Nimbus Flat

Found a hidden Photographer's gem today. 

  

It also had some cool structures. If you want to see more, check out my Flickr.com photostream!

Grass Meets Metal

Brought my IPhone with me today on a walk with the dogs. I saw this at a nearby school, and I thought it was interesting. Almost like an invasion of metal on an otherwise serene carpet of grass:

© 2011 Gryffngurl

A Gloaming

Vignette

A Fence

Ode to Robot Boy

Technically, I wasn't using my cell phone. It was off until my photographer's muse visited me during my eye doctor's visit today. If you want to see more of those pictures, visit my Flickr.com photostream. It was a fun shoot...until my eyes became completely dilated. 

 

Blur #2

My son is currently intrigued with the idea of being the fastest. I snapped a photo of him running today and he became obsessed with me taking more pictures of him "running superfast". Unfortunately, only one came out. Hmm, maybe he really is superhumanly fast...

Today's Abstract

All About the Lake

I made a second attempt (albeit half-hearted) at a sunrise picture. Well, I missed the sunrise. However, I did find a great place to take pictures at a nearby marina. Not wanting to pay the park fee, I took a $10 hike* down to the dock with my gear. It was a fabulous morning for pictures, don'tcha think?

* I call my hike down to the dock a $10 hike because if I had parked in the marina, it would have cost me $10 for the day's use. Well, I wasn't going to use the marina - I don't have a boat, and I wasn't going sailing...heck, I can't even swim. So I parked, instead on a street and hiked down to the water. Later, I used the $10 to buy fresh strawberries. It was a good morning.

Abstracts

Met a friend at a local park today. Our kids had a playdate. We met about mid-morning, which is the perfect time to capture really cool shadows. It got hot pretty quickly though...

Bokeh

I learned a new word last night.

According to Wikipedia: bokeh ( /ˈboʊkə/ boh-kə,^[1] Japanese: [boke]) is the blur,^[2][3] or the aesthetic quality of the blur,^[4][5][6] in out-of-focus areas of an image, or "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light."^[7] Differences in lens aberrations and aperture shape cause some lensdesigns to blur the image in a way that is pleasing to the eye, while others produce blurring that is unpleasant or distracting—"good" and "bad" bokeh, respectively.^[2] Bokeh occurs for parts of the scene that lie outside the depth of field. Photographers sometimes deliberately use ashallow focus technique to create images with prominent out-of-focus regions.

Bokeh is often most visible around small background highlights, such as specular reflections and light sources, which is why it is often associated with such areas.^[2] However, bokeh is not limited to highlights; blur occurs in all out-of-focus regions of the image.

It seems that I enjoy taking photos with bokeh. I will share a few of them with you today. Hopefully, you will agree that they are good examples (and not bad). Enjoy!

Japanese Maple

Fun at the Fair

I took the kids to the State Fair today.

We all went on the Ferris Wheel. 

Whew, that ride is high...

Vintaged Cherries

Playin' Hooky

I took a little detour when I went grocery shopping today. I headed up the hill:

Silver Lining

I was so prepared this morning. When my alarm went off at 4:45, I jumped out of bed and prepared my coffee while I got dressed in layers. I had already loaded my tripod in my car, so all I had to pack was my camera bag, purse (which I threw into the trunk), and coffee. I got to my destination in plenty of time to scout out a perfect spot to shoot the sunset. I set my bag down, assembled my tripod, attached my remote release to my camera, checked my compass to make sure it was facing East. 5:47 - I was ready. 

Nine more minutes, then five, then one. I waited until 6:00. When it became clear that the clouds were preventing the sun from making its promised appearance, I got into my car. I was determined to get a picture. Of what, I was not sure, but I figured if I kept traveling East, I would find something. 

I drove a few minutes more into the fog. As I drove into a curve, I saw clouds with their edges lit up by the morning sun. A beautiful sight, and no where near a turn-off - GAH! I kept driving and saw another. I decided to turn back around and see if I could find a place to park. I got onto the off ramp and made a left. I continued up a hill and noticed that the sun was peeking in and out of some clouds behind some trees. The best part - the view could be captured from a parking lot. This, I did. I jumped out with my camera, ran down the driveway and took a shot. Overexposed! I quickly increased my shutter speed. Still overexposed! I ran back to my car (why did I park so far?!) pulled out my tripod and ran back to the spot. I quickly reassembled my tripod and positioned my camera to where I thought the sun would reappear. I waited. Again I was disappointed. I waited 10 more grueling minutes and accepted that the clouds were too thick for the sun to reappear for me. I got back into my car and drove, this time continuing on the road that I turned from. I wound up driving on a bridge. Hey, I like bridges, so I found a spot to park and again, got out of my car. This time, I hesitated - tripod or no tripod. Realizing quickly that I just drove out of the fog and that the sun was shining brightly, I decided against bringing out my tripod. The bridge I found was the Weber Bridge. 

Content with this photo opportunity, I went home. 

Later in the afternoon (after a nap and quick house cleaning), I uploaded my pictures. To my surprise, the sun made an impression on two of my overexposed pictures. I processed these two pictures in Photomatix and this is what I came up with:

My consolation picture didn't come out so bad either:

A View

Shooting from the Hip

Went to the Folsom Thursday Night Market this afternoon. I went too early for the sunset - boo for me. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to see what I would capture if I literally shot from the hip. This is one of the photos my camera took: 

Beach Day Extended

A promise is a promise...

When we left the beach we found yesterday, my kids made me promise that I would take them there again today. The morning skies threatened rain, so the munchkins opted to stay home instead. However, the sun greeted us again after lunch, so I had to keep my promise. 

This is my favorite picture from today. 

Exploration Day

After a full morning of exploration, my kids and I found a new beach. 

Captured this at a Flower Garden in a nearby town today. It's hard to tell that just behind the bench is a semi-busy street.

The Sunday Comics

I loved reading the Sunday comics when I was a kid. I almost forgot about them until I picked up the Sunday paper. My husband offered them to my daughter, who initially wasn't interested. Look what I captured this afternoon:

Nevada City

I took an excursion to Nevada City this morning. I couldn't have asked for better weather. I have a lot more pictures. Check out my photostream at flickr.com and see what other things I am seeing through my lens...

Run Doggy Run

 

Not my best work, I know, but sometimes being a dog mommy doesn't coincide with taking good pictures...

Of S'Mores and a Cute Dog

We may not a be a camping family but who can say no to a S'More? I grilled Rosemary Ranch Chicken Kabobs for dinner this evening. After we ate, the coals were still hot enough to toast marshmallows, so I treated my family to some S'mores:

And here is a picture of Lucy. It's easier to take pictures of her than the Blur. 

My Morning Exploration

Our last day of vacation. I claimed the morning for ME and I went exploring, my favorite thing to do. I head out to Columbia State Park. On the way, I noticed a turnoff to the Mark Twain Bret Harte Trail. I didn't do the trail, but I did take these pictures. Jealous?

© 2011 Gryffngurl

 © 2011 Gryffngurl

© 2011 Gryffngurl

Historic Angels Camp

Trading Post. I don't remember much about it, but I like the picture.  

A photo taken from behind a residence on Finnegan Street of Angels Creek. This is one that I am particularly proud of because I finally figured out how to use the shutter to create movement in my snapshots. Yay for persistence!

Stairs to Circus Hill. not too exciting but I liked the photo opportunity. 

Chicken ladder, built to facilitate movement up and down Hardscrabble Street, by homeowners who lived on the severely sloped and very narrow street. I climbed it and it wasn't so bad; however, I wasn't carrying groceries or a 20 pound baby...

Mercantile Store. Reported to be the oldest building in town. It survived all three fires in the city. 

Congregational Church

That's a BIG flake

s

I visited the Ironstone Vineyards today and saw this, the largest crystalline gold specimen in the world.

Those are some BIG Trees

Daytrip to California Big Trees State Park today:

Fireworks

Forgot my tripod and the Remote Shutter Release I ordered didn't arrive in time. GAH! I made the most of it...enjoy my first attempt at night pictures: