November 30

Every fence post along the edge of this farm has an old boot on it.

I didn't count how many, but they number in the hundreds for sure, and they all have this much character. 

I wonder what the story is here.

November 29

Sacramento was all tucked in under its "blanket of fog" earlier today.  I hear this weather is pattern is supposed to break, so it should be clear skies tomorrow.

November 28

I drove through the Yolo Basin this morning mainly because it was so foggy, being near the river.  But once I got out there, the abstract patterns made by the marsh reflections are what caught my eye. 

November 27

On our way through San Francisco today we stopped by the Fairmont Hotel to see the giant gingerbread house in their lobby.  It was several stories tall with decorated rooms.  Just to give a sense of the construction, each brick is a gingerbread slab.  It was very impressive.  Plus we had fun exploring the lobby of the hotel.  I hate to be facetious here, but I'm pretty sure the 1% are Occupying the Fairmont.

November 26

The first really foggy morning of the season, but it was easy to spot this persimmon tree!

November 25

So you know in the movie Christmas Vacation when they drive into the mountains to cut a Christmas tree?  Well, we did that today!

Turns out there are plenty of National Forest Service offices in California that offer this, but the closest one to us was the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.  It costs $10 to purchase the permit, and they give you maps showing areas in the forest where you can cut.  So this photo was taken at one of the locations where we looked.  The trees tend to be thinner than what you get at a tree farm, but the tree we chose is probably my favorite tree we've ever gotten.  I suppose because of the family adventure involved. 

November 24

Happy Thanksgiving!

I was thinking it would be fun to get a photo of one of the many turkey flocks that I see around here.

And normally they're pretty easy to find,

but for some reason, I didn't have any turkey sightings this week!

Hmmm....maybe they're smarter than I think.

Anyway, my idea of a turkey shoot would have been pretty painless.

That's what she said, as she prepares to put the bird in the oven!

November 23

Back to leaves again today.

We're still getting a lot of color around here.

This is a shady spot under a big tree, so I shot in vivid.

The green and yellow came out nice.

November 22

So guess where I was today...
Hint: Rice-a-Roni is a treat here! 

I came through the city to pick Eric up at the airport.
Glad to be back home now, and thankful that the family is together for Thanksgiving!

November 21

I don't normally think of mockingbirds as photogenic, but when this one landed in the branch above me and started eating these berries I couldn't help but take his photo.  It's  way overexposed because my camera wasn't set for pointing the camera to the sky (yes, it's possible that I might have been photographing leaves!), but I sort of like how it came out.  It reminds me a little of a vintage bird picture.

November 20

More leaves from the walk along West Davis Pond today.  It's looking like this might be leaf week.  And given that just last month I was willing to drive several hours up to Lake Tahoe to photograph colorful fall foliage, it's a good week to be thankful for such a beautiful display of color right in my own backyard!

November 19

Perfect November weather today.  Cool and overcast on my walk with Clover. 

November 18

 Rain clouds were coming over the hills this morning out in Yolo. 

And these horses watched me warily from their rusty shed.

I like the before the storm lighting.

And I like the string of lights.

It reminds me of Snoopy's dog house at Christmas time.

November 17

  I can hardly believe this is the West Davis Pond. 

  Where did all this color come from?

  This scene snuck up on me when I wasn't looking.

I love November!

November 16

Also from yesterday's trip to Coloma.

This building is one of two remaining Chinese Stores from a Chinese gold rush settlement, now part of Marshall Gold Discovery State Park. 

Just loved the colors.

November 15

So far this fall Tuesday has been my photo field trip day.  Somehow I ended up in Coloma today, which wasn't what I was planning.  But I love the historic Hwy 49 Gold Country route, and I guess I'm a creature of habit.  I'm standing just feet from Sutter's Mill where gold was discovered in 1849.  I hadn't noticed this building before, but I was drawn to the texture in this scene and the bright whites; my first thought when I saw it was that it would make a great black and white. 

November 14

View while waiting in the Starbuck's drive-thru line this morning.  I was in the mood for a simple photo today.  And as an editorial comment, Starbucks should serve fresh decaf all day long, not just the morning.  Don't people want decaf in the afternoon?  Or is it just me?  f/2.8 at 1/800, ISO400, 200mm.

November 13

Back to the walnut groves in Winters this morning.  I was practicing capturing motion parallax with the camera.  This one ended up being my favorite because it's so richly saturated (backlit).  The photo is just as shot; completely un-retouched.  The physics behind motion parallax is that objects in front of the focal point appear to be moving in the opposite direction from objects behind the focal point.  The focal point is fixed, while the eye is moving (in this case in a car).  I love a painterly photo, so I'm always happy when I can achieve this effect.   f/13 at 1/15, ISO100, 80mm.

November 12

Swapped out photos here.  Not sure why.  I just didn't like the colors in the other building.  This one was just a snapshot at a red light, and a building I was planning to come back a photograph later.   Guess I like the contrast and bit of blue sky.  Definitely potential here.  f/2.8 at 1/2000, ISO100, 155mm.                                                 

November 11

We took a family trip to Lodi today to see the Sandhill Cranes come in at sunset.  It's pretty to watch.  And hear!  I didn't know they made such a nice cooing sound, sort of like geese but much softer.  I just wish we'd gone on a less overcast day because it was such a dreary sunset and not good lighting!  f/2. at 1/800, ISO400, 200mm.

November 10

 So this is a pretty amazing photo to me, and I'm posting it today even though I took it last week at South Yuba State Park.  Same day as the valley oaks photo, and in fact not far from that spot.  I LOVE photographing birds, and I was very excited because I had never seen this kind of woodpecker before.  And intially I thought all the acorns were put in the tree by squirrels.  But as it turns out, this is an acorn woodpecker, and he drills these holes to store acorns!  The tree is called a granary.  As the acorns dry out and shrink in size, he has to move the acorns to smaller holes.  Evidently this is very time-consuming.  Luckily he's living in a canyon covered in valley oaks, so acorns are plentiful.  This is just so cool to me!  I'm really happy I saw this scene and had a chance to get a photo!  f3/5 at 1/250, ISO125, 200mm.

November 9

Just liked the shadows here. 
Yesterday and today's photos make a cute odd couple.  Again unintended.

Now I'm curious to photograph this at some other time of day too.

f/6.3 at 1/640, ISO100, 170mm.

November 8

Pretty colors today in Napa.  Interesting too how each stretch of vineyard turns a different color.  This one was the most orange that I photographed.  I like the orange.  And I like how the open spaces make a triangle shape as they fade to the left.  I don't know though, as a photo maybe it seems a little cliche.   f/6.3 at 1/200, ISO100, 170mm.

November 7

I've started taking my camera with me to class in the morning because lately that's been the best light.  Got on campus early today, so I wandered around at the Death Star, and took this photo.  It still seems to have a similar theme to most of my November photos...not sure what's up with that.  I'm lacking the ability to psychoanalyze here, but definitely aware of it.  Plus I'm trying lots of different photos and this is just what turns out best right now.  Anyway I like it because it can either feel 3D or 2D depending on how I"m looking at it.  f/8 at 1/200, ISO400, 80mm.

November 6

Hooray, we got rain!

Loved the soggy day lighting along the tree-lined streets in downtown Davis.

I know this is a lot of tree branches this month, but this one looks to me like the bony hand of winter about to turn the season.
Sort of dark, I suppose.  But I can finally feel the season changing here, and that's not a bad thing.

f/4 at 1/50, ISO400, 200mm

November 5

Western Bluebird?

Check!

No jumping frogs to be found today at the Calaveras County Fairgrounds, where the cross country team was competing.  But I was so happy to spot this western bluebird perched in a valley oak out on the course.  Just wishing I were a little closer.  Or had a bigger lens!  f/3.5 at 1/250, ISO320, 200mm.

November 4

Bike fan?

A fan of the bike?

Seems too literal for a metaphor, but I spotted it at the edge of campus this morning, and couldn't pass up the photo op.  Plus the colors are so pretty.  f/5 at 1/200, ISO400, 200mm.

November 3

Hazy day today up near South Yuba River State Park.  It was a good day to photograph Valley Oaks with their interesting branch shapes.  The problem with this photo is the gray patch in the lower right.  It's the side of my car.  This scene was in front of me just before a sharp curve on a 15% grade descent into the canyon.  There was nowhere to pull over and park, so I just stopped my car, leaned out the window, and took the picture.  I probably would have gotten out and taken the photo, but someone came up behind me.  If only I had a longer torso!  f/3.5 at 1/100, ISO125, 80mm.

November 2

I found this scene by accident.  I typed the wrong address into my Garmin and wound up at the marina.   I was hoping to photograph red today, so that worked out nicely.  f/3.5 at 1/100,

ISO100, 200mm.

November 1

For some reason this scaffolding and wall were all I saw to photograph earlier today when I was in Sacramento.  I know the color and texture are what drew me to the scene, but seeing it as a photo I like the shadows best.   Actually I'm not wild about the photo overall, but it's what caught my eye today.  f/18 at 1/800, ISO3200, 92mm.