When you travel somewhere, try to take a photo that sums up what the place was really like. The challenge is more difficult than it seems. If you are a photo enthusiast like me, you will probably take lots of photos taking in scenic views, unusual objects, and small slices of the life of the place. Collectively, the photos document the place. The challenge is to get one photo that captures much of the feeling of being there. Here is my attempt at Del Valle Regional Park, built around a reservoir south of Livermore, California.

It’s springtime! Well, in some places it is. In other places it’s on the way. Spring brings fields of flowers, and with that a photography challenge. It’s nice to show the location of the flowers with a long view that shows the lay of the land. It’s also good to show the individual character of the flowers, rather than just a splotch of painted color. A way to accomplish both in one image is to make a spliced panorama of a close view and a distant view.