Group Shoot at Leo Carrillo Ranch

It was a beautiful day at Leo Carrillo Ranch. I was traveling light and didn't bring a long lens. There are always peacocks at the Ranch but I figured I'd taken their photos before so I'd focus elsewhere. I couldn't help myself once I was around these birds strutting their stuff. You can learn more about the ranch here. The peacocks in all their glory are in this post.

Peacocks like to hang out on the tops of buildings. Anyone that has visited the San Diego Zoo has viewed them on top of buildings there. It is different at Leo Carrillo. The peacocks roam free and have a different attitude toward people. They are very relaxed.

The back side of a male peacock is just as impressive as the front side in my humble opinion. No matter which way they turn they are beautiful.

There is even a white peacock at Leo Carrillo Ranch. It was off in the distance. We waited for awhile hoping that the white peacock would fan it's feathers. We were rewarded the wait.

Pure white from all directions.

There are always interesting flowers at the ranch.

Leo Carrillo has many things at the small ranch to make photographing  fun. There are only a few structures but they are interesting looking.

It was a fun visit. If you haven't visited Leo Carrillo before, I recommend it. You can't beat the price. Free admission! I have a few more photos from the day you will find here, at my Zenfolio site. 

Sterling in Anza Borrego

We took a day trip out to Anza Borrego to visit the sculptures and take some photos of Sterling next to them. The last time Sterling, Ethyl and I visited was in 2010. I tried to recreate the photos of him with the sculptures that we had from that visit. But the most rewarding photos of all were the ones that were not recreated. They were just Sterling being Sterling.

When I looked at the weather forecast for the day, it called for high winds with times of zero visibility. I don't often get a weekday off from work and we had planned this trip so we went for it. It was an experience that is for sure. There were times when that sand blew so hard it DID create zero visibility. Not to mention stinging the heck out of any exposed skin. It wasn't always blowing sand and we did get periods of relative calm. It was all worth it though and we managed to have a truly great time.

You can view all of the photos of the day here. You'll see the old photos from 6 years ago next to some of them. Sterling has done some major growing. He is such a good sport and is creative and playful in front of a camera. He makes up for his two brothers who are horribly photo-phobic! I'll post some of my favorite of the day here, but really check out the gallery for the then and now comparisons. 

Ever smell a camel fart?

Mr. Casual, even on the back of a dragon.

LET GO!!

Never a good idea to get between a mom and her babies!

He got blown right off his feet in the next photo

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 .