Milka Pejovic

Macro Monday: my first Nuttall’s woodpecker

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Remember that you still have a little time to purchase one of my 2014 nature photography calendars (choose between five different themes) as a holiday gift. Look in the left sidebar on my website for the most up-to-date discount coupon code. All calendars are made to order in the USA so you support the US economy with your purchase, and a starving artist (me!). I also appreciate any referral through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and of course your blog or website.

Today I’m taking part in the Macro Monday photo challenge. If you like what you see, I encourage you to subscribe so you can enjoy the new photos I post a few times a week.

I know the photos below are technically zoom rather than macro, but I thought they’d fit the term since it’s hard to see one of these birds up close. We’re lucky to have thousand of bird species in San Diego, one of which is Nuttall’s woodpecker. You tend to hear woodpeckers more than you see them, so I felt very lucky when I spotted one a couple of weeks ago at a local park. Unfortunately this bird didn’t like me to follow him around. So he kept moving away as I was getting closer and I didn’t get the sharpest photos I was hoping for. Then it started to rain and I gave up after a few raindrops landed on my lens as I was pointing my camera up the trees.

Still, I’m happy to have been able to capture my first Nuttall’s woodpecker. Here he is, climbing his first tree, with his bright red head.

Macro Monday: my first Nuttall's woodpecker — Macro Monday: my first Nuttall’s woodpecker

He hid behind branches for a while.

Eventually he made his way around the trunk.

Nuttall's woodpecker on a tree trunk — Nuttall’s woodpecker on a tree trunk

Nuttall's woodpecker on a cottonwood tree — Nuttall’s woodpecker on a cottonwood tree

Have you ever seen a woodpecker where you live? Or just heard one?

December 15, 2013February 6, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: Animal PhotosTags: close up of woodpecker, cottonwood tree, Macro Monday, nature photography, Nuttall's woodpecker, red headed woodpecker, woodpecker in San Diego, woodpecker on tree, woodpecker zoom 8 Comments

Sunday Post: Christmas tree

Today I’m participating in the Sunday Post photo challenge and the theme is, very appropriately, Christmas tree. You can click on each photo for a larger view. If you enjoy my images, I encourage you to subscribe and receive updates when I post new photos, usually 3 to 5 times a week.

Here’s a recent view of downtown San Diego in the evening, where you can catch a glimpse of the lights shaped like a Christmas tree at Seaport Village. I took this photo from all the way across the San Diego bay, in Coronado.

Sunday Post: Christmas tree downtown San Diego at night

Here’s the Christmas tree from closer. It was very hard to get a sharp photo from so far away.

In comparison, our Christmas tree at home is tiny. Six foot tall, it was decorated with a lot of zeal by my kids. Most of our presents are now under the tree, along with our elf on the shelf who wanted to take a closer look at the presents last night. Our pile of presents will be complete on Christmas morning, after Santa makes a pit stop at our house.

This photo challenge reminds me I should grab my camera and take more photos of the Christmas lights in the neighborhood. Are you really for the holidays?

December 15, 2013February 6, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: California Photos, Christmas Photos, Landscape Photos, Photography, Photos of San DiegoTags: Christmas tree displays, downtown San Diego at night, home Christmas tree, San Diego, San Diego night lights, San Diego Seaport village, San Diego Seaport Village Christmas tree, San Diego skyline at night, Sunday Post: Christmas tree 12 Comments

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: One red pansy

Floral Friday Fotos: pansies and gladiolus

Remember that you still have a little time to purchase one of my 2014 nature photography calendars (choose between five different themes) as a holiday gift. Save 60% off on my calendars today (12/13/13) until midnight with coupon code BLACKFRI13TH. Look in the left sidebar on my website for the most up-to-date discount coupon code. All calendars are made to order in the USA so you support the US economy with your purchase, and a starving artist (me!). I also appreciate any referral through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and of course your blog or website.

Today I’m participating in Floral Friday Fotos. You can click on each photo for a larger view. If you enjoy my images, I encourage you to subscribe and receive updates when I post new photos, usually 3 to 5 times a week.

Here are a couple of colorful pansies to start with. Both pansy blooms were watered before I took these photos so you can still see a lot of water droplets on the petals.

This last flower is a gladiolus bloom reaching the end of its life. I chose a back-lit angle to capture the beautiful orange color through the sun light.

I hope these few flowers bring some color to your cold wintery day.

December 12, 2013February 6, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: Bloom Photos, Flower PhotosTags: blooms, Floral Friday Fotos, nature photography, Orange gladiolus bloom, photos of blooms, photos of flowers, red pansies, red pansy, white and purple pansy 16 Comments

Contrast between trees in the sun and dark sky with clouds

Fall in San Diego: golden light and double rainbows

Today I want to take a little time to share a few photos I took recently. Remember you can click on each photo for a larger view. The temperatures have been steadily dropping down in San Diego and we’ve had far from perfect weather these past few weeks. Fall is definitely here in San Diego.

It first started with a lot of clouds and a lot of wind, but no rain. Here’s what the golden hour looked like behind my house a couple of weeks ago. Can you believe not a single drop of rain fell on that day?

Since then, the skies have been covered with clouds, most often white puffy ones, but sometimes very gray ones. Here’s a golden sunrise behind my house from a few days ago. This is quite unusual for this time of year.

We had a ton of rain this past Saturday. The temperatures didn’t go above the 50s and I just kept shivering the whole day. But look what showed up when the rain stopped: a double rainbow! You may think it’s no big deal, but we very rarely get rainbows in San Diego (maybe two a year) and never in December. And a double rainbow? That’s once every few years. Lucky me!

Double rainbow in San Diego - December 2013 — Double rainbow in San Diego – December 2013

Since this weekend, we’ve experienced some frigid temperatures (upper 20s overnight). This is terrible for the million-dollar California crops, and probably just as bad for my snapdragons in the backyard.

But cold temperatures and a few clouds can make for another pretty sunrise. This is what I went outside to photograph yesterday morning at sunrise. Brrrrr…. but it was worth the shot.

Fall sunrise with blue sky and clouds in San Diego

How is the weather treating you where you are? Are you getting snowed in in the East Coast and the Midwest? Are you freezing in the Northwest? Is Florida even spared from this early winter?

December 11, 2013February 6, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: California Photos, Cloud photos, Landscape Photos, Photos of San Diego, Sky Photos, Sunrise Photos, Tree PhotosTags: California pictures, double rainbow San Diego December 2013, fall in San Diego, fall photos San Diego, fall sunrise in San Diego, golden hour fall foliage, golden hour yellow leaves, golden light, golden sunrise, nature photography, photography, photos, photos of trees 9 Comments

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Grand

Today you can save 30% off my 2014 nature photography calendars (choose between five different themes) by using coupon code FRIENDSFAM13, valid until midnight December 6, 2013. Look in the left sidebar on my website for the most up-to-date discount coupon code. All calendars are made to order in the USA so you support the US economy with your purchase, and a starving artist (me!). I also appreciate any referral through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and of course your blog or website.

By the way, you can read my personal tribute to Nelson Mandela here.

Today I’m participating in the WordPress weekly photo challenge and this week’s theme is “grand”. If you like what you see, feel free to subscribe and receive nature photography updates a few times a week.

I have a grand concept to share with you. I believe that some trees used to be dragons, and I have photographic proof. If you look carefully at trees, you may see it too.

On this first tree, you can clearly see that the shape of these tree branches is a dragon. It may not show well on this photo, but it was a VERY large dragon. Let’s call it a grand dragon.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: grand concept- trees are dragons — WordPress weekly photo challenge: grand concept- trees are dragons

My kids and I stumbled upon this tree trunk during a recent hike. This is another unmistakable proof that trees used to be dragons. This is what we saw at first from behind.