I love foggy mornings

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I love foggy mornings and they happen quite often in San Diego between November and March. Sometimes the fog is so thick, you can barely the lights of the cars in front of you on the freeway. Other times the fog lifts up here and there and you can see the top of the hills wrapped up in it while you’re standing in full sun.

Yesterday morning was foggy and I decided to take a few photos to capture the moment, especially since the sun was trying so hard to pierce through it.

It started with a low and heavy fog by the San Diego River:

Photo of a foggy morning in San Diego
Photo of a foggy morning in San Diego

Then the fog started lifting up, being burned by a few rays of sunlight:

Fogs lifts up by the San Diego River
Fogs lifts up by the San Diego River

Finally the fog was on his way out, allowing the sun to spread a layer of gold on the yellow leaves of the many poplars by the San Diego River.

The yellow leaves of the poplars by the San Diego River
The yellow leaves of the poplars by the San Diego River

I love the beautiful shades of Fall, especially when the fog softly wraps them up in the early morning.

Do you like fog or would you rather do without it?

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Green

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.

For a nature photographer like me, green is a beautiful color, indicating vibrant life around me. Unfortunately living in Southern California means green is actually not a common sight. Any plant or grass growing in the winter starts green, only to turn yellow or brown by the time the summer sun starts its baking process. I’m lucky enough to live right by the San Diego River, which is heavily surrounded by poplars and their pretty green leaves. They’re turning yellow right now, and they’re just as pretty.

Remember you can click on most of the photos below to see a larger view of this WordPress weekly photo challenge: Green.

Here are a few examples of green I’ve encountered in Southern California. I’ll start with my very favorite, which I captured at Dos Picos State Park last spring. This green hue was so surreal, I felt I had just walked into a secret fairyland. I can’t wait to go back there next spring and hope to see similar sights. If you’re wondering what the purple blooms are in the back, it’s Ramona lilac. They make beautiful clusters of flowers, but alas no scent.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Green grass at Dos Picos State Park
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Green grass at Dos Picos State Park

I love the green lush surrounding this Stellar Jay bird, making its blue feathers stand out even more.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Green makes the blue of this Stellar Jay bird stand out
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Green makes the blue of this Stellar Jay bird stand out

Finally, you can find a lot of green in Southern California if you look by a source of water. Here are a few green plants, including ferns, that love water and shade. I took this photo in the small mountain town of Idyllwild, California, by Strawberry Creek, this past summer.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Green lush by Strawberry Creek in Idyllwild, California
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Green lush by Strawberry Creek in Idyllwild, California

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Renewal

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.

Remember you can click on each photo below to see a larger view of it.

I find it interesting, not to say awkward, to choose “renewal” as a theme in November, when everything in nature is dying or falling asleep. So most of the photos I’m displaying here were taken at another time of the year.

Well, expect for this first one, which I took last fall after a rainstorm. The clouds were still quite grey but the sun rays did their best to light up the golden leaves of the poplars that live by the San Diego River. I love to watch the rain do its magic as it revives and replenishes the trees that have been thirsty for so long, giving them one last burst of energy before they go to sleep for the winter.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Renewal - after the rain
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Renewal – after the rain

The WordPress person who wrote the post on this weekly photo challenge suggested us to stay away from the stereotypical renewal of sunrises. Well, I love sunrises and they are inherently a sign of daily renewal. But I like moon rises  just as much, especially when they happen in the daylight. They remind us that day and night work together to bring constant renewal to the earth.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Renewal - moon rising over trees
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Renewal – moon rising over trees

I used the photo below for another photo challenge theme but I think it fits this one perfectly. This is a small pine tree growing out of the root of a seemingly dead tree. Nature knows best how to renew.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Renewal - new tree grows out of a dead tree
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Renewal – new tree grows out of a dead tree

Finally, nothing screams renewal more than brand new flowers in the spring. In this case, these are California wildflowers, which are also featured in my 2013 photo calendar.

Wordpress weekly photo challenge: Renewal - California wildflowers
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Renewal – California wildflowers

What is your idea of renewal?

Enjoy more fall foliage with this American sweetgum

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.

Besides the palm trees, the California sage brush and the many eucalyptus trees around San Diego County, you sometimes have to look a little harder to find some colorful fall foliage. I went back to check on my sumac trees this past weekend and I’ll have a few photos to share soon, but they’re not as yellow and orange as they should be yet. We also have a few maple trees here and there and I need to hurry snapping photos of them before they all lose their leaves.

But today, I’d like to share a few photos of another colorful tree in the fall in San Diego: the American sweetgum, or Liquidambar Styraciflua. My kids were attempting to dig a huge hole in the sand next to me as I was snapping pictures of this tree so I shortened my photo session. I’ll need to go back to get some more photos but here are a few for your enjoyment.

The American sweetgum has gorgeous deep red / maroon leaves and very cute green spiky seed pods. Remember you can click on each photo to view a larger image.

Red leaves of the American sweetgum, or Liquidambar Styraciflua
Red leaves of the American sweetgum, or Liquidambar Styraciflua
Fall foliage of the American sweetgum - red leaves and spiky seed pods
Fall foliage of the American sweetgum – red leaves and spiky seed pods

Do you have some American sweetgum trees where you live? Where do you get your fall foliage colors from?

Sycamore leaves are beautiful in the fall

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Tree leaves are finally starting to change colors in San Diego, at least when it comes to deciduous trees. There are a lot of poplars in the city park behind my house so I hope to make my way there soon. It’s all a question of picking the right time of the day for the best photos. For what I’m trying to do, it might be the warm yellow light of the late afternoon.

In the meantime, I’ll share leaves from another tree we find a lot around San Diego County: the Sycamore tree. To most of us, the Sycamore doesn’t mean much but for the Kumeyaay, the native Americans who lived around here tens of thousands of years ago, it was a life saver. Or should I say a butt saver? Because of the Sycamore leaves’ very soft, almost velvety like, surface, the Kumeyaay used it as toilet paper. Good thing to know if you’re ever stranded somewhere in a forest, right?

I love Sycamore leaves because they are much larger than most tree leaves. They only turn yellow and brown until they come off the tree in late Fall, but they’re still pretty to look at, especially if you capture the light from an interesting angle.

Here are a few photos of Sycamore leaves. Let me know what you think. And remember you can click on each photo for an enlarged view.

Green and brown Sycamore tree leaf in the fall
Green and brown Sycamore tree leaf in the fall
Green and brown Sycamore leaves in the fall
Green and brown Sycamore leaves in the fall