The beginning – prep
…more veggies!
…ready for the oven,
2 hours later,
May your hearts be filled with every joy this lovely season brings!
Nikon D300s| Nikkor lenses|
Thank you Wayne for showing me the way!
Category: California
From My House to Yours…
A little Christmas “evergreen” especially for you!
Merry Christmas!
Nikon D300s| Nikon D300s| Nikkor 18mm f3.5 Ai-S @ 18mm| f8| 2 seconds| ISO 200 | Manual Mode| On a Tripod
December Lights
December Lights, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-working a lot-little time for flickr.
Copyright © 2010 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
My night Meet-up group had a long awaited for Meet-up up at Coit Tower, so T, DD, G, and I headed up to the city for brunch, then spent some time in Union Square window shopping, and shopping, and photographing the decorations around the city before meeting the Group at Coit Tower. As soon as we got out of the parking garage T read a text from a group member that the Coit Tower elevator was closed for renovations until mid-January! The fog was low and we thought the visibility would be poor from the parking lot at Coit Tower so we made a mad dash for Treasure Island. While on the Bay Bridge and half way there the fog was covering all but the tops of the city buildings. We hoped it held long enough for us to get the sunset and blue period. Unfortunately, by the time we got Treasure Is. the fog covered all of the skyline. So we adapted and sought higher ground.
After shooting the sunset we headed back to town to get something to eat. After a lite diner we tried Treasure Island one more time. This is what I saw.
You never know how long the fog will stay in place in the city. I heard the group that stayed up at Coit Tower got some wonderful shots.
Nikon D300s| Nikkor 17-35mm @ 24mm| f/16| 13seconds| ISO 640| Manual Mode| On a Tripod| Triggered with a remote release cable| No filters
A Rainy Day Adventure with friends
Copyright © 2010 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
T, DD, A, and myself thought we’d make a run for Bowling Ball Beach a 3+ hour drive during a rare Negative Tide to photograph the boulders and rocky shelf that is exposed during this time. A Negative Tide is a lower than normal low tide.
It rained the whole way up then stopped just as we arrived to the beach. It was quite an adventure getting down here. The trail was muddy, and the end of the trail the cliff fell off so the state built a log and cable ladder that went straight down the cliff face. It wouldn’t have been that bad, but the rain run off was pouring down the mountain side and draining 100ft in front of the bridge and flooded the entire area which was littered with huge logs the sea tossed up with the tide, kelp, rocks, boulders, and other sea debris.
Because it was flooded at the bottom we climbed down the ladder halfway then hung onto the muddy wall as best we could and tried not to slide off this muddy boulder that we had to cross. After crossing that boulder we balanced on a log that was floating in the flood waters ,and then we traversed debris and finally made it to the beach. From there we crossed two more rivers of fresh water flowing to the sea. Phew! We were photographing for about 20 minutes when it started to rain again.
Theresa, Dali, and 1/2 brothers we met here. Copyright © 2010 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
Donning our hats, and cameras in rain gear we photographed the boulders and beach for about an hour.
We wanted to climb out of there before dark, and get out before the tide returned. The climb back up was a lot easier than coming down. We were pretty soaked when we got back to the car.
We headed to Bodega Bay for a hot dinner.
Nikon D300s| Nikkor 17-35mm @ 17mm| f11| 1/4sec| ISO 200| Manual Mode| On a Tripod| No Filters
San Jose Holiday/Christmas Parade 2010
San Jose Holiday/Christmas Parade 2010, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-working a lot-little time for flickr.
Copyright © 2010 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
Minnie Mouse waves to the crowd as she cruises by in that wonderful vintage T-Bird!
A friend of mine and I went to the parade Saturday morning. We missed the grand finale- Santa Claus.
We had to leave to meet friends for another adventure, but what we saw was fun. Lots of local college and High School bands. We have a lot of talent here. They all sounded great.
Nikon D90| Nikkor 80-200mm @ 100mm| 1/500sec| f4| ISO 640| Manual| On A Tripod
At the Portal
Yesterday 4 friends and I went to Pfieffer State Beach in Big Sur, California. It’s about 100 miles south of my house. Theresa, Dali, and I went in one car and we met our friends Alex, and Rainey in Carmel. From there we caravaned to Pfieffer State Beach. The goal; A couple of times a year the sun sets behind “The Portal” a huge rock island with an Arch through it which allows a sun beam to come through. It’s been on our “to shoot” list for awhile.
We went early to get the lay of the land, and have lunch. We planned a picnic pot luck. We had sandwich fixin’s, chips, dips, fruit, pasta salad, olives and feta cheese, pickles, and Dali brought cake; Chocolate Mocha Cake. Three layers with a chocolate mousse filling inside.
I had great will power and only had one little piece. It was delicious! I might add that in addition to this Dali also brought along for the drive some Mochi, and other Japanese cookies! I wish I had his metabolism!!!
Nature or a previous rock sitter had decorated our spot,
We had a picnic crasher too,
Dali or Theresa threw it a piece of bread and I missed the focus so he’s not as sharp as I’d like. He was quick! Quicker than me that’s for sure.
He struck a handsome pose hoping for more handouts,
After lunch Dali and I hiked up the mountain to check out the view from the cliffs. The hike up was pretty steep. The terrain was mixed. Sand dunes, loose sandy soil, rocky out crops, and bushy bits. In places the trail was washed out and I went up the wash to meet up with the trail nearly at the top. Dali being braver than I went up the wash the whole way. I think the climb was only 150 ft or so, but steep. Our friend Steven had warned me to be careful going up…if I went up. Thank you Steven!
The view of “The Portal” from the cliff,
Shooting into the sun…challenging to say the least! I used my 2 stop Graduated Neutral Density filter to try to balance the light. It didn’t quite work out. I needed my 3 stop. I thought I had packed it but mistakenly grabbed my Reverse Grad instead so I used a layer mask in Photoshop to lighten “The Portal”. I like the sunburst and the flare. After a few more shots up here we hiked down to the beach to pick my spot to shoot the sunset.
The sun began to set and the light changed…this is what we came for!
…and,
A large wave came through the Portal splashing what looks like liquid fire! It was so neat. As the sun was going down more and more
photographers arrived to take photos of this event. I think there were close to 30 of us out there. It was great fun. We all agreed this is a place we’d like to come back to again.
After the sun went down we packed up and went into Carmel for a hot dinner, then we said farewell to Alex, and Rainey, and headed home.
Bread Stuffing Beginnings
Bread Stuffing Beginnings, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-Is Thankful for Flickr Friends!.
Copyright © 2010 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
My favorite recipe for Bread Stuffing is from my first cookbook Betty Crocker. The orange book with the pie sections on the cover, and in each section there is a food item. I can’t find the edition or year mine was printed.
It’s really old and falling apart, anyway the Bread Stuffing is simple. Bread, Butter, celery, onion,salt, pepper, sage, and thyme. I add chicken stock to keep it moist since I don’t stuff the bird. I bake mine in a casserole dish.
When making a small batch I use:
1 loaf of white bread, torn into bite sized pieces
2 sticks of unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
1 Tbs Ground Sage- add more or to taste
1 Tbs Thyme- add more or to taste
1 14oz can of Chicken stock- less salt
In a large pot melt the butter. When melted stir in 1/3 of the bread pieces and mix, add the other ingredients and the rest of the bread. Mix well. Add chicken stock to moisten.
Put into large casserole, cover and bake for 45 minutes to an hour.
I use my hand to measure my herbs, and I taste. When it tastes the way I like it I mix it then put in the dish to bake. I don’t usually pull out the recipe anymore.
The house smells great! Dinner should be done in 40 minutes or so.
Nikon D300s, Nikkor 35mm f2, 1/200s, ISO 640, Aperture Priority
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