Day 283

Day 283- California Citrus State Historic Park

Today we drove out to Riverside and spent a few hours at California Citrus State Historic Park.   This is a great place to spend an afternoon.  You can walk among hundreds of acres of citrus groves, picnic, visit a citrus museum, and shop at a citrus gift shop.  We wanted to visit during this time of the year when the trees are full of fruit.  We plan on visiting again in April when the sweet smelling orange blossoms are in bloom.  More photos if you click the link below. 

Technical Info- ISO 100, 194mm, f/5.6, 1/400

Day 266

Day 266- Sunset and Strawberries

I took this photo today at Smith Farms in Irvine, near my home.  I love stopping at this little farm and produce stand on my way home from work.  This crops in the foreground of this picture are strawberries.

Technical Info- ISO 800, 20mm, f/22, 1/500

Day 203

Day 203- Eww Brussel Sprouts

Technical Info- ISO 3200, 41mm, f/5.6, 1/320

Day 130

Day 130- Homegrown Tomatoes

These are the last of the summer tomatoes we grew in our backyard.  They are almost ready to be picked!

Technical Info- ISO 100, 50mm, f/3.5, 1/60

Day 106

 Day 106- Florida Oranges

Today we visited a family owned orange grove and farm.  We got to sample some of their fruits, including these "Unique Oranges."  Unique oranges are a cross between an orange and a tangerine.  I love my California oranges, but it was fun to visit a place where they grow and juice Florida oranges.  More photos when you click the link below!

Technical Info- ISO 1600, 30mm, f/5.6, 1/100

Day 98

 Day 98- Sunset Citrus

This evening I walked around Citrus Grove Park in Tustin.  It is a gorgeous park that is a working lemon grove! I love it!  The grove is planted on an easily walkable hill.  From the top of the hill it has beautiful views that on clear days stretch from Mt.Baldy to Catalina Island.  As I was leaving, the setting sun was streaming through the lemon trees. Beautiful!

Technical Info- ISO 100, 18mm, f/3.5, 1/1600

Day 66

Day 66 - Bakersfield Pistachios

I just got back from a fun weekend in Bakersfield, CA.  We drove around through miles of oil fields and various crops.  I learned that almost all of the pistachios eaten in the US are grown in the central valley.  Here are some pistachios that are still ripening in a tree.  I also included some more photos of the pistachio trees as well as a few that feature almonds growing.

Technical Info- ISO 300, 55mm, f/7.1, 1/320

Day 62

Day 62 - A Tasty Berry!

My mom is growing blueberries in the backyard. After I took this photo, I picked and ate this plump little berry.  It was delicious! I made some mistakes while taking this picture.  I wasn't paying attention to all my settings and I didn't realize the ISO was at 3200. This ISO is too high and it caused some "digital noise."  I was tempted to reshoot it at a lower ISO and slower shutter speed, but I'm using this as a learning experience. Lesson learned- always be aware of the ISO!!

Technical Info- ISO 3200, 55mm, f/5.6, 1/800

Day 53

Day 53- Lavender Festival

Today my mom and I went to a Lavender Festival in Cherry Valley, CA.  It was so much fun!  We were able to freely wander around their organic lavender farm. We watched a demonstration of how they create their lavender essential oil and heard about the many types of lavender they grow there.  We also learned how to create lavender sachets and sampled lavender food from their kitchen. We also shopped for some lavender goods.  It was such a fun day and I would highly suggest it to anyone in the area!  This resort was a photographer's heaven - so many beautiful shots.  If we had been there later in the day, without such harsh lighting, I would have been able to get some more great shots!

Technical Info- ISO 100, 18mm, f/5.6, 1/500

Click here for more pics!!!****

Day 47

Day 47- Pico de Gallo 

I made this tasty pico de gallo to eat with dinner.  It was so tasty, light, and fresh!  We used jalapenos that my mom grew in the backyard!  Click the link below for a pic of one of our tiny jalapenos that my mom grows in the backyard!  

Technical Info- ISO 3200, 50mm, f/3.5, 1/50

Day 25

Day 25- Strawberry Season

These strawberries grow near my home.  I love to stop at the little stands and buy big boxes of just-picked berries.  It was hard to resist grabbing one of these little guys and popping them into my mouth!  But to get this shot, I was already trespassing on private property, so i figured I shouldn't start stealing berries also.

Lessons learned on these shots- take my time to set up the shot, move around to find fun angles, make sure to check and adjust my aperture after each shot.

Technical Info- ISO 100, f/3.5, 1/1600

More strawberry/agricultural pics if you click the link below!!

Day 6

Day 6- Cabbage

Everyday on my way to and from work, I pass growing crops. I love that even in Irvine suburbia there are still pockets of its agricultural roots. I love the colors in this picture. I probably should have waited until later in the day to take it because the sun was still high in the sky and harsh. This caused some of the leaves to be too light, but I love how the bright light made some of the leaves translucent and almost look like they are glowing. I really enjoy these agricultural shots and will probably feature many more of them in future blog posts. :-)

Technical Info- ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/320