California Photos

A Word A Week Challenge – Orange leaves of a sumac tree in the fall

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Changing Seasons

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, the WordPress weekly photo challenge is all about Changing Seasons, something we view a little differently here in San Diego, California. We do get some frost inland, but no snow unless you start driving up the mountains (less than an hour drive).

The fall foliage is also sporadic but you can find some nice fall colors if you look around, like this American sweetgum. Remember you can click on each photo for a larger view.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Changing Seasons - American sweetgum — WordPress weekly photo challenge: Changing Seasons – American sweetgum

There’s a type of tree around here that displays beautiful yellow leaves in the fall. I don’t know what tree it is, but the dense yellow canopies are easy to spot. This tree is just starting to turn yellow.

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Changing Seasons - yellow fall foliage in San Diego — WordPress weekly photo challenge: Changing Seasons – yellow fall foliage in San Diego

Here is a recent photo of a sumac tree, which features yellow, orange and red leaves in the fall, as well as red seeds.

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Changing Seasons - Sumac tree in the fall — WordPress weekly photo challenge: Changing Seasons – Sumac tree in the fall

There are a lot of Sycamore trees in the San Diego area and their large leaves turn mostly brown in the fall, especially when the drought has lasted as long as it has.

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Changing Seasons - Sycamore tree leaf — WordPress weekly photo challenge: Changing Seasons – Sycamore tree leaf

Finally, in a few weeks many trees will be bare, and if the fog continues to show up every morning as it these past couple of weeks, the view outside of my window in the morning will look like this photo below, the most wintry scene you can spot in San Diego!

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Changing Seasons - foggy morning in San Diego — WordPress weekly photo challenge: Changing Seasons – foggy morning in San Diego

December 7, 2012February 7, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: California Photos, Photography, Photos of San Diego, Tree PhotosTags: American sweetgum leaves, American sweetgum photos, fall foliage in San Diego, fall in San Diego, fog in San Diego, foggy morning in San Diego, photography, photos, San Diego, sumac tree fall foliage, sumac tree foliage, sumac tree photos, sycamore leaves photos, Sycamore trees, trees, Wordpress weekly photo challenge, WordPress weekly photo challenge: Changing Seasons 9 Comments

Win a free copy of my 2013 photo calendar!

Yes, you read right. You can win a free copy of my 2013 photo calendar (view all the photos) by helping me spread the word about my Facebook page.

Here’s how you enter my contest:

1) Like my nature photography Facebook page if you haven’t done so yet.

2) Share my Facebook page with your friends and ask them to like it.

3) The person who provides the most Like referrals wins the calendar (one free copy).

4) If I don’t know of any referrals, I will pick one lucky winner out of my Facebook page fans, so you could still win just by liking my page.

5) You can keep this calendar for yourself or give it to someone else for the new year. Heck, you could give it to a friend you referred!

This contest starts today and ends on December 19, 2012.

Important Notes:

– Facebook doesn’t tell me who you referred to like my page so you will need to send me a message through Facebook and give me the names of these people so I can double check.

– This free calendar was designed and printed in the USA so it includes all US holidays. It will probably make more sense for someone in the US to win this calendar, but anyone is welcome to enter the contest.

Good luck and thank you for participating!

December 5, 2012February 7, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: California Photos, PhotographyTags: 2013 calendar contest, 2013 photo calendar, California pictures, free 2013 calendar, free 2013 photo calendar, nature photography, photography, photos 8 Comments

Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Texture

I want to start this post by reminding you that you only have a day and a half left to use this great Zazzle coupon code 65CANVASCALS at checkout to get 65% off my 2013 photo calendar or any of my canvas prints. Hurry, it doesn’t get any better than this. Expires on December 5, 2012.

I’m participating in the online adventure travel magazine LetsBeWild.com’s Wild Weekly Photo Challenge for bloggers. This week’s Challenge is: Texture in Nature! Remember to click on any image below to view it in a larger format.

I see texture in flowers and their interesting blooms, in this case a large California-native bush called Baccharis Sarothroides. No, I’m not a plant expert of any kind. A friend of mine helped me hunt the name down, I had no idea what it was when I took the pictures. I’ll do a future post with more photos of this Baccharis bush. I love the fluffy texture of the blooms. And it blooms in the late fall, who knew?

Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Texture - Baccharis Sarothroides blooms — Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Texture – Baccharis Sarothroides blooms

I see texture in fruit, in this case a beautiful yellow lemon on the tree, ready to be picked.

Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Texture of a yellow lemon on the tree

I see texture in this funny looking moss on a pine tree branch. I love it!

Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Texture of green moss on a pine tree branch

Finally I see texture creating an image on this tree trunk – a scarfed lady with a walking stick. Do you see her? Nature winks at you from the side every day. You just have to notice it.

December 4, 2012February 7, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: Bloom Photos, California Photos, Forest Photos, Fruit Photos, Photography, Photos of San Diego, Tree Photos, Woods PhotosTags: Baccharis bush, Baccharis Sarothroides, California bush, California pictures, fluffy blooms, lemon on a tree, let's be wild weekly photo challenge, Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Texture, moss on tree, moss on tree branch, photography, photos, photos of blooms, photos of flowers, photos of trees, shape in tree, shape in tree trunk, tree moss, yellow lemon 7 Comments

Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge - Birds of a feather - West African crane

Sunday Post: Peaceful

Visit my online store on Zazzle to buy nature photography products

I’d like to start this post by letting everyone know of a GREAT Zazzle coupon available until December 5, 2012. Use coupon code 65CANVASCALS at checkout to get 65% off my 2013 photo calendar or any of my canvas prints. Is it a deal or what?

Zazzle is a great place to find unique holiday gifts for the people you care about. Visit my online store to purchase products featuring nature photography. There are thousands of products designed by other artists you may want to take a look at while you’re there.

Today I’m participating in Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post photo challenge. This week’s theme is Peaceful. As always, you can click on each image below for a larger view.

I find many aspects of nature very peaceful: the landscapes, the components (water always has a calming effect on me), the smells, the colors and the living creatures (except the predator type!).

For this particular post, I have chosen to feature animals that tend to display a peaceful behavior. Mourning doves are my first pick. I see many of them every day and I hear them cooing to each other, especially during the mating season. There’s something very peaceful about the sounds of doves cooing, don’t you think?

I took my next photo at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. These beautiful gerenuk antelopes were laying down in the tall grass. Their long necks and heads make them look like telescopes, don’t they? I love how they’re enjoying a peaceful sunbathing moment at the park.

Sunday Post: Peaceful generuk antelopes at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park

I took the last photo featured below during the same trip, just down the path from the gerenuk antelopes. That’s where I spotted a couple of West African cranes. They too had decided to give a rest to their long legs and lay down on the ground for a little nap. West African cranes have the best hairdo, don’t they?

Sunday Post: Peaceful West African cranes at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park

I hope these photos brought you a little peace today. What do you find most peaceful in your life?

December 2, 2012February 7, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: Animal Photos, Bird photos, California Photos, Photography, Photos of San DiegoTags: California pictures, gerenuk antelopes, mourning dove photos, mourning doves, photography, photos, photos of mourning doves, San Diego, San Diego Safari Park, San Diego Zoo, san diego zoo safari park, Sunday Post: Peaceful, west african cranes 6 Comments

WordPress weekly photo challenge: the world reflecting inside a bubble

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Reflections

When you’re taking pictures, reflections can be a good thing or a bad thing. Sometimes you don’t realize you caught a bad reflection (often yourself) until you open the photo file on your computer. Other times you’re lucky and you end up with great pictures.

Here are a few of my photos to illustrate the WordPress weekly photo challenge theme of “reflections”. Remember you can click on each image for a larger view.

These are lilypads I photographed at Balboa Park in San Diego this past summer. You can see gorgeous close-ups of these water lilies in this post. Still water is a great medium for reflections and you can’t go wrong.

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Reflections- Water lilies at Balboa Park in San Diego — WordPress weekly photo challenge: Reflections – Water lilies at Balboa Park in San Diego

Here is a soap bubble on artificial grass. I took this picture because although it’s not the most beautiful photo out there,I think the many reflections on the bubble (the sky, the house, the grass, and me somewhere in there) and its transparent nature give it a mesmerizing effect. What do you think?

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Reflections in a soap bubble

Here’s a photo of a little rain left over on a begonia leaf. If you look closely (you can click on the photo to see a larger image), you can see the bars of a metal fence are reflected in the water. Because of the shape of the leaf, the bars are not straight but curved, as if they were embracing the flower inside the leaf. They almost look like a flower stem too. Pretty neat!

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Reflections in rain water on a begonia leaf

I kept my favorite photo of reflections for last – rain drops sitting on a spiderweb over river rocks. You can view the rest of these rain drops here and here. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.