WordPress weekly photo challenge: From above

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 “from above”. Most photos I take are from a different angle than right from above, but sometimes when it comes to close-ups and macros, placing the camera right above can capture the best picture.

Here are a few samples of photos taken from above. Remember you can click on each photo to view it in a larger format. And if you like what you see, I invite you to subscribe to this blog so you can get new updates as they come. I publish new photo posts 3 to 5 times a week. Enjoy!

I love photographing raindrops, especially as they linger after the rain has gone. If the sun shines a bit, it can makes for a really nice picture.

WordPress weekly photo challenge: From above - Raindrops on the leaves of a rose tree
WordPress weekly photo challenge: From above – Raindrops on the leaves of a rose tree

I don’t like spiders but I like how raindrops sit on a spider web. Here’s an example of a spider web right above smooth river rocks with raindrops on top of it. I have more examples of this type of raindrops here and here, but this photo is a few weeks old.

WordPress weekly photo challenge: From above - Raindrops on a spider web
WordPress weekly photo challenge: From above – Raindrops on a spider web

I usually don’t photograph flowers from right above but these flowers below seemed like the perfect exception. Look how the center of the flower seems almost white as the petals go from yellow to red. Only a shot from above can amplify this pattern.

WordPress weekly photo challenge: From above - bright yellow red flowers
WordPress weekly photo challenge: From above – bright yellow red flowers

Of course I can’t talk about flowers without talking about bees. I like photographing them from above to show their beautiful wings. On this photo I shared a couple of weeks ago, I noticed something quite special. Take a close look at the bags of nectar the bee is gathering on its back legs. What an efficient way to gather a lot of nectar!

WordPress weekly photo challenge: From above - Bee carries bags of nectar on legs
WordPress weekly photo challenge: From above – Bee carries bags of nectar on legs

Finally you also can’t talk about flowers without mentioning butterflies. When they stay put and leave their wings wide open, you have the opportunity to photograph beautiful colors from above.

Here’s a beautiful orange julia butterfly (Dryas iulia).

WordPress weekly photo challenge: From above - Orange julia butterfly (Dryas iulia)
WordPress weekly photo challenge: From above – Orange julia butterfly (Dryas iulia)

And here’s a postman butterfly (Heliconius Melpomene).

WordPress weekly photo challenge: From above - Postman butterfly (Heliconius Melpomene)
WordPress weekly photo challenge: From above – Postman butterfly (Heliconius Melpomene)

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Change

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 the WordPress weekly photo challenge and this week’s theme is change. I could pick from so many different types of photos to illustrate this theme. The first thing that actually came to mind was the change of spring and the rebirth of nature around me. But then I remembered this past weekend and my visit to Coronado Beach to see the Pacific Ocean.

I love watching the ocean waves as they come and go. I could sit on the sand and watch them for hours. If you don’t pay close attention, you’ll think the waves all look the same, but they really change a lot from one to the next. They start and break in different places. Each is of a different height. The rolls never seem to appear in the same spot. Though the ocean seems constant, it’s constantly changing. Just like me!

I used my Canon Powershot G1 X for these shots with a polarizer filter and I love how the photos came out. Remember you can click on each photo to see a larger view. Enjoy!

I love watching the waves slowly form…

 WordPress weekly photo challenge: Change - the waves of the Pacific Ocean
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Change – the waves of the Pacific Ocean

Until they reach their highest point…

 WordPress weekly photo challenge: Change - the constant waves of the ocean
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Change – the constant waves of the ocean

And they finally break to form a nice roll.

WordPress weekly photo challenge: Change - the ocean waves
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Change – the ocean waves

Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Overlooked

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 the online adventure travel and outdoor photography magazine LetsBeWild.com’s Wild Weekly Photo Challenge for bloggers. This week’s Challenge is: Overlooked. This theme is perfect for me because this is the type of photos I take most often. Photos of things that are right in front of your nose but that nobody notices even when they walk right by it. Here are a few photos of beautiful things that can be overlooked, some of them brand new, and others I’ve used in previous posts on this site.

By the way, I was selected as a honorable mention winner for this challenge for my grass photo. Yeah!

Remember you can click on each image for a larger view. If you like what you see, don’t hesitate to subscribe to receive new photo updates.

I took this first photo last week and as I was pressing the shutter, I could see there was something peculiar about that bee. When I opened the photo file on my computer, I was in awe. Did you know that bees have bags, or pollen baskets, on their legs to carry the nectar they collect? This worker bee had obviously been very busy at collecting nectar from the fullness of its bags. How cool is that? None of the people walking by while I was taking pictures noticed this bee or all the others next to it.

Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Overlooked bee carries bags of nectar on legs
Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Overlooked bee carries bags of nectar on legs

I took the next photo just this past weekend at the beach in Coronado, California. This little crab was half buried in the wet sand at low tide. Dozens of people walked right by it without ever noticing it. What a pity.

Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Overlooked crab in the sand
Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Overlooked crab in the sand

Did you know that grass is fuzzy? Even when you take a close-up photo of a grass blade, you may not see it, unless the grass is covered with morning dew. Then the fuzz of the grass really stands out.

Update: I won an honorable mention for this photo in the weekly contest.

Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Overlooked fuzzy grass covered with dew
Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Overlooked fuzzy grass covered with dew

This last photo features a red-tailed hawk sitting on the highest branch of a very tall Sycamore tree. Unless you looked up, you wouldn’t know it was there.

Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Overlooked red-tailed hawk in a tree
Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Overlooked red-tailed hawk in a tree

The beauty of the morning dew – Part 3

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’d like to start this post by sharing a great offer. Save 29% on any product you buy today, March 29, 2013, in my photo store or any other store on Zazzle. Just use coupon code FRIDAYSALE4U at checkout.

Here are a few more photos I took of the morning dew a couple of weeks ago. You can view more photos of morning dew here and here.

Morning dew on pink geraniums
Morning dew on pink geraniums

I love how the dew drops catch the light and look like they sparkle all over the petals.

Morning dew on flower petals
Morning dew on flower petals
Morning dew on light pink geraniums
Morning dew on light pink geraniums

Our days and nights are getting warmer so this may be the end of the morning dew until late fall.

Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Reflections

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 the online adventure travel and photography magazine LetsBeWild.com’s Wild Weekly Photo Challenge for bloggers. This week’s Challenge is: Reflections.

Water is a great medium for reflections so it will be featured in every photo below, but maybe not always in the way you expect it to be. Remember you can click on each photo to see it in a larger format.

My favorite photo when it comes to reflection is the first one below. I took it at the San Diego Botanic garden and it features a green heron standing above some very still water, so the reflection is almost identical to the original subject.

Let's be wild photo challenge - reflections of a green heron
Let’s be wild photo challenge – reflections of a green heron

The next photo shows the reflection of the sun rays on the wet sand at Coronado Beach, in San Diego. Can you guess it’s my favorite beach here?

Let's be wild photo challenge - reflections at Coronado Beach, San Diego, California
Let’s be wild photo challenge – reflections at Coronado Beach, San Diego, California

I displayed the next photo in yesterday’s post but I want to share it here too, as I love the reflection of the blades of grass in the large water drop. I can’t help admiring the beautiful little treasures that nature leaves everywhere for us to discover.

Let's be wild photo challenge - reflections in a water drop
Let’s be wild photo challenge – reflections in a water drop

As for the last photo I’ll display for this theme, I took it last weekend at Dos Picos County Park, in Ramona, California. I love the peace and quiet effect of this pond. As you can see, it was a beautiful day.

Let's be wild photo challenge - reflections at the pond
Let’s be wild photo challenge – reflections at the pond