I had the most wonderful opportunity to photograph Hal the horse. Hal is the most photographic horse I have ever met. As a matter of fact he is quite the ham (pardon the pun).

Karen Mountain is Hal’s human. I say it that way because Hal is such a love that he gets pretty much whatever he wants. When Karen heard that I wanted to photograph a horse, she was more than happy to volunteer herself and Hal.

When Karen was tacking Hal she had placed him in an entry way of the barn. The doors were closed but there were two large frosted windows in the doors. It was 6:00pm and the sun was at a low angel and shining directly at the windows causing a wonderful wrapping light. I was in lighting pig heaven.

This photo is my favorite close up of Hal from that photo shoot. Please enjoy.

©R. Mabry Photography - Camera specs: Canon 1-Ds Mark II with Canons EF 70 - 200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens @ 200mm, 1/250 sec at f/2.8, ISO 800, Aperture priority, pattern metering mode

Popularity: 2%  

Here is one of my favorite photos from a night photo shoot that we did at Down Town Santa Rosa. As we were warping up the night I came across Rendez Vous Bistro and had to capture the scene. Please enjoy.

©R. Mabry Photography -Camera specs: Canon 1-Ds Mark II with Canons EF 24 - 70mm f2.8L USM lens @ 45mm, 6 sec at f / 8, ISO 100, Aperture priority -1EV, pattern metering mode

Popularity: 5%  

Please help me in congratulating to Alison Fraser for being this year’s Santa Rosa’s World Wide Photo Walk winner!

Alison’s photo will be submitted to the world wide photo contest, so let’s all wish Alison the best of luck.

First pace - Alison Fraser

Alison’s composition of this child screams out playful innocence. The placement of the peephole in the lower right hand side and the blurred foreground causes is a perfect execution of a golden spiral causing the eye to spiral into the photo right to the child’s face. Great job Alison.

The placement of the peephole in the lower right hand side and the blurred foreground causes the eye to spiral into the photo right to the child’s face. Her use of the golden rectangle also called golden spiral

© Alison Fraser

Second Place - Camden Ramsay

A wonderfully exposed and composed photo. Camden’s use of a low depth of field and low vantage point really makes the photo pop.

© Camden Ramsay

Third Place - Phil Minton

Phil’s photo is a fantastic example of a successful use of the Rule of Thirds giving the image a dynamic energy that keeps the eye wondering all around the photo.

© Phil Minton

Remember each winner will receive a free 8×10 print from Shutter Bug Camera on Santa Rosa Ave.

Thanks you all for your image submissions. It was a difficult decision to make this year. I look forward to sharing this event with all of you again next year.

Popularity: 22%  

Low-Key Photography

The term “low-key” refer to any scene with a high lighting ratio, e.g. 8:1, especially if there are high proportions of shadowed areas.

In Low-Key images the tone is darker with a great deal of contrast, usually creating large black fields in the photo. It is very common for Low-Key images to give special attention to contour lines, emphasizing them with highlights. Most notable is a light surrounding the subject illuminating only the outline of a subject known as rim light.

Low-key lighting requires only one key light, with an optional fill light or a simple reflector.

Low-Key images are darker and present drama or tension.

Low-Key Photography

Popularity: 5%  

We had an awesome turnout for this year’s Annual World Wide Photo Walk. We had a full house and made new friend along the way as we laughed, cried and had an all around great time. Oh and we took some wicked cool photos.

It is pretty amazing to watch 50+ photographers scatter into the streets of a small community. Kind of like a scary gang of people cruising through a neighborhood, except for the scary part and the gang part. OK, I mean how scary can a bunch of people be laughing and caring cameras?

Please come out and join us next year. If you want to be notified in advance for next year just shoot me an email and I will add you to the list. I promise to use your email only for a notification of this event, unless otherwise noted by you.

Here is a group photo of this year’s walkers.

©R. Mabry Photography

Popularity: 7%  

On day on an outing My Step Jake son was goofing around by jumping on a fire hydrant so I set my camera on burst mode and captured him in motion.

I then processed the photos through Lightroom and then brought them into Photoshop as layers. Once in Photoshop I simply made masks for each layer and unmasked the parts where Jake’s flailing body was located. Please enjoy.

©R. Mabry Photography - Camera specs: Canon 1-Ds Mark II with Canons EF 70 - 200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens @ 70mm, 1/1250 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200, Aperture priority, pattern metering mode

Popularity: 10%  

I forgot to tell you about the Osprey nest that we also found on our quest for restful day at the beach.

While leisurely driving to the beach we had the sun roof open and I heard this gorgeous sound. When I look up through the sun roof I say a very large nest sitting on top of a tree, well what was left of the tree.

I asked Heather to stop and turn around so that I could check it out. As we pulled off the road to check the nest out we say 2 large birds land in the nest. One of the birds had a fish in its talons. As we found out they were 2 Osprey returning with food for their young. Please enjoy.

©R. Mabry Photography - Camera specs: Canon 1-Ds Mark II with Canons EF 70 - 200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens @ 200mm, 1/500 sec at f/8.0, ISO 200, Aperture priority, spot metering mode

Popularity: 6%  

One Sunday my wife and I were trying to head out to the beach to relax. The news said that it was 80 degrees and sunny. However on the way out we discovered that the beach was 50 degrees with heavy fog. So, we decided to turn around and follow the river back home and try to find a sun drenched beach.

Well there were lots of private beaches and lots on the other side of the river but none for us. On one of the side trips we came a across a dam with a bridge next to it. Feeling dispirit we crossed the bridge to find a small beach. But it was next to a dirt road and there was dust everywhere.

Just as we were about to leave I discovered a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) hunting in the shallows next to the dam. I the heron was not concerned with me taking photos of him. He allowed me to get let with 20 feet before even looking at me. Here is my favorite shot. Please enjoy.

©R. Mabry Photography - Camera specs: Canon 1-Ds Mark II with Canons EF 70 - 200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens @ 200mm, 1/200 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200, Aperture priority, pattern metering mode

Popularity: 6%  

To sign up please visit World Wide Photo Walk - Historic Santa Rosa.

We will gather in front of the Pacific Market at 9:00am to introduce ourselves and take a quick group photo before we get on our way.

After the photo it is all up to you to either follow some of my suggestion or take it as you go, it is totally up to you, Remember you are here to have fun.

This year I thought that we could take a leisure walk through one of the oldest parts of Santa Rosa. This area of Santa Rosa is rich with history and beautiful homes.

As you walk through the historic streets be sure to look up down and all around as photographic treasure are everywhere.

There is really is no set path for this walk it is up to you. When I scouted the area I found most of my favorite photographic opportunities to be along the outlined route, but please feel free to explore other streets.

I do ask that you respect the privacy of the residents and not photograph into their homes. Also please do not trespass onto their yards unless they give you permission.

The McDonald Ave. area is not only a historic district but it’s also one of most prestige and charming neighborhoods in Santa Rosa. Four movies were filmed on this street, including Scream, Pollyanna and Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt, as well as its remake.

Along with being one of Santa Rosa’s most prestigious addresses, the McDonald neighborhood is also one of the city’s most charming areas.

Part of the prestige and charm can be attributed to all those stately homes situated along the exceptionally wide street. But, much of the charm comes from all the old, tall trees lining the street and sidewalks.

Currently under renovation the McDonald Mansion (a.k.a. Mableton Mansion) is Santa Rosa’s most prominent historic home. The 14,000-square-foot house was built in the late 1870s by Col. Mark Lindsay McDonald, owner of Santa Rosa’s water company, builder of the Santa Rosa Street Railway and one of the town’s most eminent early citizens. He had it built in a style to evoke the plantations along the Mississippi. The National Register of Historic Places, in which the mansion is recorded, lists the style as Stick-Eastlake, a type of Victorian architecture.

Back in McDonald’s day, many notable visitors came to the house, including Mark Twain, and railroad magnates Leland Stanford and Charles Crocker. In 1960, the mansion was used as the home in Walt Disney’s Pollyanna, a classic film about a perpetually optimistic young girl.

Towards the end of the walk if you continue east all the way down McDonald Ave., you’ll end up at the historic Rural Cemetery. Many of Santa Rosa’s best known residents have been buried here. Unlike most cemeteries, this one is used regularly by people just strolling around or jogging, walking their dogs, or even sitting down for a peaceful rest in a park-like setting.

Around 11:30am those that want to sit down and enjoy a lunch and share photos and talk about the walk. We are gathering at Carmen’s Burger Bar located at 1612 Terrace Way

Parking

There is parking all along Elizabeth way and also along Terrace way. There is parking in front of Town and Country shops but it is only thirty minutes and is for customers only.

Here it is in a nutshell.

1. From Pacific Market we will head down Elizabeth way and cross Pacific Ave and then turn left.
2. Right on Austin way.
3. Right on St. Helena Ave.
4. Left on Park St.
5. Left on Spring St.
6. Right on Thirteenth St.
7. Right on McDonald Ave.
8. Right on Terrace or continue to straight to Santa Rosa’s Rural Cemetery (which is awesome by the way).
9. Meet at Carmen’s Burger Bar.

Popularity: 6%  

High-Key Photography

High-Key means that the overall key tone of the photo is high.

The key to successful high-key photography is working with flat and ample lighting and at the same time avoiding the use of dark subject matter. White-on-white makes for the best high-key photos.

© R. Mabry Photography

There are three characteristics of high-key photography:

1. First is that the photo’s tone is very bright (not overexposed). Beginning photographer assumes that they can just overexpose the scene to get a high-key image.
2. The second is a lack of contrast that is even across the entire photo.
3. Thirdly shadow detail is at a minimum. Meaning that there should be little to no shadows cast by the main subject or they are suppressed by lighting in the scene

High-Key photography gives the impression of happy and joyful moods and positive emotions.

Popularity: 10%