photos of trees

When life gives you lemons

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When life gives you lemons, you take plenty of pictures of them! I recently showed you some pictures I took of lemons and oranges in the summer light, but lemons can be just as beautiful on a rainy day.

I picked the photo of a lemon to represent November in my 2013 photo calendar and I wanted to share some other photos I took on the same day. Gray and rainy days are often a disappointment when you’d planned to take pictures on that day. Sometimes you just have to look past the wet grayness to see the beauty. Raindrops can make a great addition to your subject and a grey cloudy sky can be used as an nice, even background for contrast. And the filtered light can be your friend if you use it well.

Let’s start with the photo from my 2013 calendar:

Here’s another lemon, this time with the lemon tree leaves as the background:

Here’s a close-up of a wet lemon. I should have used the flash for this one…

And here are three wet lemons in a row. I love it! My only regret is, the lemon on the right is not completely in focus. Better luck next time!

Travel theme: Multicolored sumac fall foliage

Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Fall

I’m participating in the LetsBeWild.com Wild Weekly Photo Challenge! This week’s challenge is: Fall. Wish me luck!

There isn’t a lot of fall foliage in San Diego but sumac trees are a treat to spot. Their leaves display various shades of yellow, orange and red and the tree also features grapes of crimson red seeds in between the leaves.

Click on any photo below to see a larger image.

And more sumac!

Weekly photo challenge: Fall - a sumac's colorful fall foliage — Weekly photo challenge: Fall – a sumac’s colorful fall foliage

October 11, 2012February 7, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: California Photos, Photography, Photos of San Diego, Tree PhotosTags: California pictures, fall foliage photos, photo of sumac, photography, photos, photos of fall foliage, photos of trees, sumac leaves, sumac photos, sumac tree, trees, weekly photo challenge 16 Comments

My 2013 calendar pick for December: pine cones up the pine tree

View all of the pictures I selected for my 2013 photo calendar.

My 2013 12-month photo calendar is now available for sale on my Zazzle online store. Thank you for your support!

Picking the right photo to use for the month of December in my 2013 photo calendar was quite a challenge. I wanted to have something that would illustrate the holidays and winter for most people, but it’s not an easy task when you live in warm and sunny San Diego, California.

After a few days shuffling a few photos around, I settled on the picture below. I actually took it this past June, while visiting Lake Hemet, California. The whole area, including the town of Idyllwild, features a large amount of trees, most of them pine trees. I love the smell of pine trees, and I really like the shape of pine cones too, so I was happy when I spotted these pines cones up the pine tree, surrounded with plenty of long and green pine needles. Don’t forget you can click on the photo for a larger view.

My 2013 calendar pick for December: pine cones up the pine tree

I have a good idea for a more snowy photo I can use in my 2014 photo calendar but I won’t know if I manage to snap that photo until we reach the rainy season and it snows in our local mountains. Yes, we do get snow in San Diego County in the winter if the weather cooperates! But you won’t see me playing it in because I hate the while stuff…

October 10, 2012February 7, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: California Photos, Photography, Tree PhotosTags: 2013 calendar, 2013 photo calendar, California pictures, photo of pine cones, photo of pine trees, photography, photos, photos of trees, pine cone in pine tree, pine cone photo, pine cones, pine tree photo, trees 6 Comments

My 2013 calendar pick for September: a sumac’s colorful fall foliage

View all of the pictures I selected for my 2013 photo calendar.

My 2013 12-month photo calendar is now available for sale on my Zazzle online store. Thank you for your support!

If you like to see beautiful fall foliage, San Diego probably is not the right destination for you. Most of the tree leaves either never change colors (think palm trees, eucalyptus, and sage brush) or the few that do just turn yellow, then brown before falling to the ground.

But there’s one tree you can spot here and there that will stand out in Southern California in the fall: the sumac (Rhus Typhina, the non toxic kind). The sumac leaves display various shades of yellow, orange and red and the tree also features grapes of crimson red seeds in between the leaves. I found a great local spot last fall to take pictures of sumac foliage and I’m planning to go back this year for more.

I’m submitting this photo for the Let’s Be Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Fall theme so wish me luck!

What do you think of this sumac in the fall? Do you enjoy colorful fall foliage where you live?

My 2013 calendar pick for September: a sumac's colorful fall foliage — My 2013 calendar pick for September: a sumac’s colorful fall foliage

October 5, 2012February 7, 2020 by Milka Pejovic Categories: Bloom Photos, California Photos, Photography, Photos of San Diego, Tree PhotosTags: 2013 calendar, 2013 photo calendar, California pictures, photography, photos, photos of sumac, photos of trees, San Diego, San Diego fall trees, sumac, sumac fall foliage, sumac foliage, sumac leaves, sumac leaves in the fall, sumac photos, trees 8 Comments

Cluster of pink flowers blooming on a tree

Beautiful tree blossoms, if I just knew what they were

San Diego County is home to many native and non-native plants and trees. Besides the dense California sage brush, the many types of cactus, and the annoying, ugly eucalyptus everywhere you look, you can be lucky and find some gems, especially during blooming season.

I still have a to take a great picture of a jacaranda tree (it will have to be next May or June) but in the meantime, I’d like to share these beautiful tree blooms. I actually have no idea what type of tree this is but I love the bold pink flower clusters that cover it in the spring.

May 2013 update: thanks to one of my visitors, I found out this tree is called a purple robe locust. Just beautiful!