There are only a few days left before the FREE Cardboard Boat Race at the Fillmore City Tennis and Swim Aquatics Center. Happening Friday, August 30th, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. PLEASE REGISTER BY AUGUST 20TH! You can go to Fillmore’s City Hall or the Fillmore Aquatics Center to pick up a registration form and get more information if interested, or go to https://bit.ly/2YE16Ei to download/ print the form at home and email completed forms to recreation@fillmoreca.gov. Its totally free to participate in the cardboard boat race, all you need to do is bring your already assembled vessel made from cardboard & duct tape ONLY (decoration with Sharpie markers welcomed). Courtesy City of Fillmore.

Bob Crum

I enjoy the Ventura County Fair. I usually visit at least four times during the run, including the rodeo. Not this year. Excruciating migraines hindered my ability to attend as usual.

I did go to shoot our FFA & 4-H champions/reserve grand champions at the Jr. Livestock auction. I have photographed the Jr. livestock auction for a long time, yet it doesn't get any easier. Photoing speedy jets at an air show is a walk in the park compared to photoing animals in an auction ring.

Photojournalism is about telling a story with a photo. Into the auction ring comes an FFA kid with her champion steer. Hmm. I rush to there to capture the shot and the animal moves. I quickly move. Now the kid moved! I move again. Good grief, the steer moves again. This dance continues unmercifully. I persevere, continually moving, until AHA!, got it by golly-the steer, kid and auctioneer in the composition-the story!

Oh-oh, here comes a pig! Pigs NEVER cooperate! Pigs in the auction ring are like sharks on the prowl, continually moving. A pig standing still for three seconds is like an eternity! Remember: Composition is key. Get the kid, pig and auctioneer lined up in the photo: The story! However, after decades of photoing pigs in the auction ring, I've concluded that the critters love to create pigdamonium. When pigs see a photographer, they refuse to stand still. Here's how a pig thinks: “OK, my handler is there, I'll move over here and destroy the photographers shot. When my handler is here, I'll move over there and continue to ruin the photographer's chances of getting the money shot! OK, pigs like trash, right? Good! Next year, I'm going to wear camouflage and hide my camera in, of course, a trash bag. HA! That'll fool the porkers. Or not!

After securing my obligatory photos, on to the All Alaskan Racing pig races. You see, me and pigs are a thing! Standard shooting procedure: Lock aperture at f/11 (for depth-of-field), increase the shutter speed to 1/640th second and ISO on auto and pan the piggies as they dash down the track jumping hurdles on the way. Must say: FUN!

In between races, I looked around the audience and saw a sea of phonetographers like never before! A haunting sight! If I had only $1 for every phonetographer at the Fair, I bet I could buy a yacht and sail the Mediterranean with a bevy of mermaids!

Then it was on to the racing dogs next door. These terriers, pugs and whatnot surprised me. They tear around the track faster than the piggies! On the first race, all I got was a blur of fur! Hmm. Time to switch to burst mode. The gate opened for the second race and brrrrrrrrrrt went the camera. The final count was 12 shots – nailed two. I did not lead the dogs enough. Did I say they run fast? I did better on the third and final race.

Late afternoon, I mosied around the midway, looking for, ahem, irresistible sunstar opportunities. Found a couple. The rest of the time was spent in a relaxing creative mode, playing with various compositions using various camera settings. I was not feeling well enough to go back and shoot the rodeo.

Photo of the week is one of the race dogs leaping. Check it's majestic form! Trust me; when the critter jumped the hurdle, it was flying.

I couldn't look at a bright computer monitor for very long due to continuing headaches so general photos of the Fair next week. Happy photoing!

Send comments, suggestions or questions to: focusonphotography@earthlink.net

Fillmore Unified School District

Board meeting highlights for the Fillmore Unified School District

45 Day Budget Update
The Governing Board received a presentation on the 45 Day Budget Update. Presentation was delivered by Assistant Superintendent, Andrea McNeill and Director of Fiscal Services, Martha Corona.

Approve Adoption of Core/Basic Materials
The Governing Board approved the adoption of the following textbook, teacher's edition and instructional materials for Spanish III. The textbook, iAvancemos! 3, is the companion textbook for the series of iAvancemos! 1 and iAvancemos! 2, Fillmore Unified School District's current adoption, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Approve Transportation Advisory Committee
The Governing Board approved the career technical education advisory committee. The purpose of this committee is to develop recommendations on the pathway program and to provide liaison between the district and potential employers.

Approve Resolution No. 19-20-02 Assignments of Teachers Who Are Teaching Outside of Their Credential Authorization Or On An Emergency Permit
The Governing Board adopted Resolution No. 19-20-02 approving the teacher assignments as listed on the attached report for teachers working outside of their credential authorization.

Personnel Recommendations
The Board approved all personnel recommendations including new hires, promotions, resignations, and leaves.

Trinity Episcopal Church at 2nd and Saratoga is happy to be the site of the newest Little Free Library in Fillmore. Built by Jack Stethem at the request of Lynn Edmonds, it honors the memory of Harvey and Doris Guthrie, long time members of the Trinity family.

Marie Wren started the Fillmore Little Free Library initiative in Fillmore with a model of Fillmore’s depot, also built by Jack Stethem. Little Free Library is an international nonprofit organization that inspires a love of reading, builds community, and sparks creativity by fostering neighborhood book exchanges around the world.

Stop by and “take a book, leave a book.” More information on Little Free Libraries can be found at http://littlefreelibrary.org/

Bob Crum

As I parked my truck, two other SUVs parked alongside. Uh oh, are they going to go where I'm going? I waited. And waited! Alas, they're going on the other trail. The countryside is getting crowded these days. There are times when I have to patiently wait to make the photo I want because of 'tourist' intruders. Consideration for photographers seems to have gone the way of extinct white rhinos.

Landscape photography is a favorite, ranking right up there with my specialty: Mermaid boudoir photography. I scour maps and the Internet in search of photogenic gems. Without photography, I probably would not have traveled far afield to shoot the southwest's magnificent landscape. Places like Montaña de Oro State Park, Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve replete with spectacular "tufa towers." Tufas are calcium-carbonate spires and knobs formed by the interaction of freshwater springs and alkaline lake water.

Other interesting locations visited: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Lake Tahoe, Big Sur, the Mojave Desert, Mt. Whitney, Alabama Hills outside of Lone Pine, where many western films were made. Another fascinating sight is the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest high up in the White Mountains. Some of these living trees exceed 4000 years of age. And there's Avila Beach at Port St. Luis Harbor and the Harford Pier, home of Mr. Fishbreath, the resident chubby sea lion. I made an exciting whale photo in St. Luis Bay as it broached twenty feet from the pier with a mouthful of small fish. Woohoo!

So I ask: How many readers have hopped in their vehicle and made a day trip to observe some awesome landscape? Or wildflowers? Or wildlife? See what I mean? This creative itch and my passion for photography are what motivates me to continue to seek landscape eye candy to photograph. Why go to see such grand vistas and not make a photo for posterity? Just a thought.

OK, time to get technical. Landscape photography lends itself wonderfully to... wait for it... Av (aperture priority) mode! Av, a semi-automatic mode, is my most used mode when I'm lazy. OK, actually best for landscapes. In landscape photos, I prefer to maintain a large depth-of-field. Meaning, I prefer everything from near to far to be in focus. On rare occasions I may choose to isolate a particular subject by opening the aperture to blur the background. This is the joy of photographic creativity?

Whether manual or Av mode, I usually lock aperture at f/11 which insures a large depth-of-field. In Av mode, the aperture remains constant so the camera will have to adjust shutter speed and/or ISO for proper exposure. However, in normal daylight, I often also peg ISO at 100, the lowest setting. Av mode is absolutely necessary for HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography to maintain a constant depth-of-field through multiple exposures.

Of course, there are exceptions: Golden hour and blue hour. In Av mode during those times, I first imbibe a strawberry margarita and while I float I'll let ISO float in auto mode to account for the lower light levels. Works every time! Tv (Shutter priority mode) is the other semi-automatic mode to be discussed another day.

No one found the intentional mistake in last week's column. I was sure several readers would have caught it.

It's dishonorable to ignore a beautiful flower. On assignment downtown, I noticed a beautiful bird-of-paradise flower. As I approached, I heard: "Hi there, I'm posing just for you." Well thank you, I said, and made this delightful photo of the week. As I left I heard it whisper: "Thank you!"

Send comments, questions or suggestions to: focusonphotography@earthlink.net