Photos of Gaia

The San Diego River

2006-10-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

Another photo of the beautiful San Diego River- I hope to take a lot more in the next few weeks.

Mission Trails

2006-10-04T12:32:00.000-07:00

I took some nice photos of Mission Trails today.

Definitely one of the most beautiful places in San Diego. It's nice to combine the history of the Padres and the ancient flume, with the Native American spots along the River and the nature, even older than that. I'd love to see a Mountain Lion there, I hear many people have done, the best I have seen is a little turtle, which looked like a non-native, probably taken there from someone's pond.

Butterfly Photo competition

2006-10-01T09:55:00.000-07:00

There's a grat competition going on on the UK Butterfly site on of the under 16 entry's is from our friend Olivia Stuart. I like entry 37 a lot, nice pose by the Common Blue.

Here is Olivia's Entry- it really awesome I love she has the butterfly and the bee there in the middle of a perfect yellow sunflower.

Mona Lisa

2006-09-27T16:04:00.000-07:00

Is it terribly bad of me not to really care about this Mona Lisa smile? Much as I appreciate the painting I can't see that it is a useful part of anyone's time to discover what clothes she was earing and then research if these are the clothes of a pregnant women. It just seems so unimportant. Ah well I guess there must be jobs for everyone.

Ron Garrison

2006-09-24T16:05:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate enough to meet acclaimed photographer Ron Garrison this weekend. Ron was head of photography at the San Diego Zoo for a great many years, and is just the most friendly man I have ever met. He's currently working on the photography for a book about the Katrina dolphins, and was lamenting the fact that he keeps having to travel to the Bahamas- funnily he wasn't getting much sympathy for this inconvenience!

The Antarctic photos are especially stunning- we really is a wonderful wonderful wildlife photographer.

My Own Shelter Photo

2006-09-22T19:32:00.000-07:00

I have been playing around with some of my photos, as the only the free time I seem to have lately is when it is too dark to get out and photograph. Here is a photo I took in the Canaray Islands last year. Thinking fo the BBC competition themes- I decided to work with this one. I really like the shelter of the rock circle contrasted with the vastness of the ocean.

And the wedding bouquet.....

2006-09-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

Another Favorite Photo

2006-09-19T20:41:00.000-07:00

This one is from Hawaii, on my honeymoon:

Photo Eight

2006-09-17T19:48:00.000-07:00

Hmmmm photo eight won, I don't know, I wasn't the biggest fan of that shot, although I do love cows. Maybe I am just bored of cow photos after living for 6 months in Central Brazil?

the photo from the BBC compeition I really like is from the Technology Round it captures it's subjects wonderfully. The Uniform winner is also great- final vote this week for photo of the year, starting tommorrow, so check it out!

anyway in the spirit of favorites I thought I would post a few of my fave photos over the next few days.

Here is one- a little cutesy- Ying and Yang

Photo Competition Round Six

2006-09-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

Time for the BBC's Photo competition Round Six
The theme is 'Look Up'. Personally I like number 12, although none of them really blow me away this round. Anyway, check them out and vote!

Funky Zoo Picture

2006-09-12T19:07:00.000-07:00

I've been playing around in photoshop again.......

Steve Irwin Continued

2006-09-08T19:41:00.000-07:00

I heard today they are debating whether to show the video of his death.

I think that prehaps they should. It will leak onto the internet whatever happens so prehaps a show with some dignity might be more appropriate.

Steve Irwin

2006-09-05T19:22:00.000-07:00

It is very sad news about Steve Irwin, although I feel I can't be too sad. Not only was he doing what he loved but it seems to diminish all that he had done before him if we are shocked that he was actually in real danger. for me this just highlights how impressive he has been in his past encounters.

Still I can't help but find it a little irresponsible. For me a father of two has a great responsiblity to be around, to not put himself at so much risk. My sympathy is with the children.

Still he was a wonderful man and it is his story has been one of triumph and not of sadness.

Leopard Sharks

2006-09-02T19:26:00.000-07:00

Man, I wish I had an underwater camera.

We went snorkeling in La Jolla this weekend and the leopard sharks were amazing. At first we were in the wrong place, swimming around and seeing nothing. We asked the lifeguard where to go (past the kayak launch and past the club with red roofs). We left our towels and clothes on the windowsill of the restaurant and headed into the water. I was surprised, there were not too many snorkeled out there, although enough for us to figure out where to best see the sharks. We swam out past the surf and dove down into the water. It absolutely took my breath away, the sharks are huge, five feet long to the end of their tails. The markings on them are absolutely beautiful. There were other sharks and rays there also, and some really beautiful fish. I wouldn't have believed all this beauty could be just of the coast where we live.

Anyone in San Diego right now, you need to check this out if you haven't already!

Heron

2006-08-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

Well here are some zoo photos that aren't really zoo photos. The pictures are of a heron who lives in the zoo- I guess a lot of the egrets, ducks, herons and other birds find the zoo an attractive place to eat- lots of free food, nice safe habitat- makes sense. Earlier in the year I remember there were swarms of duckling all near the front entrance- the security guards had to catch them in nets to keep them being trampled by the visitors. Little children were chasing and petting them- probably the highlight of most kids day- forget the snow leopards and the golden lion tamarins!

Boar

2006-08-28T21:22:00.000-07:00

Well first peice of good news today is that my hummingbird feeder is finally working really well. Woohoo! there are hummingbirds buzzing in and out every hour, almost every time I look at the window. The only problem is I would much prefer to photograph them without the window. The problem here is that every time I open the window the cats jump out, and somehow the hummingbirds really do not seem too keen on my nectar when two cats are lying in wait for them. (I don't know why the cats even bother it would only be a mouthfull of feathers- then again they do chase flies...) . So maybe I will just have to find a good way to keep the cats occupied elsewhere and hope that a hummingbird comes to call.

Second peice of good news -I have my zoo photos. Here is the first one- a nice little picture of a couple of boar (one very sleepy)

number 9?

2006-08-25T19:47:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention

Number 9 won? Definitely not my choice.

No posts

2006-08-25T19:44:00.000-07:00

Don't worry, I shall be back soon. I'm at the zoo this Saturday and then volunteering at a garden work party on Sunday. So lots of great photos will soon become available.

Provided of course I remember to charge the batteries in my camera :-)

Hawk?

2006-08-17T21:48:00.000-07:00

Found this beautiful hawk today, lucky enough to get a shot before he flew away. I wish I knew what it was- if anyoen knows please tell me!

Circles in the Sky

2006-08-14T21:51:00.000-07:00

Took this photo on my way home tonight, walking down Upas street. I guess a plane was showing off up there, looks like the crcles are photoshopped on, but they are real :-)

BBC Photographer of the Year

2006-08-09T16:49:00.000-07:00

Ohh also, I forgot to mention...

Please visit BBC Photographer of the Year: Round One and vote!

I love the first one- the little gerbil. But each to their own preference.

Spanish village

2006-08-09T16:34:00.000-07:00

As you can tell by my photographs, my favorite place in San Diego is certainly Balboa Park: The Cactus Garden, The Prado, the Zoo, the Rose Garden, The International house and (to a lesser extent) the Japanese garden.

I feel badly therefore that I haven't yet mentioned the hub of art in our wonderful park. We headed out to Balboa yesterday as it seemed that they were filming Veronica Mars, and as we are the new V. Mars junkies we thought we would check it out. By the time we got there unfortunately there were just a few roadies packing up the vans (never mind Veronica there will be other times).
We decided not to waste our trip and headed up the Prado and into the park, strolling around for a while in the wonderous Spanish Village.

Probably my favorite place to go in the village is the glass blowing exhibit, here you can watch the local glass blowers as they make thier vases, baubles and many other items. I love everything there, it is all so personal and local- the pottery, metal work, oil paintings and every other medium you can imagine. I was looking around online today at the village and came accross this blog which has been really great at showing life as an artist, and especially an artist lucky enough to set up in Spanish village and be surrounded by so many likeminded souls.

One more yellow flower..

2006-08-06T14:29:00.000-07:00

It seems that all the flowers out right now are yellow in color- here is one more flower shot for you I took today. I'm getting a bit bored of flowers though I must say, hopefully the hummingbirds will keep coming, or we will have to head out to the wild animal park.

David Attenborough

2006-08-04T19:35:00.000-07:00

We finally got a DVD player for our huge TV (which is good as we don't pay for cable, so without a DVD player the things is almost worthless). Anyhow, one thing I have just realized is that this means we can enjoy the best thing ever to watch on a big screen- nature documentaries! Most importantly David Attenborough's Life of Mammals, which is my all time favorite, and which of course, we have the box set of. It really is an amazing collection of films, and is one of my biggest inspirations to become a wildlife photographer. Definitely recommended to anyone who is an aspiring photographer, photography student and just every lover of nature. (alwasy makes me feel I should be giving photography school serious thought myself) Its been worth getting a big screen TV just for this.
My favorite part is probably when Attenborough is in the ocean snorkeling with the Sea Otters, watching as they crack open shells on their tummies. I also really love the shots of the otters, and the amazing infrared camera they manage to place in their lodge. It also has a lot of never before seen footage, like the camera in the duckbilled platypus den which is really something.

Native Plants

2006-08-01T19:38:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure exactly what this is- some sort of succulent I think, but it was looking very striking out in the Point Loma Plant Reserve.

Too bad about the gray clouds overhead.

Hummingbirds again

2006-07-31T17:21:00.000-07:00

You will recall many months ago I posted about my desire to start photographing humming birds.

Well, we got our feeder up and running a few weeks ago, it hangs just outside our living room window, a huge window that we often have open. One problem has been that this is also our kittie's favorite hangout, and we thought this might have been putting the hummingbirds off as we hadn't seen any visitors. Thena few days ago hummingbirds did start to appear, they would hover around, but none of them actually took a drink- until yesterday that was. The little guy came up and drank his fill- unfortuantely my camera wasn't ready and I didn't get to photogrpah him feeding, but luckily the bird decided to hang aroudn for while afterwards on a littl branch.
So here is the start of my hummingbird photography, I initially tried without the flash but I think it worked best with.

Shelley Hall

2006-07-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

I am not usually the greatest fan of Abstract art, but I really do like this nature inspired abstract style of Shelley Hall's. Its kind of a new interest of mine looking at different artists takes on gaia and the way they can use differnt mediums and styles to express this. A lot of San diegan art does seem to have a focus on teh natural world, although it is shame that most tend to focus on teh seashore and very few on the rivers and gardens.

Julia Gray

2006-07-23T16:56:00.000-07:00

In lieu of photography time I have been starting to check out some of the great Artists in San Diego county - both photographers and non-photographers.
I am of course mainly interested in those who focus on the nature theme. One of my main reasons for doing this is after over a year of marriage I am still waiting on a wedding present from my parents- they want to buy us artwork and I thought it would be wonderful to have both something that was to do with the natural world, but was also San Diego related as a remembrance of our first (and perhaps several more) year of living together.

Julia Gray is one my favorite artists that I have come across so far. She seems to have a wonderful gift for capturing the neutral world, in a very beautiful and real way, everything is beautiful and a celebration of what Gaia can offer us. My favorite pieces of her work are these from the San Elijo Lagoon.

Busy Busy and Veronica Mars

2006-07-18T18:30:00.000-07:00

I have had just no time for photography lately, but hope to get down to some in the next few days. for one thing its been way to hot to go out for long lately- I thought this was usual San Diegan summer, but apparantly it is like ten degrees hotter than usual.
I have however had time to start watching a new TV show- Veronica Mars. We started watching mainly as it is set around here and we wanted to look out for places we know. So far it is a little too Teeny with some pretty bad acting (what were they thinking having Paris Hilton appear in the first episode) but nonetheless I has sort of made me start to think how cool it would be to become a professional photographer. Obviously this is very idealistic, much in the way I tease my wife when she says watching Law and Order makes her want to become a Lawyer, but still it does put a little spark in my brain.

Tomaotes

2006-07-07T18:19:00.000-07:00

My tomaotes are finally starting to fruit!

My tomaotes are finally starting to fruit!

A Picture of Pictures

2006-07-03T13:57:00.000-07:00

I recently got some of my wild flower snaps blown up and framed to go on the wall. I am really happy how they turned out- it made shooting in such high res so worth it as some fo the pictures are blown up really big (11 x17). I'm still waiting on a few more, but this is how it is looking right now.

Landscapes

2006-06-28T12:42:00.000-07:00

The final photos from my trip - just stunning landscapes. I heard of a new program where you can easily piece together a panorama, I think I will go up and attempt one once I have figured out how to use it.

A few more wild flowers

2006-06-23T15:53:00.000-07:00

The last of my wildflower shots- such a variety of color.

Tomorrow I will post some of my photos of the landscapes- amazing views out there.

Wild Flowers at Eagle Peak Preserve

2006-06-21T18:23:00.000-07:00

As promised some beautiful wildflowers from the wonderful Eagle Peak Preserve. I don't know all the names but should get down to some identification soon. I love doing wildflower close ups- we'll probably get some framed and up on our wall in the new apartment.

San Diego Horned Lizard

2006-06-19T18:38:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the first photos from my trip today to Eagle Peak Preserve. The highlight of my day spotting a San Diego Horned Lizard. Such awesome little creatures, look totally prehistoric. They are a threatened species, and that is part of what the land aqcuisition project at the preserve is trying to reverse.

Photography Drought

2006-06-18T19:33:00.000-07:00

Well you will be pleased to know that after a drought of photography I am heading off into the mountains tommorrow to take lots of great photos of Gaia. Hope fully I will see some very cool stuff.

So watch this space!

The BraveTabby Cat

2006-06-10T17:33:00.000-07:00

Did you see the story about the domestic tabby chasing a borwn bear up a tree in New Jersey this week! Crazy story, certainly a good deal braver than our kitties-they are even scared of small children let alone bears.

Anyway I thought the photo was awesome-

Tiger Tiger Burning Bright

2006-06-02T16:33:00.000-07:00

I came accross one of my favourite photos I ever took the other day. I just made it my background. I love how tigers are all at once so powerful and so lazy.

TIGER, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies	5
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?	10
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp	15
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?	20

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

Shades of Blue

2006-05-28T22:06:00.000-07:00

I went to the international food fair today and was pleased to see a wonderful array of floral displays in Balboa Park. I particuarly like the arrangements of blue flowers set out down the main center of the park.

Apartment Flowers

2006-05-24T18:55:00.000-07:00

Still no time to venture very far for photography today- it's amazing however what beauty one can inf in your own back yard if you only bother to look for it. Here are a few snaps of the plant outside the front of my apartment.

Tomatoes I've been growing

2006-05-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

Nothing to special to share until I get a few days to myself to actually do some photography- but here are the tomatoes growing on my balcony. They must love the rain from last night. It's great to watch them grow every day, we are really quite proud of them.

Playing Around

2006-05-18T18:28:00.000-07:00

I know , I know, it's been a few days since I posted. But I really haven;t been feeling much up to nature photography in this May Gray that we have been having. The sun did poke out it's head this afternoon, but sadly it was just for a couple of hours and I was already otherwise engaged. So this evening I have been sitting around fiddling with past photos on my laptop- here is one of my kitten, well cat I suppose, Hermes and some Gerber Daisies I bought for my wife.

Becoming a Pro

2006-05-14T14:18:00.000-07:00

Most of the time I feel I want to keep my photography on an amateur level- but every now and then I get a desire for something more. Not to become a full time photographer, but prehaps to have it as a side job. In any case I would like to improve my techniques- all leading to the general conclusion that I should head to photography school. It is one of those art forms for which school is highly recommended, as there are so many techniques to learn, not to mention all the new technology that is fast becoming a part of photography.
The best photography school for me location wise would seem to be the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara. This is a "learn by doing" campus with degrees in commercial advertising, digital imagine and scientific photgrpahy concentrations. maybe not quite the right fit for a wildlife photographer?

Another Trip to the zoo

2006-05-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

Volunteering again at the zoo, unfortunately I couldn't get a shot of the newly born baby anteater, but I will keep trying for that apparently he rides on top of his mom's back. Pretty cute.

I did get some nice hippos shots however. I love hippos, they are one of the most ferocious and dangerous animals in Africa, despite being vegetarian. I have seen clips of wildlife photographers approaching them in the wild and I am definitely glad I can do so behind the safe presence of a pane of glass! Another nice fact about hippos is that they mourn their dead. They stand vigil for days, not allowing any scavengers to eat the carcass, and wail. It is a strange and wonderful behavior very difficult to explain with Darwinian evolution ideals. I love the hippo exhibit at the zoo. The whole ituri forest area is by far my favourite place to be- especially on a sunny day.

Peacocks

2006-05-08T19:53:00.000-07:00

There are some things in nature which really lend credence to intellgent design. It seems almost impossible that something as beautiful and as perfect as a peacock could have been created by a series of mutations. A wonder of Gaia prehaps. More wonderful still about peacocks is the fact that they are so seemingly easy to breed, and unadverse to human company. In many cities in Europe they still roam the streets- certainly much more attractive than pigeons. Here we are lucky to have them roaming the San Diego Zoo. Best of all for me they simply love to pose for the camera!

Encelia Californica

2006-05-05T14:31:00.000-07:00

In addition to the California Poppy the California Sunflower is one of the most common, and indeed one of the most perky native plants to be found in the San Diego area. The certainly serve to lighten up any native plant garden adding a wonderful splask of color -and no more so than here at Cabrillo National Monument, where they look stunning silhoutted against the blue of the sea.

Seaweed

2006-05-04T20:52:00.000-07:00

One of the great things about photography is discovering the beauty hidden in the natural world which is often overlooked by casual passers by. I don't think any one ever gives much thought to seaweed- certainly it does not attract the same respect as do flowers and trees.

Tidepools

2006-05-03T13:24:00.000-07:00

I don't have too much experience taking photos through water, its a pretty hard thing to do with the angles of refraction of the light. However I was out at La Jolla and saw some really neat creatures in the tidepools so I thought I would give it a go. I love watching the crabs scuttle around, they have some really beautiful shells. I think tidepool photography is something i am going to work on, maybe something i should take photography classes in.

Switzerland

2006-04-28T15:09:00.000-07:00

No time for photographing today- not really great weather for either- so I will share some photos I took this time last year in Switzerland- this was the place I really got into Nature Photography. The wild flowers were just amazing. Flowers are so much easier to photograph than animals and birds- much more obliging!

Rhinos

2006-04-26T19:02:00.000-07:00

Membership to the Wild Animal Park- plus free parking for being a meerkat volunteer provides me with some pretty good photography oppertunities. The photos can almost look like I am out in the wild on Safari- in fact the terrain is so African looking out there sometimes I feel I really am- especially in the summer when the grass is all shriveled and brown. These photos being taken in April seem slightly more Californian, now we are into our wet and more verdant season. However they are still fun photos. To help with some framing ideas and inspire me I have been using Wildpix.net a great site with some beautiful african mammal shots.
Ilove photogrpahing these Indain Rhinos this top picture was awesome the Rhinos were actually having a stand off in a mating ritual.

The La Jolla Seals

2006-04-24T15:07:00.000-07:00

The Children's Pool in La Jolla is one of the largest seal rockeries in a populated area anywhere, offering the public a rare oppertunity to see seals in thier natural habitat. There is a lot of controversy over the seals, many state the belief that the seals should not be there, that the pool is for children and that the seals pollute the beach and are therefore an environmental health risk. However it is commonly thought that many local people only feign these views as they dislike the tourists and traffic associated with the seal population. This is a little odd as the tens of thousands of visitors to the seals each year bring in lots of money to La Jolla and the local businesses. It looks like the seals will be here for many years to come, which is great for those like me who wouldn't otherwise get to photgraph them in thier natural habitat.

Volunteering at the Zoo

2006-04-22T19:39:00.000-07:00

Like i said I would love to go on Safari, and do some eco-tourism in South East Asia- I would definitely invest in some nicer camerea equipment if I got that oppertunity. However my salary right now is not gonna take me quite that far. Today was our day for volunteering at the San Diego Zoo- we work as infomation partners- helping people with any questions and aiding them in navigating thier way around.

I grabbed a few shots after we got off duty.

Seattle

2006-04-21T10:18:00.000-07:00

One thing I do miss living in San Diego is the change of the seasons, and the verdant abundance that only weeks on end of rain can produce. BAck up in Seattle my mother has a beautiful garden which she tends to with endless care- it always looks wonderful at this time of year.

Flower Fields

2006-04-20T18:18:00.000-07:00

We headed up to the Flower Fields in Carlsbad- a bit of a rip off at $8 per person to enter, but it afforded some good photo oppertunities none the less. The flower fields are filled with Ranunculus flowers. The fields began when an English horticulturist named Luther Gage took interest in the giant strain of Ranunculus called Tecolote, he began to culitvate Ranunculus with the help of several wokers. One of these workers named Frank Frazee began to cultivate his own Ranunculus flowers with his sons Edwin and Earl and thus the Flower Fields were born.

Disneyland

2006-04-19T20:19:00.000-07:00

I spent the past couple of days in Disneyland, I searched around endlessly for some part of the natural world to photograph, but i guess somewhat unsurprisingly failed. We also visited the California Adventure park, which is much less plastic and fake than Disney, and for a while my hopes were up that I would find something there- sadly I did not. The park shows many different parts of California, with a stunning motion simulator rise 'soaring over California' featuring some amazing shots of the different Californian landscapes. I think the park should consider adding a native plant garden to its layout, and feature more native vegetation in its design. It would certainly fit in well with the whole theme.

Japanese Friendship Garden

2006-04-16T14:11:00.000-07:00

Having had such a nice time in Balboa Park's Cactii and Rose gardens recently I thought I would head out to the Japanese Friendship Garden. There is a charge to get in- but Japanese Gardens are usually such amazing places to photograph I thought it would be well worthwhile- the gardens in Portland are some of the most beautiful and peaceful I have ever seen- with many water features making for excellent photographic opportunities. I headed into the garden, walked a short distance and found that I have already reached the end of the gardens. They were absolutely miniscule- additionally there were very few attractive areas. The garden being so small the visitors were crammed in and n top of each other- photographic opportunities were near impossible as people pushed by and couldn't give you the time and space needed to compose interesting shots. However it was only wannabe amateur photographers like myself who had these problems- the professional wedding photographer in the park- (taking pre-wedding shots for a wedding day yet to come) seemed to have a free reign- taking up all the attractive areas and making it even more difficult for guests to navigate around the tiny garden. Too make matters even worse the staff at the gardens were distinctly rude- I was certainly not feeling the "Friendship". I left disappointed and a little confused as to why I had paid oney to come into this area when the other gardens in Balboa park are free of charge.

Rain

2006-04-15T11:15:00.000-07:00

It rained today so no photos I am afraid. In fact I barely ever left the house today, preferring instead to stay warm and watched a bunch of past episodes of Lost. Its getting pretty exciting now- all the Dharma stuff is starting to come out. I'm not a real freak fan of the show, and don't have my own conspiracy theories, but it is entertaining televiosn with some great ideas- I loved this past week with the episode all inside Hurley's head. The other great thing about lost is it puts me in mind of the time we spent in Oahu this summer on our honeymoon- right where Lost is filmed. We got some great flower photography one there which I will post in lieu of my usual daily photos.

Cactii from Seussland

2006-04-14T12:59:00.000-07:00

I love taking photos of cactii- there's something so surreal about them, especially when you get the clear blue sky behind them. When I first heard that Dr Seuss- i.e. Theodor Giesel was from San Diego it became immediately clear to me where he got his inspiration. On my trip to Anza Borrego last weekend i felt like i was in some sort of Seuss like world and half expected to see Cats in Hats and Foxes in Socks to come wandering past.
These photos have some of that Seuss like feel about them- I took them yesterday at the Balboa cactus gardne, but hope to add to them soon with some shots from the wild animal park which I believe to have one of the best cactus gardens around.

Roses of Spring

2006-04-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

I was passing the rose garden yesterday and I thought I would go in and take a few close ups, the roses are just starting to open up and are so great to photograph. The closeups are a lot better than pictures of the whole garden- in truth I find the garden somewhat lacking, but prehaps I have been spoiled by the gardens in Portland and Seattle. Andre Gunther has a few nice shots of the Portland Rose gardens, although I think nothing can do justice to actually being there.

Pelicans in La Jolla

2006-04-12T09:24:00.000-07:00

I've been checking out the work of Terry Danks lately he does some really great bird photography, his hummingbird photos are especially impressive. I'm going to start having a go at photographing hummingbirds myself, I went out and bought a nectar feeder and everything- the question is where to hang it to get the best angles with the sun.....
I hope the hummers will make it this far- there are certainly a ton of them in Balboa park which isn't too far from my house.for now I've been sticking to the opposite end of the size spectrum when it comes to bird photography- here are some pelican photos from La Jolla.

Poppies in Point Loma

2006-04-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

I headed out to Point Loma Native Plant Reserve today to see the stunning display of Californian Poppies in the San Diego Sunshine. Its a great place to hang out and photograph, in addition to flowers there are humming birds and butterflies in abundance- even to occasional sight of the fock of escaped parrots that fly around Point Loma.

I'm very pleased with my honey bee close up.

Anza Borrego

2006-04-10T21:00:00.000-07:00

I'll kick off this blog with some photos from my trip to the desert this weekend. There was no bloom this year but it is still stunning out there. The weather was great - clear blue skies and we had an awesome time, even seeing a wandering Coyote in the early hours of the morning. We camped at Agua Caliente and enjoyed basking in the Hot Springs - although the wind on our cheap Amazon tent was not so much fun. We travelled all around- I especially loved the Southern Badlands- (the bottom few photos), and enjoyed photographing the flowering Ocotillo. Check out Desert USA for some more awesome photos - especially good at highlighting the difference between this year and last year.