Shop small: November 30 is small business Saturday

Shop small - small business Saturday 2013
Shop small – small business Saturday 2013

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 hope you had a great Thanksgiving with your loved ones yesterday. My turkey wasn’t stuffed but I sure was at the end of the meal.

Tomorrow is November 30, 2013 and it happens to be Small Business Saturday. This is the one day of the year (and hopefully you do it more often) to remind you that shopping small is good for your community. Make your purchases at your local mom and pop shop rather than at the mall or at a large online retailer. Support small businesses and your local community and make a difference one day at a time.

Therefore I want to remind you that my 2014 nature photography calendars (choose between five different themes) are available for sale. For Black Friday, save 60% by entering code BLKFRIZAZZLE at checkout (valid on 11/29 until midnight). If you buy them tomorrow, look in the left sidebar on my website for the most up-to-date discount coupon code.

All calendars are made to order in the USA so you support the US economy with your purchase, and a self-employed single mom (me!). I also appreciate any referral through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and of course your blog or website.

By the way, I don’t know about you but I love spotting shapes in clouds. Check out the snail I saw in the clouds a few days ago. Too bad it wasn’t a turkey!

Snail cloud
Snail cloud

50% off my 2014 nature photography calendars – sale extended until midnight tonight

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.

Zazzle has kindly extended its discount offer until midnight tonight (November 13). All calendars are made to order in the USA so you support the US economy with your purchase.

Order your calendars by midnight tonight and save 50% by using this code at checkout: VETERANDAY13. There will be more coupon deals over the next few weeks but if you’re looking for a unique Thanksgiving gift to give a teacher, a friend, a colleague, or a family member, this is a great choice.

I’ll be creating individual pages on this website to feature each calendar and its pictures over the next week or so, but for now, you can see the photos that made it into each final calendar on their store page (links below).

2014 12-month calendar – a year in Southern California (photo mix)

2014 12-month calendar - a year in Southern California
2014 12-month calendar – a year in Southern California

2014 12-month calendar – water lilies

2014 12-month calendar - water lilies
2014 12-month calendar – water lilies

2014 12-month calendar – bees and other insects

2014 12-month calendar - bees and other insects
2014 12-month calendar – bees and other insects

2014 12-month calendar – flowers and blooms

2014 12-month calendar - flowers and blooms
2014 12-month calendar – flowers and blooms

2014 12-month calendar – water in San Diego

2014 12-month calendar - water in San Diego
2014 12-month calendar – water in San Diego

My 2014 photo calendars are available for sale – 50% off until midnight tonight!

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.

Do you know how long it takes to create five different 12-month photo calendars? A long time! But I’m finally done and my calendars are now available for sale on my online store, yeah! All calendars are made to order in the USA so you support the US economy with your purchase.

Order your calendars by midnight tonight and save 50% by using this code at checkout: VETERANDAY13. There will be more coupon deals over the next few weeks but if you’re looking for a unique Thanksgiving gift to give a teacher, a friend, a colleague, or a family member, this is a great choice.

I want to thank everyone who provided input on the photo selections to include in each calendar. As promised, in the next few weeks, I’ll be giving away a free 2014 photo calendar to one of the lucky people who helped me out by commenting (located in the US), so stay tuned for the announcement!

I’ll be creating individual pages on this website to feature each calendar and its pictures over the next week or so, but for now, you can see the photos that made it into each final calendar on their store page (links below).

2014 12-month calendar – a year in Southern California (photo mix)

2014 12-month calendar - a year in Southern California
2014 12-month calendar – a year in Southern California

2014 12-month calendar – water lilies

2014 12-month calendar - water lilies
2014 12-month calendar – water lilies

2014 12-month calendar – bees and other insects

2014 12-month calendar - bees and other insects
2014 12-month calendar – bees and other insects

2014 12-month calendar – flowers and blooms

2014 12-month calendar - flowers and blooms
2014 12-month calendar – flowers and blooms

2014 12-month calendar – water in San Diego

2014 12-month calendar - water in San Diego
2014 12-month calendar – water in San Diego

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Horizon

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 “horizon”. 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.

Here’s the horizon at Coronado Beach, hidden between the dune grasses.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: horizon at Coronado Beach
WordPress weekly photo challenge: horizon at Coronado Beach

I enjoyed taking this photo of pink grasses as they shoot across the horizon in the foreground.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: horizon with pink grasses in the foreground
WordPress weekly photo challenge: horizon with pink grasses in the foreground

Here’s the horizon on top of the mountains in Idyllwild, California. On that clear day, you could see up to 100 miles away.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: horizon at Idyllwild Park, California
WordPress weekly photo challenge: horizon at Idyllwild Park, California

How about this moon going up the horizon in the daylight?

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: moon at the horizon
WordPress weekly photo challenge: moon at the horizon

I love the beauty of the horizon at sunrise.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: horizon at sunrise
WordPress weekly photo challenge: horizon at sunrise

And at sunset.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: horizon at sunset
WordPress weekly photo challenge: horizon at sunset

“Capture The Colour 2013” photo contest

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.

Fellow photography blogger Cee recommended me for the “Capture The Colour 2013” photo contest in her post yesterday. When I read the contest’s terms & conditions, I realized the contest was opened until October 9, 2013. That’s tomorrow, yikes! Since the contest holder is in the UK, I figured I had very little time to enter.

Here are my entries for each color theme: yellow, green, blue, red and white. I’m also supposed to recommend this contest to 5 fellow bloggers so here’s my pick. If I didn’t name you and still want to participate, you have a few more hours to do so.

Remember you can click on each photo for a larger view.

YELLOW – I took this photo of a beautiful sunflower just yesterday. This is my very first sunflower and I tried to fill my frame with it as much as I could, letting the great blue sky fill the rest.

Capture The Colour 2013 photo contest - yellow sunflower
Capture The Colour 2013 photo contest – yellow sunflower

GREEN – this photo of a raindrop on a grass blade seems to be a favorite so it was an easy choice for the green theme. I love the grass blade reflections in the raindrop.

Capture The Colour 2013 photo contest - green grass with raindrop
Capture The Colour 2013 photo contest – green grass with raindrop

BLUE – this was my very first dragonfly and it happened to be blue. Since then, I’ve photographed more dragonflies, all orange.

Capture The Colour 2013 photo contest - blue dragonfly
Capture The Colour 2013 photo contest – blue dragonfly

RED – I love bees and I love bottle brush tree flowers. This photo is the best of both worlds for me, and a brand new photo on this site.

Capture The Colour 2013 photo contest - red bottle brush flower with bee
Capture The Colour 2013 photo contest – red bottle brush flower with bee

WHITE – I photographed this beautiful great egret this past weekend. Such a proud bird owning the water’s edge.

Capture The Colour 2013 photo contest - white great egret
Capture The Colour 2013 photo contest – white great egret