Photos of San Diego

Travel theme: Peaceful

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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

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

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

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

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

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!

June 9, 2013February 7, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: Animal Photos, Ocean photos, Photography, Photos of San Diego, Water photosTags: nature photography, painted turtle in pond, peaceful ocean waves, peaceful waterfall, photography, photos, seahorses underwater, swimming jelly fish, swimming sea jellies, Travel theme, Travel theme: Peaceful, wind chime, wind chime sounds 6 Comments

Travel theme: sky at sunrise in San Diego

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Fleeting

Today I’m participating in the WordPress weekly photo challenge and this week’s theme is “fleeting”. 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.

Nature is full of fleeting moments and that’s what makes it challenging to photograph. Of course, animals are the hardest to photograph as they may be right in front of you one moment, and gone by the time you pull your camera out. Bees collecting nectar are a good example of a fleeting moment. I got lucky with this shot, where I managed to photograph a bee collecting nectar in the bags on its legs.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Fleeting - bee collecting nectar in bags — WordPress weekly photo challenge: Fleeting – bee collecting nectar in bags

Dragonflies are notorious for flying around for hours without taking a break. I got lucky with this orange dragonfly who decided to take a very short rest on a tree branch not far from me.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Fleeting - orange dragonfly resting on a tree branch — WordPress weekly photo challenge: Fleeting – orange dragonfly resting on a tree branch

This baby koala was a nice capture of the fleeting moment a couple of weeks ago, as he turned his head towards me for a few minutes so I could capture this photo.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Fleeting - Baby koala sleeping — WordPress weekly photo challenge: Fleeting – Baby koala sleeping

Butterflies are the perfect expression of a fleeting moment, as they’re often difficult to capture since they don’t stand still for too long. I was lucky to get a photo of this giant owl butterfly.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Fleeting - giant owl butterfly — WordPress weekly photo challenge: Fleeting – giant owl butterfly

Not just animals are fleeting in nature. The morning dew is another example of something that doesn’t last a long time and is gone by the time the sun is out and shining.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Fleeting - morning dew on grass blades — WordPress weekly photo challenge: Fleeting – morning dew on grass blades

Our San Diego winters don’t get very cold but we manage to get frost several days a year. The frost melts as soon as the winter sun rays warm it up, but it’s very pretty while it lasts.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Fleeting - frost on ice plants in San Diego — WordPress weekly photo challenge: Fleeting – frost on ice plants in San Diego

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Fleeting - frost on leaves in San Diego — WordPress weekly photo challenge: Fleeting – frost on leaves in San Diego

I think the most fleeting moments in nature are sunrise and sunset. They last only a few minutes but set the tone for the day and for the night.

A beautiful sunrise can inspire you for a whole day.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Fleeting - winter sunrise in San Diego — WordPress weekly photo challenge: Fleeting – winter sunrise in San Diego

A gorgeous sunset can give you hope for the next day.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Fleeting - San Diego sunset Christmas 2012 — WordPress weekly photo challenge: Fleeting – San Diego sunset Christmas 2012

June 7, 2013February 7, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: Bloom Photos, California Photos, Flower Photos, Landscape Photos, Photography, Photos of San Diego, Plant Photos, Sky Photos, Sunrise Photos, Sunset photos, Water photosTags: baby koala sleeping, bee collecting nectar in bags on legs, frost in San Diego, frost on leaves, giant owl butterfly, morning dew, morning dew on grass, nature photography, orange dragonfly, photography, photos, photos of flowers, San Diego sunrise, San Diego sunset, winter sunrise, winter sunset, Wordpress weekly photo challenge, Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Fleeting 7 Comments

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Curves of giant fern fiddleheads

Giant fiddleheads in San Diego

A lot of tourist locations in San Diego seem to have a good irrigation system because they feature plants that would otherwise die within a week if left alone in our desert dry weather.

I can’t complain though. I really enjoy the giant ferns and the green and shade they provide. I guess it’s the season for fern growth right bow and I get to spot giant fiddleheads here and there. Here are a few for your enjoyment. Remember you can click on each photo for a larger view.

I love how rolled up fiddleheads are. Their spirals remind me of snail shells.

How you noticed how most plants grow either vertically or horizontally? I love that ferns grow diagonally in nature. It makes for interesting patterns, especially when you can frame between other lines, like the two vertical palm tree trunks on the photo below.

June 5, 2013February 7, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: California Photos, Photography, Photos of San Diego, Plant PhotosTags: California pictures, close-up of fiddlehead, fern growth, fiddlehead photos, fiddleheads, giant fern, giant fern fiddleheads, giant fiddleheads, nature photography, photography, photos 6 Comments

WordPress weekly photo challenge: The sign says… KOALA XING!

This is my second entry in the WordPress weekly photo challenge and this week’s theme is “the sign says”. I never do a double entry for photo challenges but after visiting the new Australian Outback exhibit at the San Diego Zoo today, I can’t help myself.

The whole koala exhibit has been redone and this is what you see on your way to the new location.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: The sign says KOALA XING! — WordPress weekly photo challenge: The sign says KOALA XING!

We looked very attentively but didn’t see any koalas crossing the road. Probably because their enclosures are well secure and they can’t get out. 🙂

If you ever visit a koala exhibit in the zoo, you’ll probably notice than each male koala gets its own enclosure. That’s not because they’re considered so special, but rather because male koalas don’t get along and become aggressive and fight when put together. What a surprise…

As for the females, they all share one large enclosure and seem to get along just fine. Are you surprised? I’m not. While browsing the exhibit, we spotted the cutest baby koala, sleeping right next to his mother (you can see her back on the left of the picture). Isn’t he the cutest thing? Now you understand why I had to share.

Baby koala sleeping in a tree next to mom koala

June 1, 2013February 7, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: Animal Photos, California Photos, Photography, Photos of San DiegoTags: Australian Outback, koala baby, koala baby and mom koala, koala baby sleeping, koala crossing sign, koala photos, koala xing sign, nature photography, photography, photos, San Diego Zoo, Wordpress weekly photo challenge, Wordpress weekly photo challenge: The sign says 6 Comments

WordPress weekly photo challenge: The sign says

Today I’m participating in the WordPress weekly photo challenge and this week’s theme is “the sign says”. Boy, am I going to have fun with this photo challenge theme! I constantly spot signs with typos, signs that don’t make sense, or signs that are just plain silly. Here’s a selection of a few I’ve run across.

The shameful typos

If spelling “desert” incorrectly at this exhibit of the San Diego Air & Space Museum is not enough, maybe also screwing up “velocity” will do it. I emailed this photo to the museum after I took it, only to be told they had “rented” the exhibit and couldn’t make any corrections. I should add this image was on a computer screen. Do you know how hard it is to update an electronic document? Apparently, for museum people, it’s impossible. I wonder what Sahara dessert tastes like. Probably a little dry.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: the sign says - shameful typo at the San Diego Air & Space Museum — WordPress weekly photo challenge: the sign says – shameful typo at the San Diego Air & Space Museum

I found the next sign in a very large format in the window of a sports supply store. Apparently, the advertising people at the 686 sports clothing company don’t know the difference between a plural S and a possessive S. That will teach them to lay off their one and only proofreader in tough economic times.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: The sign says - plural S versus possessive S — WordPress weekly photo challenge: The sign says – plural S versus possessive S

The next typo wasn’t on a sign but on my computer screen instead, as an ad in the browser window page I was looking at. I think when a TV network can’t spell “irresistible”, yes, I can resist watching the show.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: The sign says - is this how you spell irresistible? — WordPress weekly photo challenge: The sign says – is this how you spell irresistible?

The outdated rules we’re glad are gone

I found this set of rules for teachers in the Old Town part of Poway, California, in a room where a small classroom environment had been recreated. No wonder American teachers decided to unionize when they were being treated so poorly!

Love story

I found this last sign, actually a metal plate, on a local park bench. Excuse the bird poop on it but I didn’t have anything to clean it up before taking this photo. What a lovely tribute to a wife by her loving husband. I bet there’s a really beautiful love story behind it.