Sequoia and Kings Canyon

Sequoia National Park was one of the first places we visited when we moved to California eight years ago.  It was Thanksgiving, and Dustin and I were feeling a little homesick, so, with no turkey dinner plans we headed north to see the big trees.  Armed with a 35mm SLR and an old point and shoot digital (which is now my son's camera) we hiked through the giant forests trying to capture images that could convey the immense size of these trees.  This year we finally got back up to Sequoia and were able to share it with our boys this time.  Here are some images from our trip.  *A couple of them were not taken by me, but helped tell the story of our trip, so they made the cut anyway.  I've also included a few pictures from my phone.*

 Our car by "The Guardsmen" - essentially the first sequoia trees you see.  Dustin hopped out of the car and ran ahead to get this shot as I drove through.

 I adore his freckles!

 My homage to Ansel Adams.  Moro Rock.

 Beetle Galleries in fallen tree

 Vertical Panorama of "The General Sherman" tree-- the largest living thing on the planet!

 "The Fallen Monarch" - fallen tree that you can walk all the way through.  It was used in the 1800s as a home and then a stable for 32 horses!

Not posed! :)

Fish Eye Test

The fish eye I ordered came in today!  Unfortunately I was busy until super late, so by the time I got to take pictures it was dark.  I quickly learned that the fish eye and pop-up flash do not mix well.  I cranked up my ISO and used an index card to bounce my flash as best I could.  I still had to set a relatively slow shutter speed, so I switched the flash into rear curtain.  Then I asked my kids to jump around--easy peasy for them. Excited to get to try this out in full sun tomorrow on our photo walk in advanced photo.

Garage Studio

I was supposed to be shooting headshots a couple weekends ago.  Last time I did headshots (check them out HERE and HERE) I did all natural light and natural or found backgrounds, so this time I wanted to try more of a studio look... but I don't have studio lighting.  So, I came up with the following setup using two queen sized white sheets.  The flat sheet I hung as a backdrop by cliping it to the rafters in my garage.  The fitted sheet I clipped to the garage door opening.  It was a gorgeous sunny Saturday and there was more than enough light.  The sheet in the door opening filtered the light so it wasn't too harsh (and so squinty people like me could keep their eyes open.)  It acted almost like a giant softbox.  I placed a stool just inside the shaded area created by the sheet and took a few test shots.

 

For this first one of Emerson I guess I hadn't hung the backdrop sheet yet, but it's still a keeper. Then, I took a test shot of myself. Both of us so serious! I wish I had smiled a little, but either way I really like how it came out (which is kind of rare--I much prefer to be the photographer and not the subject.)

I ended up not shooting the headshots that day, but I do think this is a setup that I'll use in the future.

Oro Grande Bottle Tree Farm

Oro Grande Bottle Tree Farm... it's hard to comprehend just how much random stuff is crammed onto a tiny little lot in the middle of nowhere.  It was absolutely frigid the day we stopped there, so I didn't spend a lot of time shooting.  Plus, there is a lot of glass and I was visiting with two three year olds, so I had to run a bit of interference.  Here are my favorites from the day.  

 

 

 Of course there's a sink full of bones... why wouldn't there be??

If you're ever interested this place is just 20 minutes north of Hesperia and it's free!

She's Crafty :: Nest Necklaces & Rolled Magazine Art

This year for Christmas I decided to do as many handmade gifts as I could.  I've got so many projects on Pinterest that I want to try, and this was a way to have an excuse and some motivation to try some of them.  My siblings and I had decided not to exchange gifts this year, so this was also a way to get around that--these weren't technically gifts... just the results of a couple crafty days for me :)  Here are some pictures.

 I made these nest necklaces for all the girls-- my mom's is on the right with four eggs representing my siblings and I.  I've been making jewelry since high school, but have only recently tried working with metal.  These were startlingly easy, which is probably why I made so many.  I had them all wrapped and ready to go, but had forgotten to take a picture, so I carefully unwrapped them to set up a shot, and then wrapped them again.

 This was a project on Pinterest that had absolutely no directions--just a picture.  It involved cutting pages of a several magazines into strips and rolling them up.  I stuck them to the cardboard backing with a thick layer of paint.  Here's the blue center.

 Then a yellowish green ring...

 And finally a goldish yellow outer ring.

I still have to frame this and give it to its intended recipient, so it's ending up as more of a new year's gift, but that's ok.  It was fun and ended up making for a cool art piece and cool pictures of the work in progress.

Lake Baldwin Ecological Preserve

Instagram Fall 2012

1. Bug collecting
2. Sunset @ HHS football game
3. Cheerios by the beach
4. Purple shells in Malibu
5. Orphaned under my classroom
6. Dream Bigger-- love this!
7. Grass of some sort
8. Infinite (I love patterns!)
9. Bolt

1. Apples @ Oak Glen
2. Mojave Narrows
3. Cheese!
4. Standing tall
5. H2O
6. Plants near Big Bear
7. Little ecologist
8. Grasses near Big Bear
9. Garage sale score!  My new old camera--Pentax K1000--the one I used in my high school photography class :)

1. Perfect pumpkin stem
2. Wonder
3. Still Standing
4. Gum on pavement-- only cool when it's not stuck to my shoe
5. Framed
6. Book lover
7. Getting crafty-- baloon yarn balls... post balloon pop
8. Sundance Lane
9. Pink flower in Sun City

1. Creepy emu face
2. Tree decorating
3. Introducing Rick James (RJ for short)... our Elf on the Shelf
4. Treasures
5. Reading corner
6. Fall colors in abstract motion
7. Self portrait
8. PS project--face of faces
9. Grey day

1. Bloomingdales in Santa Monica (again with the patterns)
2. Converse Patriotism
3. My first nest necklace
4. Ansel in alley
5. Mini me
6. Disturbing the peace?  I disagreed
7. Wrightwood
8. For Sara for Christmas
9. My little photographer