WordPress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour

Zazzle online shop If you enjoy my photos and would like to purchase some, I want to thank you! Simply visit my Zazzle online shop and browse the product offerings. If there’s a photo you would like to purchase but don’t see it in my shop, please contact me by using the Contact form at the bottom of my home page and let me know which photos you are interested in purchasing, and in what format / medium.

Today I’m participating in the WordPress weekly photo challenge and this week’s theme is “the golden hour”, that first or last hour of the day that gives such a special light to everything around. If you like what you see, feel free to subscribe and receive nature photography updates a few times a week.

I love the glowing effect the rising sun rays give to these puffy clouds.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour - clouds at sunrise
WordPress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour – clouds at sunrise

On a winter morning, I love how the sun rays do their best to shine through the fog and make the fall foliage turn gold.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour - fall foliage glows through the fog
WordPress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour – fall foliage glows through the fog

The morning sunlight right after a night of rain has an interesting effect too. I love to capture that special light on raindrops.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour - morning sunlight lights up raindrops on leaves
WordPress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour – morning sunlight lights up raindrops on leaves

We don’t get a lot of frost in San Diego and when we do, it starts to disappear as soon as the sun comes out and exposes its warm rays. So it’s a race against time to capture the frost in the sunlight before it melts.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour - morning sunlight lights up raindrops on leaves - frost on the edge of a leaf
WordPress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour – morning sunlight lights up raindrops on leaves – frost on the edge of a leaf

The late afternoon sun in the winter can give a nice golden look to yellow leaves, and the scene looks even nicer if you can capture the moon in the background.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour - the sun lights up fall leaves with the moon in the background
WordPress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour – the sun lights up fall leaves with the moon in the background

Finally I like how bright the sky can still be while everything on the ground is getting darker as the sun sets.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour - bright skies as the sun sets
WordPress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour – bright skies as the sun sets

Floral Friday Fotos: Water drops on roses

Zazzle online shop If you enjoy my photos and would like to purchase some, I want to thank you! Simply visit my Zazzle online shop and browse the product offerings. If there’s a photo you would like to purchase but don’t see it in my shop, please contact me by using the Contact form at the bottom of my home page and let me know which photos you are interested in purchasing, and in what format / medium.

Today I’m participating in Floral Friday Fotos. Remember you can click on the photos below to see them in a larger format. 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.

I love photographing roses but they’re quite a challenge to capture in the right angle and the right light. I recently took a lot of photos of roses of many colors and most of them had water drops on them from the morning’s watering. Here is a mix of colors for your enjoyment!

Floral Friday Fotos: Water drops on a pink rose
Floral Friday Fotos: Water drops on a pink rose
Floral Friday Fotos: Water drops on a white rose's petals
Floral Friday Fotos: Water drops on a white rose’s petals
Floral Friday Fotos: Water drops on a white rose
Floral Friday Fotos: Water drops on a white rose
Floral Friday Fotos: Water drops on a orange rose
Floral Friday Fotos: Water drops on a orange rose

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter

Zazzle online shop If you enjoy my photos and would like to purchase some, I want to thank you! Simply visit my Zazzle online shop and browse the product offerings. If there’s a photo you would like to purchase but don’t see it in my shop, please contact me by using the Contact form at the bottom of my home page and let me know which photos you are interested in purchasing, and in what format / medium.

This week’s Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge theme is the season of winter. Remember you can click on each photo below for a larger view. If you like what you see, feel free to subscribe and receive nature photography updates a few times a week.

Winter in San Diego is quite different from most places in the US. It’s definitely milder but by living inland a bit (about 15 miles from the shore, past the first set of big hills), I get to enjoy more drastic changes in temperature than if I lived right by the coast. So while I can enjoy warm temperatures of 70 to 80 degrees on any given winter day, the winter nights are chilly, usually in the low 30s to 40s, and frost pays us a surprise visit many nights a winter.

I could brag and show you pictures of the warm blue skies and bold flowers we enjoy in the winter, but instead I’ll give you a taste of the cold aspect of winter here. Enjoy!

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter - frost on ice plants in San Diego
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter – frost on ice plants in San Diego

You’ll notice the frost here is more delicate and looks like a thin layer of sugar coating.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter - frost on leaves in San Diego
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter – frost on leaves in San Diego
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter - Frosty ice crystals on twigs
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter – Frosty ice crystals on twigs
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter - texture of frost on grass
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter – texture of frost on grass

Winter in San Diego also means beautiful sunrises.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter sunrise in San Diego
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter sunrise in San Diego

And beautiful sunsets, like this Christmas 2012 sunset.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter - San Diego sunset Christmas 2012
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter – San Diego sunset Christmas 2012

Macro Monday: Close-up of the manzanita tree bark

Zazzle online shop If you enjoy my photos and would like to purchase some, I want to thank you! Simply visit my Zazzle online shop and browse the product offerings. If there’s a photo you would like to purchase but don’t see it in my shop, please contact me by using the Contact form at the bottom of my home page and let me know which photos you are interested in purchasing, and in what format / medium.

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.

The manzanita tree is very common in Southern California. It’s one of those trees / shrubs that does well in a dry climate and can resist drought. Manzanita is Spanish for “little apple” and the tree grows large berries the size of, you guessed it, little apples. This is what the tree looks like as a whole. And yes, if you’re wondering, the sky really was that blue the day I took this photo in the mountains. I could just stare at this blue sky the whole day.

Manzanita tree in Southern California
Manzanita tree in Southern California

What I find interesting in this manzanita tree is its bark. It tends to peel to reveal new bark underneath, and as it does, the old bark curls up, which makes for a peculiar look. This is what a branch with peeling bark looks like overall.

Manzanita red tree bark peeling off
Manzanita red tree bark peeling off

Here’s a close-up of this manzanita tree bark. I love how the sunlight makes it look even more reddish orange than it really is.

Macro Monday: Close-up of the manzanita tree bark
Macro Monday: Close-up of the manzanita tree bark

And if the tree bark underneath is still very new, it looks quite green, a nice contrast with the red peeling bark. You can click on this image for a larger view.

Macro Monday: manzanita tree bark peeling off
Macro Monday: manzanita tree bark peeling off

I hope you enjoyed my selections for this Macro Monday.

Travel theme: Motion of Fourth of July fireworks

Zazzle online shop If you enjoy my photos and would like to purchase some, I want to thank you! Simply visit my Zazzle online shop and browse the product offerings. If there’s a photo you would like to purchase but don’t see it in my shop, please contact me by using the Contact form at the bottom of my home page and let me know which photos you are interested in purchasing, and in what format / medium.

Today I’m participating in Where’s My Backpack’s Travel Theme photo challenge. This week’s theme is “motion”. If you like what you see, feel free to subscribe and receive nature photography updates a few times a week.

I took a lot of great photos of the Fourth of July fireworks last night, and I thought I’d use this week’s photo theme on motion to start sharing them. Fireworks are in constant motion as they go up, as they explode, and as they make their way back down. For the first time last night, I did everything I was supposed to do to get the best fireworks photos I could get: use the right camera, a tripod, and the perfect settings in full manual mode. The trick is to have the perfect timing to capture the motion for the best effect. I still have to work on that part. That means more practice next year!

Here are a few of the photos I’ve edited so far. Remember you can click on these photos for a larger view. Enjoy!

Here’s the first multi-color fireworks I’ve ever seen. Don’t they look great?

Travel theme: Motion of Fourth of July fireworks
Travel theme: Motion of Fourth of July fireworks
Travel theme: Motion of Fourth of July fireworks
Travel theme: Motion of Fourth of July fireworks

I’d never seen fireworks like these below but they looked really nice.

Fourth of July fireworks - 2013
Fourth of July fireworks – 2013
Fourth of July fireworks - burst of pink and red
Fourth of July fireworks – burst of pink and red