The Life in My Years

My last post was a tribute to autumn and with the season FALLing towards winter here’s a last photographic tribute to this colorful season in the Golden State.

Sonoma Valley.
Established as a Spanish settlement in 1823, the town of Sonoma is located in the colorful wine country valley of the same name. The valley is home to over 400 wineries including the Buena Vista Winery, California’s oldest winery, and Gundlach-Bundschu, the state’s oldest, continually operating family winery.
Below, a home sits in a bright autumn hued vineyard.   

Drytown.
Located in California’s Gold Country, Drytown had its heyday during the Gold Rush of the early 1850’s. The town’s name comes from Dry Creek which ran dry during the summer months. The town itself belies the name as it was once home to twenty six saloons.
It is the oldest town in Amador County, also a wine producing region that is famous for its old vine Zinfandels. Big and bold, Zin is my favorite wine variety.
Earlier this month, Cora and I spent two nights in a cottage located in the middle of a vineyard.
Below, the colors of fall in the vineyard.

Morro Bay.
We visited Morro Bay on California’s Central Coast in early October when the coastal fog tends to sit right on the surface of the water.
A thick fog was what I found on our first morning in Morro Bay and my first thought was, no photos this morning. That’s until I got to the waterfront. I’ve often thought of shooting a scene in a dense fog as a photographer’s nightmare. Over the years I’ve learned to look for opportunities in what I might normally see as a wash out (after all it’s not like I have to pay for film and processing – right?)   

American River.
Highway 50 just east of Placerville runs along the course of the American River. During a recent drive to Lake Tahoe I captured this classic scene of the river decorated with autumn foliage.           

Pacifica.
The calendar, the position of the sun and the climate may be screaming that it’s fall but these late November photos prove that for the surfers in Pacifica, it’s always summer.                             

Lake Tahoe.
Old man winter made an early cameo appearance during our early November trip to Lake Tahoe. I suppose that he’s letting us know that his time is nigh.
Below autumn leaves on a winter blanket.             

This post is my contribution to this week’s Lens-Artists Challenge.  Tina Schell left us with the wide open topic, “You Pick It.”  To view Tina’s contribution and those of other lens artists follow the link to Tina’s site, Travels and Trifles.