Fun With A Camera

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve been to the American River to work on that other project of mine.  With a weekend relatively free of scheduled activities, I decided to head there this weekend, and with my younger son due to get up at 4:30 to head to school for an academic competition, I decided to get up at the same time and catch the sunrise somewhere along the American River.

I was going to head here.  It’s a spot just east of Sac State, right under the Howe Avenue Bridge.  I thought it would be a good place to get the sunrise reflecting off the river with little impact from the modern world.  No bridges, buildings, or much of anything other than the the sky, the water and the opposite riverbank.

I mentioned my plans to a colleague, who lives much closer to the river than I do.  He suggested instead a bluff on the northwestern edge of Lake Nimbus, suggesting that it provided quite a view.

 

I decided to follow his advice and being the whacko I am, I got there an hour before sunrise was due to arrive.  I didn’t want to miss it, you know.  Besides, any good sunrise lasts for quite awhile.  It’s beauty doesn’t hit at the designated moment, but instead, develops over time.

When I got there it was dark.  Lights from Folsom twinkled on the other side of the lake.  I tried to take some pictures of them.  Not very successfully.  Here’s the first one.  

It’s one of those things I have yet to figure out — the best way to take pictures when it is dark.  Of course, it would help if I had a tripod.  But I don’t.  I kept trying, resting the camera on my car, but when the shutter remains open for a second or two, it’s pretty hard to get the picture right.

I had a brainstorm while I struggled away with what to do until the sun began to cast its light on the world.

 

 

 

 

 

And ta-da, the moon.  This is what happens when it’s 6:30 in morning and I’m sleep deprived.

The first picture in this post?  The one where I originally planned on going was also taken this morning, about an hour after sunrise.  And for those too lazy to click over to my other blog, this is what I was looking for…

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An Accidental Picture

Sometimes, the accidents prove to the best pictures.  Yesterday, as I wandered the river for my new blog project, I found a spot where I could sit right at the river’s edge.  It’s where I took the picture I posted yesterday.  I sat there and looked out over the river and down the bank and at the water closer to me.  There was something moving.  It looked like there was a little bit of white sticking out of the water and some white under the surface.  From my angle, it looked like some kind of white worm, something I had never seen before.  And it was moving with what seemed like intent and purpose.  I watched for a few seconds and then stood up to take a picture of it.  Here it is.  A feather.

 

A Moment

Back in the old days, before digital cameras, it was difficult to take pictures when the sun is in front of you instead of behind you.  I’m sure there was a way, but that would probably involve way more about f-stops and apertures and shutter speeds and god knows what else than I ever wanted to learn.  When I was a kid, I remember my parents telling me that the sun had to be at your back to take good pictures.

Apparently, that principle doesn’t apply to this new-fangled technology called digital photography.  Yes, this has become one of my favorite kinds of picture to take.  What do you think?

I took this picture today while walking along the American River in the William Pond Recreation Area.  It is one of many parks that provide access to the river along the American River Parkway, which is an incredible natural setting that winds its way through the urban heart of Sacramento and its suburbs.

A Mendocino Moment

From the Garden

Plant cloves in September.  Wait.  Wait some more.  Pull in May or June.  Seems like the time…