The Valley Oak

About two years ago Miranda suggested I try showing my photos at a gallery. I wasn't too keen on the idea at first. But having gone to many exhibits over the years for the Enterprise I often thought I could put together a better show than most of the ones I was covering. So I put together a few photos and took them to the International House here in Davis. The director there was a former writer for the paper and she thought it was a good idea, too. The art committee liked my photos but thought I didn't have a good enough theme for a show. Even though I thought most of the shows I had seen had pretty cheesy statements about how all the works tied together I understood this was the artsy thing to do.

So I gave up on the gallery thing and kept shooting what I thought looked good. I had an idea a trend might appear, but tried not to focus on it and let it emerge on it's own. What I found is that whenever I would head out on a short photo adventure I'd find my mind thinking back to that old valley oak off Pole Line road that fell before I found the time to really appreciate it. It was really strange how one tree (or former tree, I suppose) affected not only my photos but also my whole attitude towards life and the chances we are given during it.

After a recent assignment chasing feral cats around Woodland I took a scenic route home into the fields north of town. It was raining at the time and though the wet weather wasn't the best for photos it did help create a new scenic view for my photography. An old, solitary Valley Oak minding an ag field had partially collapsed in that last round of storms. I set out to take advantage of this opportunity right away.

Since the tree was east of the closest road it wasn't going to be a great sunset tree like the old one. Nope this was a sunriser and this time of year the sun rises at 5:43 in the morning. I set the alarm for 5:15, drove 20 minutes north of the house and waited.

She didn't disappoint. Although I think I'll head back and try to put the sun right on the tip of the broken branch.

Just up the road was another very tall and weathered old tree. The sunflower field in front of it wasn't in bloom yet but still looked nice.


And again silhouetted


When I was on my scenic drive this tree in a tomato field was my original motivation for a return at sunrise. I thought the low sun would highlight the plants but leave the dirt channels dark.


In the same field as that one was a group of three. I didn't think they were that interesting at first but after editing the photos I like this group better than the single one.

The mangled canopy of the center tree balanced by the more symmetrical outside trees and aligned nearly perfectly with the tomato rows, I couldn't have designed it better myself.

On the drive to those trees I spotted one more in that area that required a closer look.

I think this photo is pretty good now but those plants around the tree are all sunflowers that should be coming into bloom any day now. Those gentle arms dangling down to a field of sunflowers is going to make a great photo and hopefully help bring together a collection of timeless Valley Oaks that will be worthy of a gallery showing someday.

Small World

When you're two and a half feet tall and just learning to walk your view or the world is pretty limited. Little trips into the front yard can be a huge deal. The small scale things most of us take for granted like twigs and leaves are still new and exciting to a young observer.


And when you're the father of said young observer, husband of a full time college student, and avid photographer your photography view of the world also becomes a lot smaller. No more road trips on a whim or disappearing for hours on countryside bike rides.

Fortunately this year the spring rains led to a heavy bloom of flowers in our front yard. It was a treat for both of us young explorers. Abby enjoyed the marigolds because she could pull of the petals easily. I liked them because they made for simple subjects. I call this one 'Curly'

a fresh bloom and grass seeds

even the dying ones looked good to us and the aphids

With flowers on my mind and in many other yards around town my new little photography world was definitely in bloom. (bad pun, I know)

flowers and ladybugs, everybody's favorites

Now that Miranda is done with school for the summer she and I are hoping these photos will be the beginning of a new part of my photo business. I bought a new large format printer that can print on canvas and we're thinking of starting a shop on Etsy.com to sell small and medium canvas wrap. The mirrored image to make the wraps almost look cooler than the wrap itself.

Hopefully, like Abby's small world, my photography will continue to grow while still enjoying the little discoveries along the way.