All photos by Barbara Matthews

Saturday, December 31, 2011

A Little Bit of Everything to End 2011

A mix of subjects I've been working with this month. Happy New Year!



Last Sunrise of 2011


Water Sculpted


Yuba Color


Two Bridges


Rough Ride


Long Straight


Iced River Rocks



Bridgeport Bridge


Ice Caps


Old Stone Wall

Adventures in Barbed Wire
(Also known as get the camera out of your face and watch where you are walking)


Barbed Wire


Red and Blue


Circles


Layla Checking My Email

Playing With Guitar Strings



Playing With Guitar Strings


Trouble With Bubbles


Finally Some Rain

       

Water Drop Reflections



Water Drop Reflections

Friday, December 23, 2011

Personal Top 10 Photos of 2011

As the year comes to an end, Levi Moore on Google+ posted a challenge to choose our own personal top 10 photos for the year. This is harder than it sounds. Mine are not necessarily my best images but the ones that meant the most to me in regards to my photography. Starting with the present and working back:


One of my recent photos. I chose this one because as the year comes to an end I have been exploring other subjects and stepping outside my comfort zone with my photography. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!


I loved the simplicity of this shot. This was also my first attempt at using my newly purchased Photoshop Elements for editing. I edited out a few thousand mosquitoes that looked like black dots all over the image.



Sometimes you just get lucky, light and color were in my favor for this photo of Lake Tahoe.



Such a peaceful spot for some solitude. I chose this one because I felt I really captured the feeling of the place.



Taken long after the summer swimmers have left, this stack of rocks was in the middle of the river. Light and reflection drew me to this scene. I initially passed by it when the sun was higher in the sky. As I was leaving the river I was fortunate enough to see it.



On my State Park road trip I found wonderful waves and moody fog at McKerricher State Park. I loved the capture of the breaking wave. This photo got a nod from PhotoExtract.com as a supporters photo.



Beautiful Greenwood State Beach, one of 70 State Parks slated for closure. This image won photo of the month for September 2011 in the California State Park Foundation's photo contest.




This was taken at the Folsom Rodeo with my Kodak Easyshare since DSLR's were banned. A magical moment when the sunset, dust from the livestock, and the cowboys all combined for my favorite shot of the year.



My first rodeo event after getting my Nikon D5100. Finally able to manage light and action with a clarity I liked, even if the horse almost bucked the rider out of the frame.





My first real photo expedition of 2011. It gave me the encouragement to keep working to improve my photography.



Thursday, December 8, 2011

Christmas in Nevada County, California

It's that time of year, Christmas season is upon us. Here in Nevada County, the city of Grass Valley has a street festival running several Friday nights between Thanksgiving and Christmas called Cornish Christmas. In neighboring Nevada City, their festival is Victorian Christmas and is held on Wednesday nights and two Sunday afternoons.

The first photos were taken during Victorian Christmas last night.


Juggler


Roasting Chestnuts


Kettle Corn


Music


Crowds on Broad Street


Looking Down Broad St


Church at the Top of Broad St


Nevada City Decked Out and Ready to Celebrate




Grass Valley Lights on Mill St



Christmas Lights


Grass Valley Lights on Main St

Photo Scavenger Hunt

Now for something a little different than my usual posts. I had the opportunity to participate in a scavenger hunt this fall. It was a lot of fun and pushed me to photograph subjects I wouldn't usually photograph. Here are a few of my entries.


Corgi Mischief
I is for Ice


Dusted by Chocolate
C is for Chocolate


Fall Bounty
A is for Acorn


Fall is Served
L is for Leaf


Fright Night
F is for Flame


Lost and Found
E is for Earring


O is for Olive


One Silver Button
B is for Button


Powdered Sugar Doughnut
D is for Doughnut


S is for Sponge