DD Ranch

DD Ranch, originally uploaded by mhall209.

I live in Calaveras County where the economy is pretty strongly based in agriculture. In the last couple decades the agriculture has shifted to wine and agritourism. There are still a lot of huge family run cattle and sheep operations. It is kind of ironic, since I know of no steak restaurants in the county. And you can not get a lamb chop even in a grocery store! Fortunatly you can get local grown wine anywhere. And it is good!

This ranch sits on the western edge of the county right along Highway 4, the primary route into and out of the county. People use this barn as a sort of a waymarker; when you get to the DD ranch, you're here!

I have shot this ranch before, but I wanted to stop again because of the light and clouds on this day, and to try an HDR image. Oh, and if you are into geocaching, there is a cach in this image, but I am not telling you where!

Dogtown Road Barn HDR

Dogtown Road Barn HDR, originally uploaded by mhall209.

I went to an Ed Tech conference today down in Modesto, CA. I do not get down to that part of the world very often so I knew the road to and from was going to be filled with photographic opportunities. I brought both a digital and film camera. I am looking forward to some of the film. Unfortunately that takes a couple of weeks.

One of the workshops I attended had to deal with disruptive technologies. The example used was how digital cameras eventually overcame film cameras. It was interesting because I have just recently, in the last couple months, gone back to film! I hope that doesn't mean I will soon go back to textbooks.

This old barn site on a very poorly paved road that leads through a mix of old school barns like this one, and multi-million dollar trophy homes. A mixture of old and new. Sort of like what some of us do in schools, mix the old with the new.

the office

the office, originally uploaded by mhall209.

I was in Sacramento today and stopped by the Capital building. I have not actually been in there for many years. I have shot outside of the building here and here, but I haven't been inside. The building is really beautiful- the old part, anyway. It is part museum and part working office building.
This is the treasurers office cir. 1933. They had a rope across the door and I was there with a tripod trying to get a shot. A worker asked if he could get by my equipment without disturbing the shot. I said sure, and can I follow you in? He looked puzzeled, and finally said sure, just dont touch anything! So I got to go in the office and get this shot! And yes, I thanked him, maybe to the point of being annoying!

star plant

star plant, originally uploaded by mhall209.

I don't know. I was not feeling good about this shot. I thought at the time that it was rather boring, nothing going on, but it doenst cost anything to shoot. Not like the old days. So what the heck, I pressed the button.

Turns out I really like the shot. I loke the colors of the lichens (I think thats what the grey and orange stuff it.) A lot of texture in this shot. And to me anyway, it works. I hope you like it.

Spring is coming.

Dandilion HDR, originally uploaded by mhall209.

I promise! Spring is coming! While many people in the country are still having snow days, spring is starting to show its green around here in the sierra foothills. It won't be very many weeks before weed abatment is in full swing and we all be preparing for the annual too long fire season. But for now I am taking every sign of spring that I can get!

Mokolumne River

Mokolumne River, originally uploaded by mhall209.

This photo is taken from Electra Road, a very narrow road that runs from Hwy. 49 along the Mokolumne River up to the Electra Powerhouse. This is a very popular swimming area in the summer. You will also frequently find kyakers shooting the river here. There is lots of fishing here, and this particular trip found a number of folks panning for gold along the banks. My wife and I like to come here to just walk, it is fun to watch and listen to the river.

I came this day in search of photos. I have shot here in the past, but I don't think I have been here in the dead of winter. I wasnt sure what I would find. I ended up going with this HDR shot. It is a combination of 8 different exposures that are layered together in Photoshop. I am really happy with the results, though I think my laptop is still cooling off from the work!

Tokay Colony Bird

Tokay Colony Bird, originally uploaded by mhall209.

I need a bird blind. A portable job that I can hold in front of me as I walk along with my camera. I have heard that birds recognize the human shape and are scared. But If you can hide behind something they are not afraid.

So I had an odd confluence of events today that had me not carpooling with my wife, and had no after school committments. So I had some daylight hours on my hands. I took a route home that I rarely get to take. I crossed a little creek I later learned is Bear Creek and I saw a number of these birds in the water. I turned around, found a safe spot along the road and parked. The sign said it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle, but didn't say anything about walking along the creek, so I stepped over the fence. Literally. It is a short fence.

I walked along this really nice, level, wide trail that parallels the creek. This is a very nice place to get out and stretch the legs on the way home. Count it as a score! But each time I got near enough to the birds to maybe get a shot they all flew further down the creek. So I walked further down the creek. It was a really nice walk on a really nice sunny day. But I was not getting a shot. I finally realized the shot was not going to happen, and turned around to make my way to the car.

That nice safe spot I left my car in wasn't such a great spot to get out of. Cars were going by really fast. When I finally got back on the road I was going the wrong way! At the first cross street I took a left turn to get turned around. As I was just about to pull back onto the highway I saw something out of the corner of my eye. This guy was about 15 feet from my passenger window, and not scared! Down went the window, up came the camera, and I got a bunch of good shots!

Turns out the car is a pretty good bird blind! .