Trip to Solvang

About a week ago, I decided to drive up to Solvang. The two purposes for the trip were to have a fun time with my friend Jennifer, and get some great photos. The fun part was a success, it's a cool place to visit. The photos part didn't quite work out. The cloudless sky was too flat for any exciting landscapes, which was what I mainly wanted to shoot. Got some good photos, but nothing spectacular.

First stop was Ostrichland, U.S.A. Thought it would be a lot of fun to see ostriches, but it was actually quite lame. About 15 people all showed up at once, and we were all gone within 15 minutes. All the kids freaked out when the ostriches were near them. The smell was pretty bad, and the flies were worse. And ostriches are a real pain in the ass to shoot. Even at a high shutter speed, they were moving too quick and kept ducking out of shots. Although, as each car left, another pulled in. And with only one employee, the place must be making serious bank. I think I'm in the wrong business.



Next, we took a tour of Gainey Vineyard.







And then we spent the rest of the day driving around the surrounding area, looking for photos. By the way, it's one of my personal photo quests to get a great "Lone Tree" shot. Always been a fan of that particular photographic sub-genre. I like this one for now, but the quest will continue, as I feel there's a better one out there waiting for me.







Shot with a Canon 5D Mark II, 135mm f/2L, 24-70mm f/2.8L, and 16-35 f/2.8L II lenses.