Santa Ana English Pub

I took this at a pub in Santa Ana through some glass that was quite beveled and looked like a coke bottle bottom. I really like the way the sunlight coming through the North facing window and the table look behind the glass. You can definitely see the distortion. I hope you like it. I gave it a little of an infrared filter with a touch of blue so it has a different look to it. Let me know what you think.

A great pub in Santa Ana with a great looking menu…

It was a nice warm summer day today, not too hot, at least not yet. It will happen and when it does I will probably be complaining to you.  Willie was in Long Beach for a while today. I received an email from an old friend today. We have known each other since the 3rd grade and hooked up at our HS reunion two years ago. She is having a luncheon for her mother’s birthday on Aug. 1st and that happens to be the day Larry and Shelley are having a family barbecue. I haven’t seen her mother since Larry was a baby. It seems whenever she invites me to something, I already have something going on. It is just not fair! I have to arrange something to see her folks. She was 3 days too late going to visit my mother. You know me, most of my week-ends are spent at home with nothing to do!

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California Wild Flowers

Isn’t this photo pretty? I like the contrast of the bright yellow wild flowers next to the old farm wagon. It is on the edge between a snapshot and a photograph, so I am submitting it for your approval.  I hope many people come to look at it. I took the photo on the grounds of the Heritage Museum in Santa Ana. There are a lot of wild flowers there. I used my wide angle lens so I could get a lot in the image.

Wild flowers in a rustic setting…

I was looking at a new lens today that I would like to buy. It is the Canon 100mm macro lens. The images they show on Amazon look great. I enjoy macro photography but I only have some close-up filters. I would love to shoot with the real thing! Anyone out there have one? Please let me know what you think. Strange weather today – a little cool and overcast. I got some great steaks for tonight – I just have to get Willie to get the barbeque started! We’re watching the Marlins and the Dodgers right now – it is tied 2 to 2. Until tomorrow…

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Where Are My Visitors?

Isn’t this an interesting photograph? I took it at the Heritage House Museum and I think they use this beautiful trellis when they have weddings there. Can’t you just imagine a bride and groom running down here? Wouldn’t that make a great image? Well, they were setting up for a wedding for the next day. I bet the bride and groom entered the reception through here!

 

The trellis going through the orchards…

Now, for the question at hand:  where are all my visitors? My stats have gone through the floor this past week, not that they were ever great but they have gotten worse.  Are none of you coming back? Do I not have anything worth while to look at? Am I showing too much of a variety of photographs?  I wish some of you would comment and let me know what you think and how I can fix this.

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Will It Return to the Earth?

This is a piece of farm equipment, probably from the early 1900’s that was used in the orchards and gardens at the Kellogg house (now Heritage House Museum) in Santa Ana. It is not too far from that Dodge I showed you two days ago. I got a comment from a fellow photographer who said I should try the Dodge in sepia. I decided to give this rusty piece some new color and life and I did some extra sharpening to make the rust stand out more. How do you think it worked?

I bet this was pulled by a mule or a horse at one time…

What do you think of my new theme? It seems that my images are showing a little bigger than with the old one. This particular theme was designed for journalists, but I like it’s simplicity- it works well for me. Today is a gorgeous day in Huntington Beach. The Dodger’s swept the Padre’s today, I spoke with Larry and we made our plans for Mother’s Day next week, and Willie is going to start dinner for us.  All is pretty good right now. Have a good week and please check back tomorrow!

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A Visit to the Rose Garden

The rose garden at the Heritage House Museum is gorgeous. It will get even prettier as summer progresses. They have a large variety of roses in all sizes and colors. I thought this one was one of the most beautiful – but I did not catch it’s name. They all had tags but I did not see the one for this rose. What do you think? The weather has been good today so I will assume that the wedding went off without a hitch!

Beautiful roses blooming in the rose garden…

I got Photoshop CS4 and Dreamweaver downloaded today. It looks like I have a lot of learning to do! I know Dreamweaver from my class, but Photoshop has a lot of different features. I am sure NAPP has a lot of videos I could look at, plus lynda.com has a zillion of them! I am watching Barefoot Contessa as I type this. I like her show – even Willie watches it once in a while with me! Kyla and Donnan are sleeping, and looking over at Willie, well, no difference – he is asleep too! I am in for an exciting Saturday! Until tomorrow…

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A Dodge Truck at Heritage House

I spent this afternoon at the Heritage House Museum today walking around and taking a lot of photos with my friend Annette. We had a good time after going out to lunch. We were there for about two hours. The only problem was it got very humid and oh so hot! This is one of the last photos of the day that I took of an old Dodge truck sitting on the grounds. The main house was built by the Kellogg family (not the cereal family but the garden supplies family) in the late 1880’s. Actually, it was before they were the garden supply family (a son started that business). The father (who built the house) was a surveyor and considered one of the first families of Orange County. They do beautiful weddings and there will be one tomorrow.  I hope the weather stays good for them!

I guess that this is from somewhere around 1939 to 1942… 

There was a lot to see there and it was a fun afternoon. I took almost 100 photos and this is the one I decided to show to you. They had a beautiful rose garden and of course I took many photos of that. Willie just took Kyla and Donnan over to Larry’s to help him find an opossum in their garage. I don’t know what he expects them to do. I don’t want them to get bitten or anything!  I have a busy week-end ahead of me and school work to finish up. I hope you have a good and productive week-end too!

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Down a Long Corridor

Here is another photo from the historic Santa Ana Train Station. Maybe one of these days I will actually show you a train! It is great place to walk around and explore. I found this corridor as I was walking around the terminal from the back to the front looking for Willie and the dogs. There is no place to find new construction and detail like this today.  Aren’t the wooden beams, lantern light fixtures and tile work beautiful? It was almost 5:00 P.M. when I took this, so the sun is very low but still harsh.

Beautiful old craftsmanship in detail…

I am getting used to shooting only in raw now. I am processing more in camera raw but I still always end up in Photoshop! I really do like all of the extra information I get in the raw format. I have been totally shooting in manual mode for some time now, and with the raw added to that, it is all mine – I have as much control as I can get, without all the fancy lighting equipment, etc. My friend cancelled today to do the photos of her horses, etc. We will do it Monday morning. Tomorrow is Friday and we are going to dinner with Larry and Shelley.

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Santa Ana Train Station

This is in the foyer of the historic Santa Ana Train Station. The architecture is beautiful and very Spanish influenced. It makes me feel like I am up in Santa Barbara! There is a beautiful domed skylight in the foyer along with a circular brass railed staircase leading up three flights of stairs.  I took many photos there today but I particularly liked this one. The station is very busy with commuters using the Metrolink. I did not see any actual “trains” there. It is a beautiful station and has been used in many movies. I will share more of my photos with you.

The historic train station in Santa Ana…

You would not know this is a train station if I didn’t tell you! We went there after picking up my camera at the Canon Service Center. As of March 9th, they charge $30.00 for cleaning your sensor. Last time I went it was free. I will be very, very careful when I change lenses. I think that is when the dirt and dust falls in. The weather is becoming more spring like now; you can feel a change in the air. I have enjoyed my week off of school, but I have been so busy! I still have things I want to get done and tomorrow is Thursday already!

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Do You Need to Make a Phone Call?

Yesterday I was at this British “pub” in Santa Ana. It reminded me of when I was in Ireland and I bet it would bring back memories to Larry and Shelley of their recent trip to Scotland. I was there for a memorial gathering for a former school mate who recently died of cancer. This phone booth was out in the back and I needed to stand by the dumpster to take the photograph!I do not know if it is coming or going!

This needs a little work…!

It was a great place. I looked at their menu and I would like to go soon with Willie, Larry and Shelley for dinner.  We would have fun! I was busy today taking the photos for my new clients web site. They came out good and I think he will be happy with them. Larry and Shelley had a good time up at Mammoth. How could you not? It was kind of chilly today in the low 60’s. But I know it will start getting a lot warmer soon and then I  can start complaining about how hot it is!

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