South to the Sonoma Coast

Halloween morning found me very early in the morning wandering around in the dark on the Sonoma Coast. The day before I had dropped off one of my family members for some surgery in Santa Rosa for what was supposed to be outpatient surgery. Good luck with that! Better to be safe and healthy than sorry. Rather than driving an hour and a half back to Willits and then driving an hour and a half back down to santa Rosa the next morning I opted for a cheap hotel in Bodega Bay only thirty five minutes away. The hotel was great and the next morning I wandered out to capture the sunrise by driving up Highway One to just north of Salmon Creek Beach for my first stop. At first I was literally setting the focus on my camera to infinity and composing in the dark by checking the resulting image on the camera back. I made some long exposures at high ISO wide open. Then as it got lighter and lighter I was able to see more of what was going on around me and I could compose using the view finder on the camera. I made several stops as I headed up north. I stopped at Wrights Beach, Zed Beach, Goat Rock and I finally crossed the Russian River and turned around at Lands End for the return trip down the coast and back into Santa Rosa. by then it was just after ten and the unhappy patient was begging to be picked up and brought home. Their surgery was a success and I was happy to get some beautiful images from the Sonoma Coast. All images were created with a Canon EOS 7D MkII camera or a Canon EOS T1i camera. The two lenses I was usinf were a Canon 100-400 IS USMv.1 or a 6.5 mm ultra wide angle. #TeamCanon

Spoiled Rotten Dog

Today was mostly a non photography day. Last night we made a late night decision to go watch an Ultimate Tournament down in Sonoma County . We were out of the house and on the road before seven thirty a.m. Why do most of my days start so early? We decided it would be easier to bring our dog Badger along for the ride rather than putting him in his dog kennel for the day. He had a great time. At the tournament the players absolutely loved him. He got more attention than we did. My favorite image was of him watching the game and then looking back over his shoulder to check on me. I really like it. God's love and blessings to all, chris Images created with a Canon 7D and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM handheld. camera settings used, AV mode, ISO 400, F4.5 at 1/2,000th of a sec.

The Long Way Home

Saturday afternoon Lenore and I went to a gallery showing of Mark Neumeyer's art at the Delormier Winery. We had a wonderful time viewing some beautiful artwork. My favorite piece was a painting of a trout underwater in a stream. It had a quality to it that just drew me in. Afterwards we dined at Diaviola's Pizzeria and Salumeria (What's a salumaria? salad?) in Geyserville, Ca. We chose the outdoor seating on the patio and it was a bit chilly but the pizza Primavera and the dish I had the Hamachi and Tuna Poke were delicious. Following dinner we headed towards the freeway for the drive home. Some inner instinct took over when we reached the on ramp and we took the frontage road instead. It was a much slower pace and we could talk and enjoy the scenery. We stopped along the way in couple of places to admire the views and photograph the vineyards and a silhouette of an old oak. The sky to the west had a light touch of pink that was pretty nice. Just past Cloverdale we were forced to hit the main highway although we did stop at a wide spot in the road so that I could photograph the Jaxon Keys Winery at dusk. I must say it was a very nice day. Thank you Lord! chris Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D and a Canon 28-135 IS lens. Camera settings- AV mode,ISO F stops and shutter speeds varied.

California Ground Squirrels and a Clown

Today we headed south to the big city. We went to Santa Rosa to meet some friends for lunch to celebrate our kids graduating from high school. After a great lunch at La Rosas we went to Lake Ralphine a small lake in Howarth Park to have some fun.Everyone went kayaking and paddleboating. I stayed ashore and along the shoreline I found some fat and sassy California Ground squirrels to photograph.




There was also a wild group of geese bathing in the clear water where it comes into the lake. When we got ready to leave the park I saw a clown heading down to the baseball field to put on a performance for a party that was going on. A great time was had by all.

God's light and love to all,

chris