The Rose

The Rose  [Canon 5D]
Coloma, California February 10, 2008
(click in the image for a larger version)

Last Sunday my wife, daughter and I drove down Highway 49 to Coloma, California for the afternoon. Coloma is about an hour's drive from our house and these days, it is a quiet little place, more a state park than a town in the way we normally think of towns. It is nestled in a pretty valley on the banks of the south fork of the American River. Coloma's place in California's, and the world's, history is a significant one. It was here on January 24, 1848 that James Marshall discovered gold in the tailrace of John Sutter's sawmill.

This event set in motion the California Gold Rush, and, according to the official web site of the park, as gold fever spread across the world, it resulted in "the greatest mass movement of people in the western hemisphere and was the spark that ignited the spectacular growth of the West during the ensuing decades". The ramifications of this sudden growth explosion are too numerous to list here, but Coloma is a fascinating place and if you ever are in the area, it's worth a stop. This photo was taken shortly before sunset in the original cemetery that is located on a shaded hilltop a short drive from the main road that runs through the park. I love the details on the gravestones that you find in old cemeteries. The processing on this image is fairly minimal...basic adjustments in Lightroom and some slight seasoning in Photoshop with my Sepiaesque toning.

Creative Collage Workshop in June

On June 2 - 6 at the excellent Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging on the central California coast near San Luis Obispo, I'll be teaching a 5-day class on Creative Collage with Adobe Photoshop CS3.  These classes tend to fill fast, especially at that time of year, so if you are interested in participating, click the class title for a link to the workshop's page at the Lepp Institute site. The computer lab at the Lepp Institute is really first rate, with fast Windows computers kitted out with dual monitors and Canon 5100 printers (as well as larger format printers adjacent to the main lab area). Tiered stadium seating ensures that everyone has a clear view of the main screen. I've taught there several times over the past five years and I always look forward to going back. It is truly one of the best digital lab facilities I've taught at.

For a complete listing of other upcoming workshops, including classes in Florida, Hawaii and Monterey and Pacifica, California, click on over to the Workshops Page at my web site.

Comments

[Jeff]

Sean, you know how I love cemeteries, I like this one. BTW, I was looking at the notes from the Santa Fe workshop the other night to follow along on some of your sepia ideas which I applied to a portrait of my son and his girlfriend that my daughter took...(yes my 16 yr old daughter now has more active cameras than I:) I'm still learning from the workshop a year and a half later....jeffl

[Sean]

Hi Jeff...good to hear from you!. Yes, I do remember how you like to photograph in cemeteries. I can still picture in my mind that very good shot you made in the National Cemetery in Santa Fe during our workshop week. Glad you're still learning stuff from your workshop notes. That must mean that you take really good notes! I see from your blog that you just had a short trip up into Germany. We'll be there in the summer for a family visit, in the Cologne area and in the east near Dresden.