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

Help me pick photos for my main 2014 nature photography calendar

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 asking your feedback on photos I’d like to include in my 2014 calendar on flowers and blooms. Just tell me which ones you’d really want to see, and which ones I should definitely keep or get rid of. I appreciate your honest feedback.

I assigned a month to each photo. Some months only have one picture assigned to them, others have several. Give me your honest opinion of which photo would be best for each month. If you don’t like the single photo for a month and would rather see another one on this list, please let me know too. For example, if you’d like to see raindrops in February but prefer the ones I chose for March instead of that month, tell me so.

Remember that everyone who comments on one of my 2014 photo calendar related posts will be entered in a drawing to win one of my calendars (you can pick your favorite theme). The only requirement I have for the winner is to be located within the U.S., mostly because the calendar will contain U.S. holidays and it will be more helpful to that person. For every calendar post that you comment on, you will earn one drawing entry (one entry per blog post, not per comment). I’m planning to give away one calendar to a lucky winner, and possibly another one to the person who comes in second, depending on the number of participants.

You can click on any photo below to open the slideshow and view everything in a larger format. Please include your comments into the post comment section directly, not on individual photos, to make it easier for everyone to see your feedback. Thank you!

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

WordPress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour

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 “the golden hour”, that first or last hour of the day that gives such a special light to everything around. If you like what you see, feel free to subscribe and receive nature photography updates a few times a week.

I love the glowing effect the rising sun rays give to these puffy clouds.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour - clouds at sunrise
WordPress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour – clouds at sunrise

On a winter morning, I love how the sun rays do their best to shine through the fog and make the fall foliage turn gold.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour - fall foliage glows through the fog
WordPress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour – fall foliage glows through the fog

The morning sunlight right after a night of rain has an interesting effect too. I love to capture that special light on raindrops.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour - morning sunlight lights up raindrops on leaves
WordPress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour – morning sunlight lights up raindrops on leaves

We don’t get a lot of frost in San Diego and when we do, it starts to disappear as soon as the sun comes out and exposes its warm rays. So it’s a race against time to capture the frost in the sunlight before it melts.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour - morning sunlight lights up raindrops on leaves - frost on the edge of a leaf
WordPress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour – morning sunlight lights up raindrops on leaves – frost on the edge of a leaf

The late afternoon sun in the winter can give a nice golden look to yellow leaves, and the scene looks even nicer if you can capture the moon in the background.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour - the sun lights up fall leaves with the moon in the background
WordPress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour – the sun lights up fall leaves with the moon in the background

Finally I like how bright the sky can still be while everything on the ground is getting darker as the sun sets.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour - bright skies as the sun sets
WordPress weekly photo challenge: the golden hour – bright skies as the sun sets

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter

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.

This week’s Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge theme is the season of winter. Remember you can click on each photo 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.

Winter in San Diego is quite different from most places in the US. It’s definitely milder but by living inland a bit (about 15 miles from the shore, past the first set of big hills), I get to enjoy more drastic changes in temperature than if I lived right by the coast. So while I can enjoy warm temperatures of 70 to 80 degrees on any given winter day, the winter nights are chilly, usually in the low 30s to 40s, and frost pays us a surprise visit many nights a winter.

I could brag and show you pictures of the warm blue skies and bold flowers we enjoy in the winter, but instead I’ll give you a taste of the cold aspect of winter here. Enjoy!

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter - frost on ice plants in San Diego
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter – frost on ice plants in San Diego

You’ll notice the frost here is more delicate and looks like a thin layer of sugar coating.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter - frost on leaves in San Diego
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter – frost on leaves in San Diego
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter - Frosty ice crystals on twigs
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter – Frosty ice crystals on twigs
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter - texture of frost on grass
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter – texture of frost on grass

Winter in San Diego also means beautiful sunrises.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter sunrise in San Diego
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter sunrise in San Diego

And beautiful sunsets, like this Christmas 2012 sunset.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter - San Diego sunset Christmas 2012
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter – San Diego sunset Christmas 2012