February 22, 2014: Newts on Mount Tamalpais in Fairfax

I found that newts are not the easiest creatures to capture using manual settings.  Turtles-- turtles are the way to go!  They move

 R  E  A  L  L  Y     S L O W L Y.     Newts, not so slow.  Blur factor is high, even with a fast shutter speed.   Yes, I need more practice with newt shots.  But isn't she cute?  :)

February 17, 2014:  Some night shots in Alameda

I was going for an evening walk with my neighbor friends Aaron and Rosilee, and I took these photos from their apartment complex while I was waiting for them for a couple minutes .  --just to see how my camera does in the dark.    I liked how they had such an "LA look" --sorta "fake" with a post-modern nonchalance-- when I am so not LA.  This amused me... like how was I the one that took these pictures?   Maybe I have an Alter Ego in the dark.  (Click on small image for a large version with detail.)

February 15, 2014:  Learning my DSLR with my friend David at Samuel P. Taylor State Park (Marin County, CA)

All images copyrighted Casondra Sobieralski.  Please contact for use permissions: cmsobieralski@hotmail.com




David has volunteered to be my photography coach.  ;)  We took our cameras out to the redwoods on a slightly rainy Saturday afternoon because the redwoods are the best place to be on a misty day.  

He would give me little exercises like, "See that rope dangling from that footbridge?  Get the rope in sharp focus and the rest blurred."  Ooo!  At the waterfall, "Get the water in soft focus, but everything around it crisp."  "Er, how do I do that?"  "Figure it out!"

Here are some samples of my first day trying the manual controls of my new DSLR.  Yes I know I'm not ready for a National Geo Fulbright, but slowly slowly!

[click on small images for large detailed images.]

 Little ferns...

Third time was the charm on my rope assignment!  Click for larger image to even SEE the rope...

I am very proud of this photo technically for day 2 out with my camera!

Note the soft water and the crisp stuff around it, as per my assignment.  :)

OK, a little over exposed in the weather soup, but nice composition, eh?

Can't you FEEL the moss?  Definitely more data than my Powershot camera.

"Tree Tryptic"

David!

Rain drops on crab grass.

I like this one-- all the juicy textures.  (One to click for big image.)

Spooky cabin.

Thank you David!  It takes a true friend to get soaked in the redwoods with you for art. :)

February 10, 2014: Orange County, CA

A few photos from my explorations while Alex was at work on Monday... 

Fun architecture for and am/pm mini-market, eh?  Saddleback Mountains in the distance.

February 9, 2014: Orange County, CA

My Pittsburgh high school amigo, Alex, moved from Palo Alto to Orange County this past summer.  I went down to SoCal to visit for his birthday/housewarming weekend. 

This was also my first weekend with my NEW DSLR!  Opted for the Canon EOS 70D, first DSLR with autofocus for video.  I was lazy and shot everything on auto settings so Alex didn't have to be constantly waiting for me to figure out where all the buttons gizmos and gadgets are for everything!  Kevin is saintly patient with this sort of thing because his dad was a photographer and used to take Kevin on shoots with him.  My friend David is also patient because he is a photographer.  My dad is very patient because he likes to nurture my photo habit.  But I don't expect most people to be that patient.  ;)

Goal for day 1 was just to get used to the shape and feel of the camera in my hands.

Alex's new digs in Lake Forest.  As you can ascertain, I am the supreme underachiever of my high school peer group.  Ha ha!  But they don't mind.  They tell me they live vicariously through my gutsy free spirit.   :)

The view from Alex's front yard.  Yes, Alex, I know we need to go shopping for food for a dinner party tonight and one tomorrow night, BUT WE MUST GO TO THAT MOUNTAIN! (Behind those palms.) It's calling my soul.

 Alex conceding to take me to the Saddleback/Santa Ana Mountains, where he had never been himself.

Houses nestled on a plateau.

Houses nestled in a Saddleback valley.

Groovy dome home.

We found the start of a 14 mile trail head starting at a nature preserve run by Cal State Fullerton.   This was in a tiny outback town called Modjeska, named after a nineteenth century actor and women's right's activist from Krakow.  Yes, Orange County fits a lot of its stereotypes, but it also has little pockets of unexpected treasures!  This one is 20 minutes from Alex's new place.

With dinner guests arriving at 7, though, we only had about 2 hours to play, so we intend to go back and trail run the whole thing next visit. 

Freaky winding stairs to nowhere built into the hillside.  Ancient WPA project???

Lightening demise of a tree...

Thanks for indulging my soul!  I would be very happy to be one of the 30-40 (adult) mountain lions living in this range.  

Hot and dry and minimal pollen torture, just the way I like it. 

Now let's go make a feast!

Oh, but we needed a few kitchen items from the old apartment. While Alex was rifling for mixing bowls and such, I was drawn to the sunset on this palm tree.  Good night sun!