One Swallow Swooping

This photo is a swallow flying over Cottonwood Creek; there were two of them seemingly thrilled to be using their flying abilities. They were swiftly dashing and swooping and turning and diving thru the air. My equipment (Tamron 70-300) could not keep up with them, so I turned it into a low sat abstract photograph with Lightroom.

Yeehaw! Mother's Day 2014

I went to the Cottonwood Rodeo on Mother's day, with a group of shutterbuggers.
Shasta Canon Photo Club is a friendly fun group that I am glad to have joined!  I used my longest lens, the Tamron 70-300 f8 @ 1/250 to1/400th of a second  but it wasn't really fast enough to capture the action. Should've asked, duh! Learned something and had fun, awesome day! And there were handsome cowboys and lovely cowgirls and beautiful horses as well. This was the first Mom's day I didn't spend with my son, who is  about to graduate from UCDavis.

 

 

Big Moon in Black and White

I went out last eve to shoot the supermoon, as tonight's forecast is cloudy. Editing in Lightroom 4, the pros make it look easy, but it's a complex program. In this version I removed color and some foreground trees; it looks a bit otherworldly to me now. I used the Tamron 70-300 vc to bring the moon in close.

Cattle Pond Smokey Atmosphere

Smokey day at the cattle pond in Lake California, soon after the Ponderosa fire roared to life. Another photo shot with the Tamron 70-300. I like to shoot landscapes in portrait orientation so I get a greater feeling of distance.

Red Sunflower with Tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6

A red sunflower shot at the community garden here in Lake California. There are a lot of fires in northern California right now so the sky is actually hazy gray. This photo was taken with the Tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6 vc lens. I am enjoying the reach of this longer lens; the picture quality is "good enough" for me.  The lens seems well-built, Tamron offers a 6 year warranty and with rebate the cost was only $350.00.

Cutie with the Tamron 70-300 mm f4-5.6 DI VC lens

From the backyard this a.m., I love the pose of this dragonfly! Might have benefited from a deeper dof but always choices to make.  The Tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6 DI VC lens is "good enough"  better than I expected and I will get a $100 rebate which makes it inexpensive, too. I am not a pro photog nor can I afford the pro quality gear for the most part. But I do like background blur and dslr image quality and the ability to shoot RAW cuz that gives me more creative freedom as an artist.