Anza Borrego Four Wheeling March 13, 2016

My good friend Frank took me out to the desert for a day trip. I really appreciate his willingness to take me out there. He knows his way around amazingly well in Anza Borrego. I always have a great time when we go. I really needed this day trip. It was good for my heart and soul. It was an absolutely beautiful day. 

Our friend Mark convoyed with us in his truck. Since we are all photographers, we took many photos

This next photo shows the strangest thing in the sand. It looked to me like some type of animal feet. I found it intriguing. The dune was smooth and then this pattern was on the ridge. If anyone has an idea of what this is, or what causes it, I'd love to hear it. It struck me as very odd.

What is a trip to the desert without some cool cactus photos?

This time of year, if you are lucky you'll find some cool wildflowers too.

The elusive Five-Spot below!

Mark getting the low angle on the Sand Verbena

Heather and Mark lead the way back down the trail

It was fortunate we visited when we did because there was a huge number of caterpillars and they were devouring the flowers fast and furious.

Mark tries to count them all. Just in this small area, I believe he counted 40 or 50 and that was just a very small area. These guys were all over in large numbers.

Time to wrap it up and head home. Frank and Mark discuss the plan.

We pulled over to check out the cows on the way home.

It was a beautiful day trip and a gorgeous day in the desert with great friends. There are many more photos of the day, more scenery and flowers than this post would suggest here Anza Borrego 2016

Fremont Street Experience

The Fremont Street Experience

Fremont Street is an interesting place to visit at night with all the neon flashing bright and the colorful characters to go with them. The start of the Fremont Street Experience is bright and flashy as you would expect. You'll find the fanciest Denny's in the world I believe. The cover over the street is constantly changing color and content. The further down the street one walks, the place kind of falls into a seedy creepy place. Homeless people laying on the sidewalk corners, some passed out against the buildings, the bright lights start to get further apart. Suffice it to say, I knew when I wanted to turn around. I brought a tripod but didn't end up using it, just too much fuss for a venue like this. My sister and brother-in-law walked the 3 miles back and forth with me. I think we all had a good time, my poor sisters blistered feet notwithstanding. If you would like to see more, I have uploaded more photos taken on this night to a gallery you can view here.

Big Surf in San Diego

Big surf hit San Diego California on December 12th and 13th 2015. I checked the surf reports and found that the swell would be hitting Sunset Cliffs pretty good. I stopped by Ocean Beach Pier first even though I knew the pier would be closed. I've seen the waves larger here before, but it was pretty spectacular and fun to watch anyway. 

The walk along the cliffs to the south of the pier was also closed. You can see why in the next photo.

The tree they traditionally put up on the beach in OB every year was looking a bit threatened by the surf and tides. The burm will have to be reinforced in the next few days.

From OB, I went on to Sunset Cliffs and it was rocking. Standing on the cliffs, I could not only feel the spray of the large waves hitting the coastline but I could feel the earth move under my feet! 

I watched a number of folks get wet. If you see the cliff you are standing on wet it is a good indication that when the next large set rolls in, you'll be hit. Some people don't know enough to think of this and others just don't care.

I have about 115 photos in a gallery of the big surf on December 12, 2015 here there are also some photos from the Cabrillo Monument Tide Pool area in this gallery. Although the tide pools were not accessible on this day, the coastline was getting hit hard with waves. To some, the images may seem repetitive but for me, the nuances  are enough to include them. I'll post a separate blog entry for the next day of surf. On December 13th, the surf was still very large but the chop had left and the waves were formed to a surfers dream.

The Secretary Bird

The secretary bird is native to Asia and Africa. The secretary bird's English name was once thought to come from the 1800s when Europeans first spotted these birds. Back then, male secretaries wore gray tailcoats and dark knee length pants. They also used goose quill pens that they carried behind their ears. This bird shares many of these physical features: long, dark quills at the back of the head; long gray wing and tail feathers that resemble a tailcoat; and black feathers that go midway down the legs like short pants. Secretary birds are distantly related to buzzard, vultures, harriers and kites. But unlike those birds, secretary birds spend most of their time on the ground. They stand over four feet tall. In their natural habitat they nest and roost high up in acacia trees at night. The secretary bird is the national is emblem of Sudan and a prominent feature of the Coat of Arms of South Africa. The photos below were taken at the San Diego Zoo. The bird gave me a good viewing. The biggest challenge was that it is behind glass. It was a busy day at the zoo and I had to be patient to not have strollers and legs in the glass reflection overlaying my view of the bird in my photos. I have always loved the secretary bird. As you browse the photos here, maybe you will see why?

If you'd like to see a few more photos from my time visiting the secretary bird this day there are a few more here . 

Comic Con San Diego 2014

Comic Con is a big event in San Diego. I think that our downtown gets more packed with people than at any other time of year. The tickets to get in to the actual Convention Center that houses the Comic Con are getting harder to obtain every year. A friend of mine told me that this year they somehow gave preference to out of town folks to get tickets over locals. I don't know how that works. I do know that it is a BIG deal and pretty pricey to get the tickets. I don't feel the need for a ticket to Comic Con to enter the Convention Center. There is plenty of entertainment all over downtown during this event. Just hanging out in front of the Convention Center and watching the crowd is incredibly fun and entertaining. Below you will find some photos I came home with from this years event and a link to a gallery of more. 

Every year there are a group of people trying to save the heathen Comic Con attendees. Because if you believe in Batman you must be heathen right?

You can see this dude in head to toe by clicking the gallery link at the bottom of the post here.

I am not sure what this monkey did to piss the transit enforcement off, but you'll see a series of photos in my gallery. They even made him take his shoes off!

I don't get most of the costumes but I still can appreciate them!

Say WHAT?

Head on over to my full 2014 Comic Con gallery. You just might see something that tickles your fancy, makes you shake your head or both.

A Day Trip to Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve

It was a beautiful Southern California May day. The best part of the day was getting to see my friends Steve and Ken. I realize now that we've been friends for about 13 years. We go way back to before any of us had a digital SLR camera and we were shooting with Panasonic bridge cameras. We actually met on a dpreview forum. You know the way the years slip by and people get busy and one thing leads to another. Before you know it, it's been years since you've seen your friends. It was so good to see Steve and Ken. It was just as comfortable as ever, like no time had passed at all. We always have a great time together and this day was no different. I introduce you to Steve and Ken. Steve is in front and Ken is behind. This first photo is a peek to how my day went photographically. I took two quick photos of the guys and the best one is what I show you here. I managed to get Ken with his eyes closed! But doesn't he look relaxed and peaceful?

There weren't a whole lot of birds around. But some of the usual suspects made an appearance, like this Great Blue Heron high in a tree. All of my shots are heavily cropped because I didn't drag my Bigma around. For me it was more about spending time with old friends and enjoying the company.

And of course there were a few Egrets around.

There were some interesting log formations in the pond.

I did get a photo of a Tern hollering on the bridge way across the water. Look close, you'll even see his tongue. 

The Tern's are quite acrobatic and entertaining to watch.

Oh look, I managed to catch a Black-necked Stilt in flight.

A Cackling Goose shaking it's wet head at me.

A Brown Pelican on a fly-by.

We went for an early lunch around 11 a.m. at a local Mexican restaurant. I ate too much and had a strong Margarita. Hey, we started out early. I was up at 5 am to make the 90 minute drive up there. But Steve commented, "This drink is strong." I laughed and said, "Well they figure if you are having a Margarita at 11 a.m. you must be serious!" That set the stage for how I felt when we traveled on to San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary. It was too hot at 1 p.m. at SJWS, and I was feeling the extra heat of a bit of tequila in my system. We moseyed around for a short while. I was treated to seeing a White-faced Ibis. Pretty cool looking bird as you'll see below.

It is kind of surprising how many different birds are in this small watering hole next to the Visitor's Center there at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary. 

I want to provide you with a link about Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve and also one for San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary which is really a unique place tucked into Irvine. It is smack dab in the middle of a full development of business. It amazes me to walk around the area and experience natures adaptation of man's encroachment. It is an oasis in the middle of man for the wildlife. 

If you take a look at the  gallery I put up, you'll see some of the other things that caught my eye. I did manage to get a shot of a tern with a fish in his mouth flying by. There is even a raccoon at SJWS, even if it is a bit of a rough shot from being underexposed, cropped and pushed. Oh and don't miss my favorite blurry shot of the day, a Swallow in flight! If you've ever tried to take a photo of these birds, you may appreciate even a blurry shot of one. They are such beautiful birds but man are they tough to photograph in flight. They are fast and change direction on a dime without notice. 

A Hot Day at the Zoo

September 3, 2013 was a hot day in San Diego. It's been hot and muggy for us for over a week. I know that the best time to go to the zoo is when it is cool. Even rain is better than heat for the zoo animal activity. But I had the day off, it was the first day of school for most of the kids in San Diego and I figured the zoo would be pretty empty. I was right, there weren't many folks at the zoo at all.  I did get one shot of this tiger with airplane ears and a fresh bone. I am sure my friend Frank will know which tiger this is. Check out the comments and maybe he'll let us know there. I was pushed out of the tiger area by a whining screaming child. His parent kept dragging him back to take a photo of them with a cell phone in front of the tiger.I was patient until the fifth time the parent dragged this screaming tot back to the glass. Then I decided I'd had enough. The whole reason I braved the heat is because I figured the zoo would be quiet and peaceful after the long weekend. I wandered around the zoo a bit but the animals were hiding for the most part just as I expected in the heat.

I figured the reptiles would be happy in the heat and humidity. They were active and visible even more than normal. More than one type of Cobra posed for me. I was treated to seeing the Komodo Dragon fed some mice. These were very small for Komodo Dragons and on the inside of the exhibit area, not the very large one well known at the zoo that is all by itself. In any case I was amazed that they swallowed one mouse after another for a total of FIVE mice each! Of course they swallowed them whole. What amazed me is I couldn't see where the mice were after they passed those jaws. If you've seen a snake eat a mouse you know that there is a visible lump of mouse in the snake. Not so with a Komodo Dragon. After eating five large mice they looked the same as before they ate them. I found that strange. You won't see any photos of that action. I was too busy being amazed and enjoying the show.

Komodo Dragon

Komodo Dragon

I have just a few more shots from the day uploaded here if you'd like to see more.