Photography Tips and Lessons Learned

 

I found a fun little linky party at thirtyhandmadedays.com today. At this point its little but I hope it gets BIG! I need all the photography tips I can get!
I have a wonderful Canon DSLR camera ~ an EOS xs Rebel, the reiews said it was geared toward the beginner set. I bought it used online and my favorite boyfriend in the world got me a 55-250 lens for it. Love <3<3<3! For a long time I used the auto settings.....not the green auto box but the ones for portrait, landscape, micro, etc. I had absolutely no idea how to manually adjust my settings. Then I started paying attention to all of the photography pins on Pinterest. Lifesaver, let me tell you! Here is my go to-

KevinandAmanda.com

I go to Kevinandamanda.com when I just want to be told what settings I want. Its great, lol! I have other tutorials posted on my Pinterest board which are just as awesome and have taught me a lot but Kevin and Amanda is the ultimate cheat sheet for me. The only caveat is that I now want a new camera and lens. My aperature just doesn't go low enough. Humph.

Here are some photos I was having fun with using my manual setting. Oh, yes, manual.

See the white things in the background? Those are the supports for baby trees. A bunch of farmland is being converted to orchards, I'd heard that they are almond orchards. Yay!!!!! I will be torturing you all with almond blossoms when those babies begin blooming.




New orchard

You've heard the saying "cant see the forest for the trees"? Well, I'm opposite. I walked right past this baby for months, never realizing that it is an old olive tree. There was so much overgrown landscaping that I. Just. Never. Noticed. Weird because I love olive trees.



Olive tree

Olive tree

 

I finally got out here with my camera to shoot during the evening "golden hour".



Olive tree



Olive tree

 

Olive tree

I love playing with what I have learned! Now if I could just figure out ideal staging for my stuff. I need to paint a wall white. Or something. IDK, what do you all do?

The Most Beautiful Winery and The Chris Gardner Band

Eek! I haven't made it a single day this week without going "over the hill". Over the hill is from Los Banos, where I live, to San Jose and its neighbors to the south. The drive is always an hour minimum each way. Thursday was going to be my one day home ... until my friend called me and said " Hey, do you want to see The Chris Gardner band play at Clos La Chance winery tonight?". Ummmmm, YES!
Clos La Chance is a beeee - yuuuu - tiful winery in San Martin, California, sharing space with CordeValle golf course. The golf course is like Pebble Beach without the ocean view or tourists. Amazingly beautiful place. The winery definitely has a European flavor to it. The decor is very Italian (in the way that Californians think Italian ought to look) but the landscape looks just like southern France.

Clos La Chance Winery

Clos La Chance Winery

Clos La Chance Winery

Clos La Chance Winery

Clos La Chance Winery

Clos La Chance Winery

Clos La Chance Winery

Clos La Chance Winery

Clos La Chance Winery

Clos La Chance Winery

Oh, and here is the reason we were there in the first place. The Chris Gardner Band! They are very good and oh ~ so ~ cute!

The Chris Gardner Band

Can you even BELIEVE that back view? Yes, the winery has weddings here. Can you imagine . . . . . .

The Chris Gardner Band

Egrets, Geese and Pelicans, Oh My!

I got a new telephoto lens for my birthday back in June and I have been using this thing left and right. Over the weekend I threw a birthday party for my kids at a lake and FINALLY got to shoot waterfowl with my new lens. It performed just as I'd hoped and I got the photos that I have been dying to get, yay!
I have never seen pelicans at this lake before so this was a very pleasant surprise to me. I also saw plenty of great egrets and snowy egrets. Also white and canadian geese. Oh, and lots of gulls. We were happy that the gulls stayed on the other side of the lake and didn't poop on us.

Here is a brown pelican. He was cool, flying a lot and diving for fish.

Brown pelican

Brown pelican  

Brown pelican

These adorable white geese stuck together everywhere.

White geese

White geese

And, here is my great egret! A golden slipper to boot. Isn't he graceful and so beautiful?

Great egret

Great egret

I really love the reflection of the bird on the water . . . . .

Great egret

I will have to hit our wetlands here in town, I would love to photograph some bald eagles and white american pelicans too.

Picmonkey Photos

Oh my gosh, I am loving the new Picmonkey!!! I've been playing with a few photos and trying out all of the different effects. Here are a few before and afters.

Abandoned house 

Abandoned house

Warning sign

Warning sign

Classic mustang

Classic mustand

Dandelion

Dandelion

My Photo Shoot Location

I had mentioned recently that I want to show you where I shoot my photos. I love, love, love including barbed wire in my photos. I used to shoot in a public park 80 miles from home, near where I used to work. I loved the location but then I stopped commuting there. And 80 miles is a bit far to photograph projects, right? Well, it didn't occur to me until I began this blog that I have a real gem close to home. Real close. Four houses away. DUH!! It had to grow pretty green hay for me to take notice.

I was standing in front of my house. See, how close it is? Right at the end of my street.

Los Banos, California neighborhood

On a clear day you can see Yosemite from here. Snow covered mountains and everything. Its quite a view here.

Los Banos, California neighborhood

Someone seems to like to set this parcel on fire.....see the burnt fence?

Los Banos, California neighborhood

I use the post on the left a lot for cuff photographs.

Los Banos, California neighborhood

And the wire.

Los Banos, California neighborhood

Here is the view when facing south. More farmland at the end of this street.

Los Banos, California neighborhood

Old outbuilding with lots of cactus. The cactus has a lot of unripe fruit.

Los Banos, California neighborhood

I wonder about this little house. Its a teeny-tiny little house, obviously not lived in for a long time.

Los Banos, California neighborhood

Seems that someone broke in. To party inside, probably.

Los Banos, California neighborhood  

Check out that cool screened in porch off the back.

Los Banos, California neighborhood

Who knows what this is? Maybe grain storage?

Los Banos, California neighborhood

Someone made it look pretty at one time and these are still hanging on!

Los Banos, California neighborhood

Big, beautiful old barn.

Los Banos, California neighborhood

Someone set the palm on fire a couple of Saturdays ago. Bummer :(

Los Banos, California neighborhood

Los Banos, California neighborhood

Old livestock stalls.

Los Banos, California neighborhood

Perfect place for my goat ;-)

Los Banos, California neighborhood

This makes me wonder....

The downside to living in an ag area is all of the pesticides used. Los Banos grows a lot of cotton, including in the fields surrounding my neighborhood, and cotton is one of the "dirtiest" crops grown. We have a lot of crop dusting here. Its fun to watch the helicopters and airplanes do their thing until I remember what they are spraying. Then its into the house with the doors and windows closed!

Los Banos, California neighborhood

Still, what a gem, right? I love, love, love this spot for my photos.

Los Banos, California neighborhood