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.
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.
For a nature photographer like me, green is a beautiful color, indicating vibrant life around me. Unfortunately living in Southern California means green is actually not a common sight. Any plant or grass growing in the winter starts green, only to turn yellow or brown by the time the summer sun starts its baking process. I’m lucky enough to live right by the San Diego River, which is heavily surrounded by poplars and their pretty green leaves. They’re turning yellow right now, and they’re just as pretty.
Remember you can click on most of the photos below to see a larger view of this WordPress weekly photo challenge: Green.
Here are a few examples of green I’ve encountered in Southern California. I’ll start with my very favorite, which I captured at Dos Picos State Park last spring. This green hue was so surreal, I felt I had just walked into a secret fairyland. I can’t wait to go back there next spring and hope to see similar sights. If you’re wondering what the purple blooms are in the back, it’s Ramona lilac. They make beautiful clusters of flowers, but alas no scent.
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Green grass at Dos Picos State Park
I love the green lush surrounding this Stellar Jay bird, making its blue feathers stand out even more.
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Green makes the blue of this Stellar Jay bird stand out
Finally, you can find a lot of green in Southern California if you look by a source of water. Here are a few green plants, including ferns, that love water and shade. I took this photo in the small mountain town of Idyllwild, California, by Strawberry Creek, this past summer.
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Green lush by Strawberry Creek in Idyllwild, California
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.
Do you remember the photo of the water lilies I took at San Diego’s Balboa Park? The one I used for the month of August in my 2013 photo calendar? Well, I went back to my memory card and looked if there were more photos good enough to share. I found a few, so here we go.
Remember to click on each photo for a larger view.
Here’s the whole patch where my water lilies came from. I like capturing reflections in the water. Unfortunately it’s not always easy to find a good angle to photograph the water lilies from to get their best shot, as well as an interesting building reflection, so it can be tricky. I think this photo came out OK.
Water lilies at Balboa Park in San Diego
Here’s the photo of the three pink water lilies on the right, the one I used in the calendar.
Pink water lilies at San Diego’s Balboa Park
And here’s a photo of the single water lily closer to the front of the first picture.
Pink water lily and lily pads at the pond in Balboa Park, San Diego
This pond at Balboa Park also displays white water lilies but I think pink beats white any day when it comes to standing out on the green lily pads. What do you think?
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.
Remember you can click on each photo below to see a larger view of it.
I find it interesting, not to say awkward, to choose “renewal” as a theme in November, when everything in nature is dying or falling asleep. So most of the photos I’m displaying here were taken at another time of the year.
Well, expect for this first one, which I took last fall after a rainstorm. The clouds were still quite grey but the sun rays did their best to light up the golden leaves of the poplars that live by the San Diego River. I love to watch the rain do its magic as it revives and replenishes the trees that have been thirsty for so long, giving them one last burst of energy before they go to sleep for the winter.
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Renewal – after the rain
The WordPress person who wrote the post on this weekly photo challenge suggested us to stay away from the stereotypical renewal of sunrises. Well, I love sunrises and they are inherently a sign of daily renewal. But I like moon rises just as much, especially when they happen in the daylight. They remind us that day and night work together to bring constant renewal to the earth.
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Renewal – moon rising over trees
I used the photo below for another photo challenge theme but I think it fits this one perfectly. This is a small pine tree growing out of the root of a seemingly dead tree. Nature knows best how to renew.
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Renewal – new tree grows out of a dead tree
Finally, nothing screams renewal more than brand new flowers in the spring. In this case, these are California wildflowers, which are also featured in my 2013 photo calendar.
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Renewal – California wildflowers
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 bottle brush tree flowers. They feature a beautiful red hue and it’s easy to figure out how they got their name. I recently found out bottle brush trees are a native plant of Australia. This may explain why we have so many of them in San Diego, as the weather is similar here as in many parts of Australia.
I chose bottle brush tree flowers for the month of April in my 2013 photo calendar and I had a few pictures to choose from. My final pick was actually not my first choice. The photo below was. I love the angle of the flower, the deep green leaves on the left and the other red brushes in the background. And then, surprise surprise, there are two bees on this bottle brush tree flower: one at the bottom of it and one flying right in front of it. The only thing that stopped me from choosing this photo as my final selection was that the flying bee was out of focus. But hey, it wasn’t even supposed to be on the picture in the first place!
What do you think? Should I consider it for my 2014 photo calendar? Or does the blurry bee bother you? Make sure you click on the image for a larger view, especially if you want to see the bees better.
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.
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