Limoni

Lemons (limoni in Italian) are the subject of this week's Photo of the Week.  I was fortunate to be able to pick a bunch of fresh, organic lemons off of my Grandma's tree last weekend and they were so gorgeous they became the centerpiece on my kitchen table.  Soon, they will become limoncello, but until then they are a lovely decoration in my home.  I placed them in a red bowl, and with the coordinating red curtains in my dining room, and a bit of natural light coming in through the front window I couldn't help myself from wanting to photograph them.  I pulled out the 50mm lens with its beautiful f/1.8 depth of field and snapped away.  I hope you like what I came up with!

Limoni

This was my submission for the Photo of the Week hosted by Jessica Rogers Photography.  If you'd like to participate (anyone can!) hop on over to her website.

Have a great weekend!

California Missions - Part 2

A couple of weeks ago I continued my Personal Project of photographing the California Missions at Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa.  San Luis Obispo just happens to be my home town and I couldn't travel through without taking a bit of time to visit and see what the mission looked like through my lens.  I've walked and driven past it many times throughout my life, I went on school field trips, played with my high school wind ensemble on its steps, I even went to a wedding there when I was a kid (I don't recall whose); but this was the first time I really truly explored this beautiful historic site with my camera.

The first photo I'd like to share with you was also submitted for Jessica Rogers Photo of the Week last week:

The old bells of Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa

Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa was founded by Junipero Serra on September 1, 1772.  It was named after Saint Louis, the Bishop of Toulouse, France.  The building as it stands today was built between 1793-1794.  The front portico was added in 1794, torn down in 1877, and restored in 1933. For more history on this beautiful Mission visit http://www.missionsanluisobispo.org.

Here are a few more photos from my visit:

A bit of detail around the front entrance to the sanctuary

Leaning on God

This lovely floral motif extended around the sanctuary

I truly enjoyed exploring in my home town and taking the time to examine details that I passed by often without thinking.  There is such beauty in our world, if only we take the time to slow down and see it.

Another sight in Moss Landing

Just a quick post to share another photo from Moss Landing.  I have a thing for boats - colorful boats, falling apart boats - I just love the texture!

Happy Friday!

Around the Napa Valley

Its been nearly two weeks since I was in the Napa Valley.  My hubbie & I spent a week up there, visiting family, eating fabulous food, and I even got to sneak off for awhile and take a few pictures.  Here are a few of my favorites:

I'm glad that I got a chance to take off on my own to shoot at least one afternoon while I was there.  I had a blast driving the tiny roads that cross between the Napa Valley's two main arteries (Hwy 29 and Silverado Trail) It is such a beautiful place!

Antiquing in Moss Landing

For the past two weeks I have been on the road, traveling up and down California spending time with family.  I had a fantastic trip!  I still have a lot of photos to go through, but for now I want to share the one I submitted for Jessica Rogers' Photography Photo of the Week:

Antiquing in Moss Landing

I captured this image while wandering in and out of antique shops with my cousin.  I'm so glad I got the opportunity to spend quality time with her!  We haven't been able to do that in years.  I'll take every moment I can get because she is also married to the military and will be moving to the east coast later this year.  Ah, the life of a military wife.

A quick sidenote: if you enjoy following Jessica Rogers' Photography and her Photo of the Week feature please note that her web address has changed: http://www.jessicarogersphoto.com/blog/

Pink Cows

I can't say I understand the creative force that leads people to paint animal sculptures outlandish colors and put those sculptures in odd locations, but they almost always make me smile, no matter how bizarre they are.  Today's examples are no exception: these bright pink bovine specimens were casually "grazing" in and near Napa Valley vineyards.  A great contrast to the somewhat stuffy attitude of wine country.  I hope they make you smile, too!

California Missions - Part 1

You may have read in my last post that I decided to take on photographing each of the California Missions as a personal project.  I love capturing history with my lens and the Missions seemed like the best place to start. Only a few miles from my home is Mission San Diego de Alcala, where I began my photographic journey of the Misisons.

Mission San Diego de Alcala was first of the 21 California Missions, founded on July 16, 1769, and blessed by Junipero Serra. It was the birthplace of Christianity in the west and the first church in California. The church as it stands today is the fifth to occupy the site, being rebuilt in 1931 to mirror how the church looked in 1813. (Click here for more in-depth history of Mission San Diego de Alcala)

I enjoyed exploring the Mission grounds earlier this week with my camera. I took several photos, one of which I submitted for Jessica Rogers' Photo of the Week:

My Photo of the Week submission

Inside the Church

I hope you enjoyed visiting Mission San Diego de Alcala, though my lens. I will be traveling north soon, and hope to visit at least another Mission or two along the way.

Personal Project

I listen to a lot of photography podcasts and read a lot of photography blogs. One thing that repeatedly comes up as an exercise to boost creativity is a personal project. For some this may take the form of a 365 project (taking and perhaps posting online a photo every day for a year), and for others it can be using a specific piece of equipment, or photographing a certain subject - really, the sky is the limit.

I've had it in my head for quite some time now that I need to do a personal project. I've had several ideas, but one that keeps coming back to me is the California Missions.  I'm a history buff in my own special way.  I can't recite too many pieces of random information like who was born when and what year certain events took place, but I love love love seeing history coming alive in front of me, being in a place where I can imagine the stories of the people who lived there long before me.

I know this is one of the reasons I loved living in Italy, history was absolutely everywhere! It was so easy to go out and photograph the details around me because I knew they were historically significant. Now that I'm back in the States I've found it difficult to find the same kind of photographic inspiration I had in Europe. We, as a country, simply don't have as much history.

Once I recognized this about myself, and why I like to take certain pictures it occurred to me that California is rich in history! It may not be as old as the Colosseum in Rome, but it is the history of where I live, where I am from - it is MY history.

One of the significant aspects of California's history is the Missions, and El Camino Real. I've visited several of the missions during my life, but many not since childhood. I decided that taking on photographing every one of the 21 California Missions would be my personal project.  I don't have a particular timeline involved, but in the next year (or years) I would like to visit and photograph every Mission in California.

I started my journey today at Mission San Diego de Alcala. I will share photos and a bit of history of this site later this week, but for now I will leave you with a photo of one of the many gorgeous flowers gracing the Mission grounds.

I hope you enjoy taking this journey with me. I think I will learn a lot about California, and will hopefully in the process become a better, more creative photographer.

Signs of Spring

For this week's Photo of the Week submission I chose to take a quick walk in my neighborhood to photograph the blossoms on the trees that line my street.

Signs of Spring

While it may not be officially Spring quite yet, the warm weather, green hills, and abundant wildflowers around San Diego certainly say Spring is here!

Here are a few more shots from that day:

If you are interested in participating in Jessica Rogers Photo of the Week please check out her website!

Have a wonderful weekend!

And for those of you who are interested I use OnOne Software's PhotoFrame 4.5 Free to create the edging on my many of my photos.  Its a fun Photoshop plug-in. Check it out!

My Mom is AWESOME!

She sent me cookies :)

Not just any cookies, Brown Butter Sea Salt Cookies!!

I savored a couple of them today with my afternoon cappuccino...YUM!

Thank you, Mommy!!

If you'd like to get your hands on some of these awesome cookies visit the Brown Butter Cookie Company website or find them on Facebook.  Seriously, they are worth the effort!

Daddy's Truck

For the past few years my dad has been working on restoring a 1968 Ford F100.  It is a gorgeous truck!  Last weekend when I was visiting my family on the Central Coast I spent a bit of time in my dad's shop taking photos.

I love how they turned out!  Most of them have been processed as HDR. I love the extra detail and texture this process reveals. I also decdied to submit one of my truck photos for Jessica Rogers' Photo of the Week. Here is the one I chose:

Daddy's Truck (1968 Ford F100)

I had a hard time choosing which one of my photos to submit for Photo of the Week.  Here are the other contenders:

What do you think? Which is your favorite?  Let me know in the comments!!

A glimpse at last weekend's photo shoot

This past weekend I had the honor of photographing a family. Not just any family, but part of my family!  This beautiful group of four is about to become 5 and I had great time capturing images that will hopefully be enjoyed for generations.

I shot over 500 frames and still have a lot of editing to do, but here is a quick sneak peek of what is to come:

Enjoy! More are on the way...