Merry Christmas From Auburn, CA

by Sherri on December 24, 2008

Snowy Red Barn, Auburn, California, taken in March 2006. Merry Christmas everyone! We hope those of you that read this blog are having a wonderful holiday season this year. We have been really busy making photo gifts again this year and hoping for a "White Christmas." There is actually a really good chance that we will have one this year. The snow is supposed to get down to the 1,500 foot level or lower, sometime tomorrow on Christmas Day. If we do, that would make 2 in 20 years for us. That is pretty good, considering our elevation is only 1,600 feet and we only get a couple of snowfalls per year! Hopefully, I will have some photos of our "White Christmas" here in the Sierra Foothill's to share with the readers of this Blog in a couple of days! Thank you for visiting. If you would like to leave a comment, simply click on the "comments" link (add your message in the box) at the bottom of this post. Happy Holidays! Sherri, Jeff and Cocoa (our Chocolate Lab & Australian Shepherd dog)

Old Town Auburn Icons

by Sherri on December 21, 2008

Auburn Volunteer Fire Department with the Auburn Courthouse in the background, Old Town Auburn, California.

Two of the most famous icons in Old Town Auburn are no doubt the Auburn Volunteer Fire Department and the Auburn Courthouse. This photo was also captured during the same photo shoot as the photos in my last 2 posts. It was shot at ISO 6400. While developing this image, I decided to apply my favorite artistic filter in PhotoShop "Poster Edges." It works really well on old buildings. I hope you like it too! Thank you for visiting. If you would like to leave a comment, simply click on the "comments" link at the bottom of this post. Visit our Website for links to photo galleries.

Auburn Courthouse Aglow

by Sherri on December 18, 2008

Historic Auburn Courthouse at night, Old Town Auburn, California This shot was also taken during our recent visit to Old Town, to check out the holiday decorations. I have photographed this beauty several times before, but never from this perspective and never at night. Most of the shots that were taken during this photo shoot were shot at ISO 3200 and 6400. This one was shot at ISO 6400. It was a really good opportunity to put the Nikon D300 to the high ISO test. It also gave me a good reason to experiment with the Noise Reduction feature in Adobe Lightroom 2. I am very pleased with the results. I highly recommend the Nikon D300, to anyone looking for an affordable Pro-level Nikon DSLR camera. I am also blown away by the features and performance of Lightroom 2 and I highly recommend that as well. Thank you for visiting. If you would like to leave a comment, simply click on the "comments" link at the bottom of this post. Visit our Website for links to photo galleries.

Holiday Time in Old Town Auburn

by Sherri on December 16, 2008

Auburn Volunteer Fire Department, Old Town Auburn, California A few days ago, we went down into Old Town Auburn to see it all dressed up for Christmas and capture it on film (memory card). One of the best subjects to photograph there is the Auburn Volunteer Fire Department (oldest in the West). I especially like the way it looks at this time of the year. Many of you have probably seen it before, as you are passing through Auburn on the way to the Reno-Tahoe area. Or maybe you have stopped off in Old Town for a Walking Tour, or to dine at one of it's many fine restaurants. You could also be fortunate enough to live here as we are. While I was developing this image, I decided to set the White Balance (WB) to "Tungsten" to give it a more cold, moody feeling. I really like the way it turned out, but I'm curious to get the opinions of others. Does it work for you? I value and respect your opinion either way. Thank you for taking the time to evaluate this photo and giving me your feedback. To leave a comment, simply click on the "comments" link at the bottom of this post. Visit our Website for links to photo galleries.

More Quad Fun!

by Sherri on December 15, 2008

Jeff having fun on his new Quad, Auburn, California I was hoping to post a photo of snowfall in Auburn today. But, the temp needs to drop a couple of degrees or so, for the rain to turn into snow. It did snow on and off here yesterday, but not enough to stick. Right now, chain control is only about 5-miles away, so things could change any minute. We also hear that a couple more "low snow" storms are on their way. Who knows? Maybe we will even be able to use the snowplow that came with Jeff's Quad to plow our driveway, during this series of storms! That's not likely, but if that need should ever present itself, we will be prepared. Thank you for visiting. If you would like to leave a comment, simply click on the "comments" link at the bottom of this post. Visit our Website for links to photo galleries.

Off-Road Adventures in Auburn

by Sherri on December 12, 2008

Jeff trail riding his new Quad in rural Auburn, California You might remember reading a few months ago about us selling "Blue Thunder," our Toyota Landcruiser after owning it for 25 years. Well, Jeff did better parting with it than I did, because he had another goal in mind. He wanted a Quad. A couple weeks ago, we took it to an area near where we live for a photo shoot. We had scouted this area out a few times before the timing was right. I wanted to see dust flying behind him, which I wasn't going to get soon after a rainfall. I also wanted great backlighting and fall colors. Waiting a couple of weeks until those elements all came together really paid off. We ended up with over a 100 keepers from this shoot. Although I'm not into the sport myself, I will have to say this was one of the most exciting photo shoots I've ever done! Thank you for visiting. If you would like to leave a comment, simply click on the "comments" link at the bottom of this post. Visit our Website for links to photo galleries.

Above the Fog?

by Sherri on December 9, 2008

A foggy morning in Auburn, California #1. One of the really neat things about living in Auburn is that it is "Above the fog and below the snow." [click to continue…]

In Sync at Panorama Park

by Sherri on December 7, 2008

Man walking his dog at Panorama Park, Bakersfield, California.

During our recent visit to Bakersfield, I photographed a lot of people enjoying what Panorama Park has to offer. While I was editing the images from the trip, the 2 photos in this post were among my favorites. I analyzed them to see if there was a common denominator in these 2 particular photos. Besides the fact that everyone in these photos look extremely happy to be there, everyone (including the fur person) was in sync with their companion.

Woman and her young son running on the pathway at Panorama Park, Bakersfield, California.

If anyone out there knows any of these wonderful models, please have them contact me. Thank you! Visit our Website for links to photo galleries.

Simply Beautiful!

by Sherri on December 4, 2008

Ornamental grass at Panorama Park, Bakersfield, California.

I'm not sure exactly what type of ornamental grass this is. It is one of many beautiful plants growing along the pathways at Panorama Park. Shot at 1/200 sec, f 4.0, ISO 400 Visit our Website for links to photo galleries.

Panorama Park

by Sherri on December 2, 2008

Jeff & Cocoa looking down on the oil fields from the bluffs at Panorama Park, Bakersfield, California.

We just returned from our annual trip to Bakersfield for Thanksgiving. Bakersfield is not usually thought of as a travel destination. But, through the years, I have become quite addicted to photographing Panorama Park. Because I return there each Thanksgiving, I know what to expect when I get there. One subject there is always an abundance of are people exercising their dogs, which is one of my favorite subjects to photograph. Panorama Park is located on the bluffs, overlooking the oil fields, river and aqueduct. It also offers a great, wide-open back drop for photographs. Once I find the perfect spot, all I have to do is wait for my subjects to pass by. I also had high hopes of capturing a great sunset like I did last year, but that didn't pan out. Instead, I was presented with foggy conditions, which can also be very fun to work with. The photo above is one of many photos I took during our daily walks on the bluffs this year. Visit our Website for links to photo galleries.