Harvey Bear Ranch Park: Using the dSLR

Here are a few photos from my first real attempt to use a dSLR seriously.  The camera was in spot focus the whole time with focus in the upper middle spot.  Just didn't know how to change that around at the time.  Some photos seem good and some need help or a re-do.  This is a reflective learning post and your comments are welcome!

Goal: learn how to compose a long view and use the camera's functions to optimize the focus.

The morning was overcast, with a grey light.   This composition seems OK, maybe some different cropping.  The contrast on the figures seems too extreme.  But I like the subdued tones.  Would like more overall focus.  

Looks pretty flat & maybe too much going on?  I tend to crop, crop, crop my tree shots and don't know how to use the camera to reveal what I see in real life.  Would like more dimensionality and depth here.  

Have been doing a lot of macro shots with my point&shoot in the last few years and was relieved to see that the dSLR (without a macro lens) can also capture close-up beauty.  

OK, its blurry and weirdly vibrant pink.  But I like the composition and love all Clarkias.  

It was breezy and this branch was moving up & down.  There seems to be quite a bit of light here and maybe this could use more post-production contrast.  

Love these butter-and-eggy flowers, especially that they're tricolored.   The dSLR seems to pick up more depth in some macro shots, making them look messier and wilder.  

Even messier and wilder, plus too breezy to focus completely.  Anyway, I do like this wildness as an alternative to my usual "portrait" flower shots. 

A bit of inter-species interaction.

Like the wire and thistle combo here but there's some oversaturation going on.   Think this is from using the "vivid" setting to counteract the gray sky.  


Thank you for your attention to this experiment.  There will be more.  

Signs of Spring at Henry W. Coe Park

These photos are from a wildflower hike on the Forest, Springs, & Corral trails at Coe Park on January 22, 2015.  All photos taken with my Cannon PowerShot.  Most shots are larger than life-size.  Enjoy!

Milkmaids are one of the first flowers of Spring.  Forest Trail.

Sometimes milkmaids have pink tones; some are pure white.  Wildflower enthusiasts love to see milkmaids because their blooms mean the beginning of the flowering season.

Milkmaids flower in different forms.  All have four petals but the petal shapes are different. Forest Trail.

Woodland shooting star in bud.  Another early sign of  Spring.  Forest Trail.

Woodland shooting star; the first flowering on the Forest Trail.  

Ferns are coming out now too.  These may be wood ferns of some type.

Woodfern (?) on the Forest Trail.

Hillside gooseberry was in bloom; do you see any of the spines that characterize this shrub?

Hillside gooseberry on the Forest Trail.  Two stages of bloom.

Insects have laid their eggs in some of the gooseberry leaves and the bush has created galls around them.  Very small insects.

Galls on gooseberry leaves. 

Trees bloom too!  These photos show California bay laurel in bloom on Manzanita Point Road and in bud on the Forest Trail.

California bay laurel.

California Bay Laurel in bloom.

There were two other wildflowers in bloom on the Forest Trail: chickweed and wild cucumber (too bad the cucumber photo didn't turn out well).

Common chickweed is not a native plant; some folks might call it a weed.  Petals are about 1/8 inch in length; leaves about 1/2 inch in length.  

Along the Springs Trail, there were a few Hound's tongue in bud and bloom.  Look for blue flowers and leaves that resemble a dog's tongue.

Hound's tongue in bud on Springs Trail.  

Hound's tongue on the Springs Trail.

Lastly, on the Corral Trail, this single buttercup showed its color.

Buttercup flowers have a lot of shiny petals; makes them easy to ID.  

That's all for now; as we enter wildflower season, there will be more flowers on the Coe trails each week.  Check out What's In Bloom Now for current bloomers and the Henry W. Coe Wildflower Guide for more information and photos.

Japantown San Jose: Changes in Winter

Early evening in Japantown San Jose.  Photo shoot inspired by the publication of 

San Jose Japantown: A Journey

Originally a Chinese restaurant, then a Cuban eatery.

Winter cold

Sycamore balls snagged on barbed wire.

Plywood on brick

Winter leaves at the Corporation Yard

Bright and Shiny Things

Beautiful morning at the brewery, taking shots of the shiny new equipment.  The light was good.  Here's Dean!

Apples, Light

Apples today; strawberries tomorrow.  Welcome to summer.

Communications HIll: The North Side

Construction on Montecito Vista Drive

Seeking Winter Texture: Guadalupe River Gardens, Late December 2013.

 

Cold winter morning at the park, lots of interesting layers and winter colors.  Heritage fruit tree orchard.

The Heritage Rose Garden

Lines.

California winter color.

Fallen leaves.

Lots of bright California light to use or contend with. 

A bit of BW; rose thorns & shadow.

Last leaves.

Ogier Ponds: Birding with SCVAS

Ogier Ponds, south of San Jose along 101, are former sand & gravel quarries.  They have an interlocking history with Coyote Creek and currently are the place to do a bit of fishing or birding on a late summer or early fall day.  Highlights today are American bittern, Red-necked phalarope, Green heron, Wood duck, and tons of Bushtits.

SCVAS fieldtrips are great because everyone is friendly and several experts with spotting scopes are generous with their knowledge and equipment.  The light was wonderfully golden this morning.

Late summer colors were subtly vibrant.  One of my favorite California landscapes is our rolling hills, whether green in spring or golden in summer.