The clouds are on fire!

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.

I love sunsets and how the sun tries to burn up the sky as it goes past the horizon at the end of the day. But there’s something very special about sunrises too, where the sun manages to light up the sky for several minutes before you can actually see it. That’s when the sky can suddenly feature some amazing colors. The best sunrises (and sunsets) usually display some type of clouds, which deflect the sunlight in many directions and shades of color.

I took the sunrise photo below on a winter morning almost a year ago. As soon as I looked at the sky, I knew it’d be one of these special sunrises and I hoped my camera batteries weren’t dead because I wouldn’t have time to grab spares. There’s something about the winter light that can makes for great sunrises. This sunrise makes it look like the clouds are on fire. I tried to take pictures of the clouds once they passed the trees, but by then the light had already changed. Better luck next time!

You can click on the photo of this winter sunrise for a larger view.

Photo of a winter sunrise - clouds on fire
Photo of a winter sunrise – clouds on fire

Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Weather

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.

I’m participating in the LetsBeWild.com Wild Weekly Photo Challenge! This week’s Challenge is: Weather.

I live in San Diego, in Southern California. I enjoy beautiful weather probably two thirds of the year. The baking heat of the summer is the bad part, but the skies can still be beautiful. On many days, the weather looks like this. Not a single cloud in the bright blue sky.

Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Weather in Southern California
Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Weather in Southern California

On a cloudy day, which is a rare occasion, the skies will look like this. You can still find plenty of blue sky even when the weather isn’t so great.

Let's be wild weekly photo challenge - weather - cloudy day in San Diego, California
Let’s be wild weekly photo challenge – weather – cloudy day in San Diego, California

On a rainy day, which is even rarer than a cloudy day, things get wet, but they still look pretty. Here’s a wet California lemon enjoying the precious rain. Yep, it’s the one I’m featuring in my 2013 photo calendar, which is now set up for sale by the way (I haven’t launched it officially yet, but it’s coming…).

Let's be wild weekly photo challenge - weather - a wet lemon in San Diego
Let’s be wild weekly photo challenge – weather – a wet lemon in San Diego

And of course, after the rain comes more sun. Things may still be a little wet, but the blue sky we enjoy on most days doesn’t like to miss a beat. This is Southern California weather for you in a nutshell!

Let's be wild weekly photo challenge - weather - wet branch after the rain
Let’s be wild weekly photo challenge – weather – wet branch after the rain

This looks a lot like mimosa, doesn’t it?

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.

I have no idea what this plant is, but its yellow puffy blooms sure look like mimosa. Yet, the leaves don’t look like the leaves of a mimosa bush. So if you know what it is, let me know.

These ma-planted bushes bloom every year around January/February in my area. I love how they bring bright colors to the winter months. They bloom around the same time some California wildflowers start popping up, usually on the side of the San Diego freeways. These “mimosa” flowers are a challenge to photograph and I think I’ll have to spend more time next year to get the photos I really want. I probably have to get a lot closer to show the puffiness of the yellow flowers, as well as use a bright blue sky to contrast the yellow blooms. Something I’m looking forward to do in a few months!

What do you think of these and how would you like to see them photographed?

Yellow mimosa flower blooms
Yellow mimosa flower blooms
Small puffy yellow flowers - mimosa blooms on the bush
Small puffy yellow flowers – mimosa blooms on the bush

When life gives you lemons

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.

When life gives you lemons, you take plenty of pictures of them! I recently showed you some pictures I took of lemons and oranges in the summer light, but lemons can be just as beautiful on a rainy day.

I picked the photo of a lemon to represent November in my 2013 photo calendar and I wanted to share some other photos I took on the same day. Gray and rainy days are often a disappointment when you’d planned to take pictures on that day. Sometimes you just have to look past the wet grayness to see the beauty. Raindrops can make a great addition to your subject and a grey cloudy sky can be used as an nice, even background for contrast. And the filtered light can be your friend if you use it well.

Let’s start with the photo from my 2013 calendar:

Photo of a lemon on a rainy day
Photo of a lemon on a rainy day

Here’s another lemon, this time with the lemon tree leaves as the background:

Wet lemon on a lemon tree
Wet lemon on a lemon tree

Here’s a close-up of a wet lemon. I should have used the flash for this one…

Close-up of a wet lemon
Close-up of a wet lemon

And here are three wet lemons in a row. I love it! My only regret is, the lemon on the right is not completely in focus. Better luck next time!

Three wet lemons on the tree
Three wet lemons on the tree

Help me pick the cover photo for my 2013 calendar

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.

My 2013 12-month photo calendar is now available for sale on my Zazzle online store. Thank you for your support!

Now that you’ve had a chance to preview the photos I will use for each month in my 2013 calendar, I’d like to ask for your input.

I need to pick one photo for the front cover of the calendar and there are 12 photos to choose from. Yikes! So how about you help me pick? I have only one simple requirement. I need some room on the photo for a few lines of text and I know not all photos will allow for it easily.

So take a look at the 12 photos and let me know which one you think would make a great front cover. You can go back to the original post and see a larger view of any photo by just clicking on it.

Thanks for your help!

January - winter sunrise
January – winter sunrise

February - lemon blossoms
February – lemon blossoms

March - California wildflowers
March – California wildflowers

April - Bottle brush tree flowers
April – Bottle brush tree flowers

May - Tiger swallowtail butterfly on bougainvillea
May – Tiger swallowtail butterfly on bougainvillea

June - a bee on a wild rose
June – a bee on a wild rose

July - protea pin cushion flower
My 201July – protea pin cushion flower

August: water lilies at Balboa Park
August: water lilies at Balboa Park

September: sumac's fall foliage
September: sumac’s fall foliage

October: full moon for Halloween
October: full moon for Halloween

November: rainy lemon
November: rainy lemon

December: pine cones up the tree
December: pine cones up the tree