The best nature photographs are both true to their subject and yet, somehow, larger than their subject in that they capture something universal. They both portray a singular moment in time and create a sense of timeless beauty. This course will help beginning and intermediate photographers take the next step upward in their artistic development through a series of classes in nature photography. The students will enjoy in-class instruction, two field trips to the Ojai Meadow Preserve, with a critique the following week, ending with a Photography Show and party. Slide shows by the instructor will explain in detail the techniques behind her best images.

All digital photographers are welcome, but please have basic knowledge of how your camera operates.

Equipment needed: any type of digital camera, tripod, computer – PC or Mac (laptop preferable, but not necessary), method of uploading image files to computer, ability to burn CD’s of your work or USB memory stick or flash drive. Printer with ability to print hi-res photographic images on glossy paper.

Six week schedule: Dates to be determined.
** All classes 1 1/2 hours. Field trips could be longer.
Week 1 – class
Week 2 – field trip
Week 3 – class, including critique
Week 4 – field trip
Week 5 – class, including critique. Prepare for show.
Week 6 – Show and Party

Cost: $60.00 per student. Materials (paper, ink, etc) extra.
Take-away syllabus: $5.00 to cover cost of printing.

Please e-mail me at visionsp6@gmail.com with your preference for a Saturday morning or a weekday evening class schedule or if you have any questions about the workshop.  Class limited to five students.

No More Nylons is hosting it’s May Women’s Business Social at the Lavender Inn from 6-8pm on Tuesday, May 15, 2012.  The event is free and open to all women. A light dinner will be available to purchase, $10: Seasonal Salad with Curried Chicken and Vegetarian Wrap and the evening’s specialty drink is the Muddled Orange Kumquat Vodka Specialty Drink for $5. Come hungry… If you’ve ever dreamed of having a personal chef, you’ll really enjoy meeting and tasting the treats from  The Event Caddy.

The Lavender Inn has been a gracious destination location for the Women’s Business Social over the last 3+ years. They hosted the largest Social to date, that had over 200 women attending! Can you imagine? I never know how many women will be attending because there is no formal RSVP. Life is complicated enough, this doesn’t have to be… Many locals have never been inside the romantic gardens of The Lavender Inn or upstairs to see the beautiful Bed & Breakfast rooms that visitors to our sweet valley get to enjoy. This is your chance to be a tourist in your own town and enjoy…

Also at the Social, Ojai photographer, Caitlin Jean Petersen,  who’s your business’s visual connection will be snapping gorgeous shots of the event. She’s been a huge supporter of the Women’s Business Socials over the years and is a regular contributor to Ojai Quarterly magazine.  She is available for events, portraits, ad photography and fine art prints. What until you see her beautiful work. She’s fantastic…

Q: Who Attends these Women’s Business Socials?
A: The Social is open to all women. I think it will appeal to women who run their own companies, do freelance work, have a boutique or restaurant or on line companies, that sort of thing. But women who run non-profits and business departments attend too. Even if you’re just thinking about starting a company, you’re welcome. All are welcome. Relax… you’re in good company.

This is a local event, but it goes beyond that. To see what I mean, visit the MEDIA webpage to see what some of the local papers and newspapers have said about the impact of the Women’s Business Social on local economies.

For more information, visit the No More Nylons website.

From CBS San Francisco (hat tip Pat McPherson), Ojai is in “mutiny” over high water rates. An excerpt:

There may be another factor bubbling up with the ratepayer revolt, and that is a new reality for water supplies and costs in California, and beyond. As [Neema] Palaniappan sees it, “we are beyond the age of cheap, easy to access water.” Mitch Zak, speaking for Golden State water, agreed, adding that “rate increases are a fact of life across the water world.”

Back in Ojai, the FLOW team is expecting a long, hard fight. But [Ryan] Blatz and his supporters are not backing down; “Here, it’s our water. It is a resource that is as important to Ojai as the mountains behind me and the sun that comes down on the ground. We’re going to win this thing and we are going to get this done.”

Here’s this straight-forward recap on the 26th Congressional District from Dante Adkins at dkos:

Republican Congressman Elton Gallegly’s 24th District, centered around coastal Ventura County, was redrawn to lean Democratic. This prompted Gallegly to retire, leaving the seat (numbered the 26th) open. The leading Democrat is progressive Assemblymember Julia Brownley, who will be opposed by conservative Republican state Sen. Tony Strickland. The wild card in the race, however, is Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks. Formerly a moderate Republican who received bitter challenges for her seat from Tony’s wife Audra, Parks recently left the Republican Party and is running for Congress under the banner of “no party preference” (while making the weirdest ad so far this cycle). This is exactly the situation proponents of Proposition 14 had in mind: Will the avowedly centrist and non-partisan campaign of Linda Parks propel her into the top two, or will Brownley and Strickland face off against each other in a more traditional matchup?

Saturday, June 23, 2012, 9am-1pm @ Mano Farm, Ojai, California (contact information below for directions).

This hands-on workshop will be an introduction to basic plant-breeding and seed-saving concepts and practices. Attendees will have an opportunity to get their hands dirty, and experience seed harvesting, processing, cleaning…saving!

Taught by: Justin Huhn, co-founder of All Good Things Organic Seeds

Growing your own seed is a time-tested gardening tradition, and an important step towards individual and community self-reliance. This workshop will focus on basic seed-saving concepts and practices that home gardeners and farmers can use to grow and save their own seed. In this workshop, we will discuss:

• Basic plant taxonomy, reproduction and pollination methods of the different popular garden-plant species

• Open-Pollinated, Heirloom, Hybrid & GMO – explained

• Selecting/breeding for desired variety characteristics

• How to ensure proper pollination for positive fruit and seed set

• Which varieties can we grow in this climate for seed?

• Which varieties are best for garden-scale seed growing?

• Why every gardener should be a seed saver!

• How to save vigorous, quality seeds

Workshop Cost: $35 – lunch included.

For more information, call Justin at (805)-758-3184 or email agtoseeds@gmail.com. Pre-registration is required – please register by email to the above address. This workshop will be limited to fifteen attendees, so register early! Justin Huhn is a farmer & passionate seed-saver. He is co-founder of Mano Farm and All Good Things Organic Seeds in Ojai, CA.

From childhood, we are taught – follow the money. But, our current laws don’t allow us to do that.

I, Kristofer Young, called our Assemblymember, Jeff Gorell, and asked him to vote for the DISCLOSE Act – AB1648, to let us know where the big bucks are coming from that influence our elected officials.

We are close to passing this critical bill! If you too believe that it is your right to be able to follow the money, please call Assemblymember Gorell at (805) 230-9167.

Our message is – “I”m calling to ask Assemblymember Gorell to vote for AB 1648, the California DISCLOSE Act. I was very disappointed that he voted against the last version, AB 1148, but I’m hoping that he will vote with the wishes of 84% of the voters by voting Yes on AB 1648 for more disclosure this time. Thank you.”

California DISCLOSE Act Provisions

Requires the three largest funders of political ads to be clearly identified with their names and logos — on the ads themselves, so voters know who is actually paying for them.

Applies to all television ads, radio ads, print ads, mass mailers, and websites for or against state and local ballot measures, and to independent expenditures for and against candidates.

It applies whether ads are paid for by corporations, unions, or millionaires.

Tells voters where to find the details — Requires ads to list a website with greater disclosure and a link to the Secretary of State’s website

Will “pierce through” hidden funders by requiring political ads to report their three largest actual contributors, no matter how many committees or groups their contributions pass through.

Applies to slate mailers: Requires slate mailers to show when ads are paid for by independent expenditures.

Requires candidates to appear and say they “approve this message”, just like federal candidates.

The Ojai Valley Photography Club welcomes internationally recognized Santa Barbara photographer, Ines Labunski Roberts as our May presenter and guest judge. The meeting will begin at 7:00 pm, May 15, at Help of Ojai’s Kent Hall, 111 Santa Ana Street, Ojai, CA. The event is free and the public is cordially invited to attend.

Roberts was born in Danzig (now in Poland), was educated in Germany and England, and has been passionately involved in photography since moving from Scotland to California in 1966. She is a member of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain and a member of the London Salon of Photography. She is the recipient of numerous awards and commendations, and is a much-published author/photographer.

With her poetic eye, remarkable vision, and deep love for our natural world, Roberts will share two digital slide shows set to music: “Bodie, A California Ghost-Town” and “Fantastic Journey.”

The “Bodie” presentation will explore a gold-mining ghost town from the 1800’s and will speak of the endurance, aspirations and disappointments that the settlers experienced. Roberts says, “Walking in the stillness of the few remaining deserted buildings it is hard to imagine that this town was once one of the biggest towns in California, buzzing with a population of 10,000. Frequent fires, severe weather conditions, and high snowstorms which flattened whole buildings and structures at this high and merciless altitude, gradually destroyed this once prosperous town.”

Roberts created “Fantastic Journey” after her tour through the southern United States. She explains, “It deals with the magnificent and dramatic expanses of our country, which are in contrast to people’s attempts to establish themselves, then failing and leaving ruins, which often display cynical or humorous testimonies of hope and defeat.”

For additional information about the Ojai Photography Club visit: Ojai Photography Club

A selection of images by Ines Roberts from “Bodie” and “Fantastic Journey”:

Bodie Bathtub and House

Bodie Interior

Bodie in Winter

Vista Southern United States - from "Fantastic Journey"

Humorous Vandalism from "Fantastic Journey"

Image from "Fantastic Journey"

California Bush Poppy, Ventura River Preserve, Ojai

The Ojai Valley Museum combines two fabulous shopping opportunities/fund raisers on Saturday, May 12, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Help support the Exhibition and Outreach Programs of the museum as you “go native” buying plants in the Back Courtyard, and collecting Treasures in the Front Courtyard!!

With this 8^th annual Native Plant Sale, the Ojai Valley Museum offers its membership and the greater Ojai Valley community, numerous species and varieties of native and drought resistant plants suitable for climate and water conditions of the Ojai Valley and nearby southern California valley communities. Laurence Nicklin (Plantasia Landscaping) and Scott Smith (Euterpe Farms) will be on hand to provide professional advice about the care and maintenance of the specialty plants they have available for purchase.

Native Plant Sale 2011 - Scott Smith - Euterpe Farms and Nancy Eldblom,- California Native Plant Society

In addition, for the first time, Friend’s Ranches of Ojai will be represented with Pixie and Tango trees for sale. This is an extra special opportunity to add these Ojai-specific fruit trees to your pastoral setting! Please note that according to federal quarantine law, citrus trees cannot be transported out of the Ojai Valley. Only two trees will be sold per household. Pixies and Tangos will be available for tasting the delectable fruit your new trees will bear.

Ojai Pixie Boy! Photographer - Emily Ayala

Jim Combs, Chairman of the Plant Sale Committee says, “Part of our mission at the museum is to educate our community, so our plant sale includes Master Gardeners providing gratis advice to shoppers, free mini-lecture(s) on relevant subjects, as well as the expertise of the growers on hand.

For the third time in the 45-year history of the Ojai Valley Museum, the institution combines a Treasure Sale with the Native Plant Sale. The front courtyard of the museum will be dedicated to selling specially selected treasures, including de-accessioned items from the museum’s permanent collection, personally solicited private donations including original production animation cels, furniture, china, ‘objet d’art’, kitchen ware, electronics, antiques, collectibles, framed art, and more! All items are of pristine quality and fairly priced by volunteer experts!

As of last year, the combined Plant and Treasure Sales became an annual combined fundraiser for the Ojai Valley Museum. Come help us by shopping this now yearly, unique shopping opportunity! The museum’s goal is to raise $10,000 for its programs and exhibitions by the end of the day!

The Ojai Valley Museum gratefully acknowledges the Sponsors/Vendors of the May 12^th Event: Aqua Flo Supply, BernScott Pottery, California Native Plant Society, Euterpe Farms, Friend’s Ranches, Janet Jacobs Pottery, Mark Hatten (Tri Valley Tree), Medicine Shoppe of Ojai, Matthews Chiropractic, Ojai Land Conservancy, Plantasia Landscaping and Quick Pumbing and Heating Company.

Karen Scott, Potter of Bern Scott Pottery - Vendor for 2012 Native Plant Sale

The Ojai Valley Museum, established in 1967, is generously supported in part by Museum Members, Private Donors, Business Sponsors and Underwriters, the Smith-Hobson Foundation, Wood-Claeyssens Foundation, City of Ojai, and the Rotary Club of Ojai.

The event will be held at the Ojai Valley Museum, 130 W. Ojai Avenue. For more information, call 640-1390 x 203. For gallery hours and exhibit information visit the museum website at: ojaivalleymuseum.org and Facebook Ojai Valley Museum

Hi from Baja Mexico. How’s Ojai today?