Allison in California

Click on a photo to see it enlarged.

Allison is my niece. She flew here from Virginia to see me and to get a California tan. The photography club had a shoot-out scheduled for Natural Bridges State Beach on Saturday, so that's where we headed. We arrived several hours early to spend some quality time on the beach, but as often happens at Northern California beaches, the sun never shown. We hiked around for a bit, shot a few photos, had lunch on the beach, and then settled down to bask in the fog.

Saturday evening we visited a hokey little
parking lot carnival in Morgan Hill.On Monday, we sojourned to San Francisco. Our first stop was the Academy of Sciences, which has a rain forest, aquarium, planetarium, and natural history museum. (I did not enjoy seeing the stuffed African animals.)

The rain forest was way cool (in a hot & humid sort of way), with butterflies flitting around, HUGE spiders spinning webs, geckos, chameleons, frogs, snakes and exotic birds.Leaving the rain forest, we dropped into an undersea world of coral, fish, albino alligators, turtles, sea horses, and jellies.

Our next stop, after leaving the academy around noon, was the Golden Gate Bridge. I missed the turn into the visitor center, so we continued over the bridge and up the turn-off to the Marin headlands.

For this shot, I set the camera on the hood of my car
with the lens propped up on my sunglasses.

We left the bridge and headed east on Lombard Street
(the crookedest street in the world) toward downtown.

We circled Coit Tower and then, after several wrong turns (even with the navigation system), we made our way to Haight/Ashbury, the very center of the Psychedelic 60s, Flower Power, and LSD. Now you sort of feel like you're in Hippyland at Disney World, but the shopping and people watching were good entertainment.We also went out to lunch in MH, ate dinner in San Juan Bautista, and worked out at the rec center. Allison spent enough time in my backyard that when she left this morning, she had a first-rate California tan.

New Macro Lens

My new Nikon 105 Macro lens arrived and the light was perfect this morning for a few test shots. The gladioli in my back garden area are in full bloom. I set up my tripod, attached the camera, moved in very close, and voila...

These next 3 are of a dandelion
that is less than one inch across.

I like this lens.

Fourth of July

To start the day ( & very early) my friend Noella and I photographed the Freedom Run, a 1 mile kids' run and a 5K . This is the 3rd street race that we have photographed as professionals. We take pictures of all the runners, post them on a website, and wait for the runners to place their orders. Then the money comes rolling in. For these two events, I took over 500 photos in about an hour. This first one is of the start of the 5K and it was published in the Morgan Hill Times this morning.

Click on the photo to see it enlarged.I thought this next photo exemplified the spirit of the race.

After the run, the street is cleared for the parade, a classic, small town event with lots of kids (dance & martial arts schools), members of organizations (like Elks & AAUW), city officials, and high school bands. The floats are decorated, flat bed trucks. Elvis & Marilyn Monroe always make an appearance. This is not the Rose Parade, which of course, is the basis of its charm. This parade has been staged every year since 1894. (That's no typo: 1894) This year I focused my photographic efforts on dogs and horses. See the best of the dog/horse photos on my Flickr site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/suebrazelton/

My self-portrait. Click to enlarge it,
then look to the right of the white line.

There I am taking a picture of a tuba.That's all, Folks. Hope you had a grand Fourth.

June Full Moon

My project to photograph the full moon every month for a year continues on track. For June, I returned to a favorite spot along the banks of Chesbro Reservoir. My very first full moon shot (before I started this project) was from here in July, 2008. I'd like to retake that shot from two years ago because I like it a lot and I've learned so much since then that I think I could improve upon it immensely. But there is no going back. With all the rain this year, that spot is now under water. I took this first photo three days before the full moon on my reconnaissance expedition to find a good composition, and to pinpoint exactly where the moon would rise and how long it would take to show itself. I liked the framing of the tree branches, and on this day, because the moon rose 2 hours before sunset, there was still plenty of light.Two days later, the moon rose just as the sun set (perfect full moon sky light ). Although the tree branches were rendered as silhouettes, the moon was aglow.

As the moon rose higher in the sky, I wanted to include its reflection on the water. I moved to a more open area, composed with a wider angle to include the trees and grass, and captured this shot, now at the top of my favorites list. The sky really was this beautiful combination of blue and magenta. Click on the photo to see a larger view.

I am so pleased to have taken this shot.
The lunatic in me is reaffirmed.

Macro Garden Shoots

Click on any photo to see it enlarged.Within the photography club, we have established sub groups that focus on a specialized interest of the members. One of these groups is "Macro Photography" which just happens to be my favorite type of photography. After the first meeting, we decided that the best way to learn is to go out and shoot macro together, sharing whatever expertise we have and learning from each other. Our first excursion was to a backyard filled with whimsical planters and garden accents.

I took over 100 photos and was sorely disappointed in most. Out of focus or blurry seemed to be the most common attribute. The ones presented here took a bit of computer processing to bring up to an acceptable level. The rest felt the power of the delete key. Almost everyone took a picture of this shoe planter. I think it was the purple laces that drew us to it. Since I was practicing macro, I zoomed in for closer shots.

On each shoot, I try to get at least one self-portrait.
It helps to establish an alibi.

The next week we arranged for a local garden center to let us in two hours before it opened. What fun to have the place to ourselves, and I learned a lot. The other members were so helpful and allowed me to look through their macro lens. I have been thinking of buying a macro lens (because the poor quality of my photographs must be due to the equipment, right?). There are so many from which to choose that I hardly knew where to start. Thanks to my friends, I looked through 5 different macro lenses, each one a different focal length. This is what I needed, some experience with them, so I could make a decision as to which one would work best for me.

I liked the soft focus of this blue flower
so I didn't even try to sharpen it.With this one I sharpened the petals some,
but left the soft, peachy background.

Nothing soft here. These two look like they're on fire.

A cherry tomato.

After editing the photos from this shoot (the delete key was well used again), I went online and ordered a new macro lens (a Nikon 105mm) and a set of 3 extension tubes. My backyard is an explosion of colorful gladioli right now, prime targets for more macro shots. What fun I will have. You can see more photos from these two shoots on my Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/suebrazelton/

Kung Fu Championships

This is Chris Shelton, who is a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the owner of Morning Crane Healing Arts Center in Willow Glen, and my Tai Chi instructor. Chris recently competed in the Tiger Claw's Kung Fu Magazine.com Championships, held at the SJ Convention Center. Most people don't know that Tai Chi is a style of Kung Fu. Although Tai Chi is used as a meditative form of exercise, the movements have fighting applications. Chris entered 4 events. The first was Push Hands, in which each competitor tries to force his opponent off balance. Success in Push Hands requires internal power, not brute force.

His second event was a form of Tai Chi called Xin Jia. This form includes soft, flowing movements and competitors are judged not only on how well they perform the movements, but on how connected they are to chi (energy). This is the first form of Tai Chi that I practiced and it took me over 2 years to learn all 48 postures. I use the word learn loosely. Mastery is a never-ending journey.

First Place !

Because the body is moving slowly, to the unenlightened it looks like little energy is spent. That's an illusion. It looks easy because practitioners tap into an internal energy source. One can still work up a sweat. Click on the photo to see what I mean.

Tai Chi also includes several unique weapon forms. Chris competed with the Broadsword (Dao), a form I have practiced and not mastered. It is such powerful fun to swing that sword around.

Another first place !

Chris's family

The photography was challenging: lighting, movement, getting in close, and distracting backgrounds to name a few. After reviewing the photos, I realized the many mistakes I made, so it was most definitely a learning experience. I have been taking Tai Chi classes from Chris for going on 5 years, and this is the first time I had seen him compete. By watching him and the other competitors, I am newly inspired. NOTE: Chris won first place in 3 events and after a final Tai Chi face-off, was named, "Tai Chi Grand Champion."

Hakone Gardens

Click on any photo to enlarge it.The photography club held a shoot-out at Hakone Gardens in Saratoga, the oldest Japanese style estate in the western Hemisphere. The placement of plants, stones, waterfalls and ponds creates a harmonious and tranquil atmosphere that invites visitors to wander, contemplate, and photograph.

One of the many volunteer gardeners

Dragonfly

The Bamboo Forest

Most of the spring blooms were long gone, but...I hope you enjoyed your scroll through the gardens.