly dog welcoming our arrival

Yolo County Art & Ag monthly invites artists, and photographers to enjoy the scenery and get to know a bit more about their local working farms.

Painter capturing the olive orchard

We stopped for lunch in the city of Woodland for some Thai food at Bangkok Cuisine.

Loved the old signage along Main Street


Fixing musical instrument in Woodland, Ca


Spring is here and I have been out taking many photographs to share in the upcoming posts. Stay tuned!

Quick Get-Away to the Coast

A four day weekend presented itself last week, and my husband suggested a trip to the coast. Libby visited her friends at Carly’s, Alyssa went to her Mom’s and we were left to decide where to go.

Pacific Grove was fully booked, so I looked to Half Moon Bay and booked our accommodations. I last visited Half Moon Bay (HMB) 20 years ago. There we celebrated Joshua and Annie’s wedding on the beach. And exactly 20 years ago we also celebrated my Dad’s 80th birthday. With those two celebrations I did not visit the surrounding area so this would be a new adventure.

Got an early start, and stopped for breakfast in Davis. Solomon’s Deli beckoned us.

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Travel should take about two hours, but unfortunately this was Fleet Week and traffic was tough getting through San Francisco. No problem. David brought along cds of rare Doo-Wops, and we only had to figure out what lane to stay in to pay cash on the Bay Bridge. Seems like other travelers were having the same problem with lane switching going on. We let this stranded car ahead of us, and when we got to to toll we were told the driver had paid for us. Nice!

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Bored with traffic delays so I got out my camera and had some fun with my camera. At home I played around just a bit with Luminar 2018.

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Yerba Buena Island Tunnel

Montara State Beach was the first beach we stopped at.

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Found this rock left in memory

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Single perfect California Poppy

Arriving in HMB we found our hotel, and with nice weather, a balcony overlooking the golf course I sat outside and read.  Currently I am reading Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver. Her words hit the paper beautifully. Drawn in slowly. Hints of a more powerful meaning are quietly dropped. I’m taking my time reading this novel.

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View from our balcony

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A swing and a hit

Explored the Main Street checking out the shops. Used my Fuji x100F for the street shots.

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Main Street in historic Half Moon Bay

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Since 1898. Imagine!

It is obvious that this town is gearing up for the big Pumpkin Festival happening next weekend. Glad we decided to beat the crowds. Plenty of orange happening.

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Sam’s Chowder House was our dining destination. Ordered New England Chowder, and a Lobster Roll to share. Added a glass of wine and Key Lime Pie for dessert. So good!

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Such a great day on the coast. Part 2 – coming soon! Tomorrow I’m off with my friends and camera.

 

Determined to keep on enjoying my photography

The hot summer weather puts a crimp in my outdoor exploration. Sacramento has been hot, and dry with little humidity.

My group of fellow photogs are having a hard time coming up with new places to explore. Sometimes it is good to go back to the same place because after I review my work I come up with new ideas to get a better capture. Sometimes I enter the venue with a different perspective. And sometime, I use a different lens or in this case a new camera.

So to keep on learning, lightening my camera load, and getting ready for future adventures I recently switched to the Fuji X system. Now I need to get out in different circumstances and take more photographs. The only way to get to know the camera is to get out and take pictures.

A familiar destination is Old Sacramento. For the locals we call it Old Sac. There we hoped to practice some street photography. With expected high temperature we arrived early just to find the town pretty empty. Because this was the day after Labor Day many shops were closed. With new camera in hand my spirits were lifted just being out and about with good company.

Candy Heaven, located right near the parking garage on Front Street, always welcomes customers and photographers. And I even can grab a salt water taffy.

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Smiley Faces available at Candy Heaven

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Another candy shop invites temptation. Not this time.

The Delta King brought me to the dock where I looked for a new shot.

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In my next few shots I tried to capture a story in my street images. I also experimented with a new plug-in Luminar 2018 for post processing.

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Outside the Railroad Terminal.

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Not racing the trains, this time!

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So in love…

So far I am very pleased with my new photographic tools! Ready for another day out with my friends and camera!