whackadoodle coconut

This past weekend was my birthday.  And unlike many other people, I love having my birthday. It is always the best part of the year.  I don't mind getting older.  It's cool with me. This year, the hubby and I went to the Carrizo Plains and Bakersfield for lunch.  Let's take a look at the adventure. Our first two stops were Soda Lake and then Painted Rock.  Then we went to visit Wallace Creek at the San Andreas Fault. It was a really good adventure!  We had some rain while we were hiking and had to take cover under the rocks at Painted Cave and then we saw a bunny doing the same thing. Here are a few panoramics I stitched together in photo shop.      

so, I've set a schedule of sorts for my week.  I like to start with finishing the chores on Monday, crafting/knitting/etc on Tuesdays, comics on Wednesday (since it's new comic day), shooting of all types on Thursday and then my Friday is free to catch up on whatever I'd like.  it has been working out, so lets update on this week (and a little of last week). last Friday I spent the morning in Montana de Oro taking photos for a contest. this is Carolina cove in the morning. and here is the outlook as you start the trail. I also visited (for the second time) Never Not Knitting in Atascadero.  I've been following her patterns, blog and podcast for a while and I was so excited to be able to visit her shop, and meet her! I had almost finished the shawl pattern I purchased last time I went (but didn't get to meet her) so I didn't have it show, however I did wear my wire and wool necklace. she took my picture and posted it to her Instagram accoun...

I did a little shooting and then shooting a few weeks back.  It feels like forever since I've posted something.  So a recap is probably in need here.  I took some awesome pictures though, getting better and making do with what light I have and then getting into position to shoot properly has all been a benefit to growing. The best one ever of the Hubby - John and his Tavor.  Which promptly sparked the comment "a boy and his dog"? What can I say, I didn't mean to, but my best photos are when I don't mean to take something and it just turns out just fantastic!  And this is no exception. My bestie also had some work at an exhibit in Santa Barbara.  She has been such a huge help with honing my photo skills. Here are her pieces that she had- The glare is ridiculous.  Sorry for that.  Camera Phones what can you do? Finally, this week I went shooting to get a little in and wahoo, here's my target that I taunted buddy Julie with. ...

actually, I did and decided to take twice as much water and stop to turn around before I was dead. so technically I did learn and just made sure to prevent as much trouble as the first time.  I just really like hanging out with my friend and couldn't let a play date pass me by.  plus, I need to get out and exercise and she likes to too. I had planned to photograph the trail, but I only got this one pic and it immediately said Ninja Training. it's actually a good photo I think and the colors and contrasts stand out nicely.  especially for a snapshot with my little camera.  you didn't think I lugged my big one for a 3 mile walk did you?  I have and I will, but not today.

last week I spent some time in SLO with my photo friend and we hiked up in the Irish Hills connecting from Johnson Ranch.  it was a LONG hike and I literally thought I would die.  I almost didn't make it.  really.  that might sound like an exaggeration, but we were hiking for 4 hours.  when it was all over, we got frozen yogurt and that almost made it better.  I had been taking pictures until I was so pooped I just put my camera in my backpack and said phooey.  when I got home however, I realized I only took about 15 pics and there were 4 that just wowed me.  the best is saved for last.

this last week Ari and I took the early morning and shot some great landscapes in Arroyo Grande.  several of our favorites are follows -

yesterday was a long awaited play date with my friend who is the photographer/artist.  I haven't actually ever been to the dunes to take photos, but the entire experience was really good.  let me clarify, as I reread this - I've been to dunes a million times, just not to photograph them.  this is the real time that I've been that didn't involve work, kids, teaching, etc. challenging as it was the photos turned out really good!  we had a ton of catch up to talk about and the photos in the end were the cherry on top. I did 28 photos, many repeats, I had tried to get just the right photo.  it was especially difficult because the sun was high, the sand was soft and a bit breezy and I'm still learning.  I guess that I should mention as well, that I didn't edit any of these photos so that's another improvement.  getting it right the first time. So here we go, take a look -

since my last post, it has been a flurry of day to day action.  I recently received a new DSLR camera, a Canon Rebel T3i we bought at Costco and I have been struggling to use it and learn all it's features.  many of these I cannot control on my Canon Powershot, while I can still take great photos with this camera, I wanted something that would allow more flexibility in my photography. for instance, I could change my lenses, control the shutter speed with a greater range and adjust my exposure for more drama.  this also means that I had a steep learning curve to advance my skills. I started with some basics, the birds next door. I took close to 100 shots to get a couple that remotely resembled the look I was going for.  these were taken with the telephoto lens that came in the kit on full automatic focus. the next day I went to one of the parks in the city to take some more photos of random subjects to see what I could do in the field.  the bir...