Travel theme: Ripples

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 “ripples”. Remember you can click on the photos 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.

Ripples can be very subtle if there isn’t much water and that water isn’t disturbed. You barely see a few ripples in the water reflection of this seagull at Coronado Beach.

Travel theme: Ripples at Coronado Beach, Pacific Ocean
Travel theme: Ripples at Coronado Beach, Pacific Ocean

When ripples are more numerous and wider, they can distort the water reflection more. I like the shape of this white pelican’s reflection in the water because of these specific ripples.

Travel theme: Ripples - water reflection of a white pelican
Travel theme: Ripples – water reflection of a white pelican

And when ripples are even more numerous, the reflection becomes unrecognizable. This pelican’s white feathers give a nice glow to the ripples in front of him.

Travel theme: Ripples - White pelican reflecting in the water
Travel theme: Ripples – White pelican reflecting in the water

Travel theme: Peaceful

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 “peaceful”. It’s taken me a few days to get to this challenge because I was thinking about the types of photos I would use. I settled on a water theme because I find water very peaceful in many ways, whether it’s still or moving, quiet or loud. I hope you enjoy my choices!

Remember you can click on each image to see a larger view. If you like what you see, feel free to subscribe and receive nature photography updates a few times a week.

Standing in front of the ocean is peaceful and refreshing at the same time.

Travel theme: Peaceful waves at Coronado Beach in San Diego
Travel theme: Peaceful waves at Coronado Beach in San Diego

What’s under water can be very peaceful too. That’s why I like visiting aquariums. One of my favorite underwater animals is the seahorse. I love how seahorses peacefully swim from one plant to the next.

Travel theme: Peaceful seahorses underwater
Travel theme: Peaceful seahorses underwater

Sea jellies look very peaceful and I love looking at them. However taking photos of sea jellies is not very relaxing, as only a few usually come out OK.

Travel theme: Peaceful sea jellies swimming
Travel theme: Peaceful sea jellies swimming

As noisy as they can be, I love sitting by waterfalls and enjoy their peaceful and stress-free effect.

Travel theme: Peaceful waterfall
Travel theme: Peaceful waterfall

Animals in ponds often look very peaceful, like this painted turtle who moved and swam very slowly and quietly.

Travel theme: Peaceful painted turtle in a pond
Travel theme: Peaceful painted turtle in a pond

I want to finish this theme with a photo that illustrates a beautiful, peaceful sound (out of the water). This is my brand new wind chime in my garden. I just got it this weekend after searching for the perfect wind chime for years, the one with the most peaceful sounds to my years. This is it and I love it!

Travel theme: Peaceful windchime sounds
Travel theme: Peaceful windchime sounds

WordPress weekly photo challenge: In the background

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 “in the background”. You can click on any photo below to see it in a larger format.

Since a lot of my photos happen to be macros, or at least tend to focus on a single subject, I was tempted to skip this week’s WordPress photo challenge. But after going through my portfolio, I found a few photos that would be a great fit for this theme.

Like these photos of the moon in the background of the branches of a Sycamore tree.

WordPress weekly photo challenge: In the background - Moon rising behind tree branches
WordPress weekly photo challenge: In the background – Moon rising behind tree branches
WordPress weekly photo challenge: In the background - Moon rising during the day
WordPress weekly photo challenge: In the background – Moon rising during the day

Or this beautiful moon rising behind the mountain’s pine trees.

WordPress weekly photo challenge: In the background - Moon rising over pine trees
WordPress weekly photo challenge: In the background – Moon rising over pine trees

Or this beautiful purple lavender you can see in the background, behind this orange pin cushion protea flower.

WordPress weekly photo challenge: In the background - lavender behind orange pin cushion protea flower
WordPress weekly photo challenge: In the background – lavender behind orange pin cushion protea flower

Or the Pacific ocean you can notice in the background, behind the grassy sand dunes at Coronado Beach in San Diego, California.

WordPress weekly photo challenge: In the background - Pacific ocean at Coronado beach
WordPress weekly photo challenge: In the background – Pacific ocean at Coronado beach

Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – The beach

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 LetsBeWild.com’s Wild Weekly Photo Challenge. This week’s Challenge is: The Beach!

Well, how often does it happen that I participate in two photo challenges about the same theme? And how often does it happen that these challenges show up in the same week? So I want to apologize for those of you who already saw the photo below in my post about beaches a few days ago. I promise you I have some really nice photos to make up for it in tomorrow’s Macro Monday post.

These are photos from  Coronado Beach in a gallery format. You can click on any photo to open the slideshow. To view any photo in a larger format, just scroll down while in slideshow mode and click on “view full size” on the bottom right on the page. Enjoy!

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Escape

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 “escape”. You can click on any photo below to see it in a larger format.

There are many ways to escape but I think my favorite is through books. Nowhere else can you visit faraway lands and people, real or imaginary, at any moment in time. My latest escape? The Guardians of Childhood book series by William Joyce. Wonderful adventures!

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Escape with the Guardians of Childhood
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Escape with the Guardians of Childhood

Living in San Diego, there are many places I can escape to. The first one I think of is the beach.

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Escape to Coronado Beach
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Escape to Coronado Beach

I can also escape to the mountains.

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Escape to the mountains of Idyllwild
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Escape to the mountains of Idyllwild

I can escape to a magical fairyland by going up these stone steps.

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Escape to a magical fairyland
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Escape to a magical fairyland

Or escape deep into the beautiful details of nature.

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Escape in the details of an orange dragonfly
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Escape in the details of an orange dragonfly

Oh, and now that I got myself some new Pirelli tires, I can escape really fast. Zoom zoom!

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Escape with Pirelli tires
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Escape with Pirelli tires