Playing Around With Mobile Photogrid App

Had been having fun with PhotoGrid lately, a free mobile photo collage app. Here are some samples of the photo collages I made whenever I find myself sitting in the bus. :)

Hiking and Birding @ Lake Hodges

The Birds of Lake Hodges, 1/2/2015

2014 Adventures

Colors Around Home

Color Me Pink :) Color Me Happy :)

The Challenge of Choosing That One Picture

La Jolla Coast Boulevard Tidepools @ Dusk and Sunset

Whenever I am faced with the challenge of choosing that one picture and I have a hard time choosing which one, my answer always is to make a collage, then, I do have one picture, a picture collage! :)

In the above collage, I asked the help of hubby which one to choose. From the collage above, at first, his choice was the top left picture. But then, after I showed him two at a time, and asked him which one he likes better between the two, the choice for that one picture changed. Could you tell which one of the 6 pictures below finally ended to be that one picture? 

TOP LEFT PICTURE

Personal Favorites in the Canadian Rockies

 Athabasca Glacier Hike, Columbia Icefield, Jasper National Park ( choice: hubby's niece )

 Glacier Pond, Mt. Edith Cavell, Jasper National Park ( choice: hubby )

Bow Glacier Falls Trail, Banff National Park ( choice: mine! :) )

Photographing Peregrine Falcons

Peregrine Falcon In Flight

camera settings: f/8, 1/2000 seconds, ISO-400
Single Point AF AI Servo

Peregrine falcons are probably my most photographed birds. I simply enjoy watching them. Photographing them in flight is a big challenge though, as they are not only very fast, they are the FASTEST ANIMAL on earth. They could dive up to 200+ mph when taking their prey. Oftentimes, my camera and lens is not fast enough to focus on them. The happiness however, of capturing them in flight is un-explainable, no words could describe, haha!!!

Lately however, I have learned some strategies when photographing birds in flight. That is to observe their behavior. When birds are perched on a cliff and on a tree, I watched them til they poop, which is a signal that soon they will leave and fly.  I prepare then my camera to be able to catch them in flight.

Sometimes, when I see them flying, I aim my camera at them, even it has difficulty focusing right away because of their fast speed. I however, still continue to follow them with my camera because I know there is a chance they could slow down, or find a place to perch, where my camera would have greater chance of focusing. Patience on following them while they are in flight until the camera and lens focuses do pay off. :)

Peregrine Falcon About to Perch

camera settings: f/8, 1/2000 seconds, ISO-400
Single Point AF AI Servo

Weekend Wanderings (6): Butterflies

picture collage done through fotor.com
( to learn more how I create my photo collage through fotor.com, you can visit the post I wrote for The Salitype Society here )

Saturday: April 12, 2014 @ The Buttefly Jungle, San Diego Zoo Safari Park

I know, I am not even done sharing our recent spring adventure at Big Sur, Yosemite National Park and Eastern Sierra, yet, here I am, sharing our Weekend Wanderings not even a week after we got back from our 9 days adventure trip. :) We got back home Sunday night from Eastern Sierra, Monday- Friday, back to work, Saturday, well, time for weekend wanderings again! Our rest and relaxation is not couching at home, but enjoying the gifts outdoors. For those familiar with the rest and rejuvenation brought about by physical activities I am sure could relate so well that exercising is healing, allowing our body to breathe in therapeutic inspiration and breathe out stresses.

Anyway, last Saturday, we did not do any strenuous hike, because we wanted to enjoy the gifts of "butterfly joys" @ The Butterfly Jungle in San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Though after the butterflies, we took a long walk as usual at the Safari Park, but I will share the other non-butterfly photos later. Meanwhile, let me share here some butterflies photos I took last weekend.

Camera Settings: Manual, f/2.8, 1/160 seconds , ISO 100

Camera Settings: Manual, f/2.8, 1/100 seconds, ISO 100 ( and same settings for all pictures below )

Photographing White Pelicans at Lake Hodges

White Pelicans, Lake Hodges, San Diego, CA

I am enjoying the longer daylight because of Daylight Savings Time right now. After a day's work, we now could enjoy the great outdoors longer, for the sun sets at around 7 pm now. Last Friday, we were greeted by a lot of white pelicans at Lake Hodges. Of course, there are other birds as well, as Lake Hodges has been designated as Globally Important Bird Area.

During weekdays, we usually do not take a long hike because we start hiking late in the afternoon already, after work. We usually take the 3.8 mile hike at Piedras Pintadas Trail of Lake Hodges, which is along the South Shore. Lake Hodges is our favorite hiking trail for bird photography. The lake is teeming of wild birds, where the South Shore is home to numerous marsh, shore and riparian bird species.

Here are some pictures of white pelicans captured by hubby.

Random Pictures....Random Thoughts

Sometimes, life can be confusing......isn't it?

But then, after the passing tides,

 We see the beauty of it all, the beauty in challenges, the beauty in tears, the beauty in success, the beauty in everything....

that we couldn't help but celebrate life with one another......

Ahhhh, life is joyful.....so joyful....says these two harbor seals.

HAPPY WEEKEND EVERYONE!!

Take a moment to stop and enjoy the beauty around you, and if you could, freeze those beauty in your photos. All images above are old photos that I took from La Jolla Ellen Browning Scripps Park- San Diego. Meanwhile, let me leave you with a photo I took today at Lake Hodges.

White Pelicans, Lake Hodges, San Diego, CA

Nature and Music

North Torrey Pines State Beach, San Diego, CA

The picture above was from yesterday's beach walk after work, taken in between periods of rain. I love rain, especially if we have been waiting for it, to end the threat of drought here in California. I actually love hiking in the rain. I love seeing the circle of water droplets from my rain pants to rain jacket. I love the sound of rain drops on my rain jacket. It's nature's music, in another calming and soothing form. 

I remember a colleague once told me, "I love bringing my classic beginners guitar by the beach, somehow, as I strum the guitar, I hear the blending of the strings with the splashing of the waves, it's so soothing and relaxing that takes all stress away."

Though I don't play guitar, but I could very well relate to the unending music of nature everywhere. So, what a joy it was yesterday to hear the music of soft rain with the splashing waves.

Today, is a different story. Winds are howling and rain is very heavy. What we did not have for 10 months, probably we got for one day. But nevertheless, it is still a beautiful music. Different, but beautiful.

Because today the rain is harder and non-stop, and the gusting wind is very strong it is toppling some trees, I skipped walking along the beach after work. Here are some pictures instead from a few days ago, of sunset.

It started with what I thought another flat sunset, no fluffy clouds to add more colors and drama to sky. I decided instead to use slow shutter speed in my shots to soften the water, hoping to create some drama.

Sunset, North Torrey Pines State Beach, San Diego, CA

But then, a couple walked in to the frame of my picture, the sky may not have fluffy clouds to add color and drama, but I believe this couple did! :)

After sunset, I heard some music playing, and I saw a family singing together. I did not have my zoom lens, so I took them a picture from afar. I used an 11-16 mm lens with an ND filter. Because of the ND filter, if I use the lens at its widest ( 11 mm), there is vignetting. However, because I saw in the frame a man also at the bridge looking out at the ocean and sunset, I decided to use my lens at its widest, 11 mm, thus the vignetting below. I did not crop the vignette ( the dark edges), because it seemed the vignette separates me from them and I was looking out at their world from far away.

Weekend Wanderings (1) : Hiking, Birding, Tidepooling and Surfing Photography

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Light Hiking on top of the Bluffs @ Torrey Pines Gliderport and Scripps Coastal Biodiversity Reserve ( The Knoll )

We started our day early by hiking on top of the bluffs at Gliderport and The Knoll. We had two purposes: 

1. Hoping to catch hawks and peregrine falcons in their early morning breakfast hunt. It was a success, :) , NO!

2. Checking if hundreds of leopard sharks are swimming close to the shore, if we spot them, our plan was to go snorkeling. We did not see leopard sharks, just some dolphins busy feeding far from the shore, so, we decided instead to enjoy low tide first by tidepooling below.

Tidepooling @ La Jolla Shores

After tidepooling, we went to Ocean Beach, hoping to photograph some surfers and big waves. On our way to Ocean Beach, I saw from the car two ospreys perched on top of the pole by San Diego River Bridge, so, we decided to stop over first at Robb's Field. Robb's Field is a park adjacent to San Diego River Estuary. There are ample free parking spaces in the park, and from there, we could take a walk towards the bridge. Thankfully, when we got to the bridge, the ospreys were still there. 

Birds @ San Diego River Estuary ( bottom two are the ospreys )

San Diego River Estuary is one of the popular places in San Diego for birding. You can find my previous posts of San Diego River birds here ( white pelicans ), here (other birds) and here (ospreys ). My favorite shot here of the day at Robb's Field was not mine, but hubby's, a flying osprey.

Osprey in Flight ( shot by hubby )

When the osprey finally left us, we walked back to our car, but of course, I can't help to take pictures of other birds, despite I have lots of pictures of them already from before. :)

From Robb's Field, we went to Ocean Beach, target: surfing photography. It was a little bit past lunch time when we got there, so we decided to have lunch first at The Shades Oceanfront Bistro. It is a family friendly restaurant facing Ocean Beach. Though it was already past 12 noon, but they still serve breakfast menu, so I had calamari benedict (breakfast menu), while hubby had grilled chicken sandwich with baked potatoes ( lunch menu). 

Calamari Benedict and Grilled Chicken Sandwich

Their food was good, and they are not that expensive for an oceanfront restaurant. After lunch, we walked along the beach, then, to the pier, to enjoy the big waves, and take some surfing photos. 

Surfing and Waves @ Ocean Beach ( from OB Pier )

My favorite shot here is that of the Wave Curl.

My Favorite Shot of the Day for Waves ( at Ocean Beach )

We got impatient at Ocean Beach Pier taking photos of surfers, who seemed to have the wrong timing to ride the waves, haha, so, we did not stay long. From Ocean Beach, we went to Windansea Beach in La Jolla, where we enjoyed photographing surfers more who seemed to be more comfortable riding big waves.

Surfing at Windansea Beach (photos by hubby )

Hubby focused more on catching wave curls and barrels, while I focused more on videos. :) Here is a sample of surfing videos I took. 

We stayed until sunset.

After sunset, maybe it was the long day of wandering that I craved for some pizza, so we stopped by for pizza to go. 

We ended our Saturdate with pizza, onion rings and "very berry" smoothie. The very berry smoothie is how I call my own version of a mix of all fresh fruits such as: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, pineapple, pear and lemon. 

It definitely was a long fun Satur-date for us. From early morning hiking, to tidepooling, to birding, to ocean surf photography, to sunset. Others ask if we don't get tired at all, somehow, I believe those who are familiar with outdoors and physical activities would know that they are our body's way actually of relieving ourselves from tiredness. Physical activities out of the doors is our most powerful way of de-stressing from a week's mostly mental work. Knowing that, we always put it in our priority on weekends to rest and relax with nature, where exercise, fun, and rejuvenation are all one so we could start Monday's work with renewed energy and so much passion.

'til the next weekend wanderings, here in San Diego. 

A Day At the San Diego Zoo Safari Park

My First Try of taking non-underwater video, at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park

I was not into taking videos before, but somehow, my underwater videos whenever we went snorkeling inspired me to try taking videos also on land. I got the chance today to practice taking videos in the Safari Park. Using my dlsr, I actually find it more challenging to take videos than taking photos. It would be easier to take videos with my point and shoot underwater camera, but it does not do well in zooming when taking videos, and the animals would look too small. I guess, it is just good for my underwater escapades, and taking photos of whatever is near. 

 Anyhow, had a wonderful time at the Safari Park today. The park is huge, so, it was like we took a hike too, but just an easy hike since there was not much change in elevation, haha! A relaxing hike with the animals. Here are some of my pictures.

 Fall Colors and animals ( the birds are wild, visiting the park like me )

Playful Elephants

Swimming With The Fishes

Picture Collage Using Fotor.com,  
pictures from yesterday's snorkeling @ La Jolla Shores and La Jolla Cove

We had another wonderful time swimming in cold with the fishes yesterday, despite the visibility may not be as great as the other times we went snorkeling. Nevertheless, it always is fun to be swimming with the fishes. Below are the individual pictures I used for the collage through fotor.com, an online picture collage app, using the pictures I took yesterday with my Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS 35, an underwater point and shoot camera.

 Hubby Diving Down

 Harmless and Friendly Leopard Sharks

What Season?

Can you tell what season were these pictures taken? From top left, going clockwise, the places are:

Top left: Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

Top Right: North Cascades National Park, Washington

Bottom Right: Mt. Adams, Oregon/Washington

Bottom Left: Lassen Volcanic National Park, California

Catching Up With Some Photo Apps Happiness

Hmmmm, I may really be behind when it comes to using mobile apps technology. I just installed the FREE Instaframe apps in my iPad and so far, I only had practiced with two pictures which I took recently using Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS 25, which is a point and shoot underwater camera. Here are some results of using Instaframe, which maybe a lot of you already know about. Haha, we'll, I just mentioned I am behind in using technology, didn't I?

Underwater sea plants, Without instaframe

With Instaframe

The Anatomy of a Group Jump

Group Jump Picture, Tenaya Lake, Yosemite National Park

One of the fun things we do whenever we wanted to make fun memories in our travels and hikes, is to take jumping picture. Somehow, just the action of taking jumping picture alone already provides us a lot of fun. There is teamwork and group coordination too, as you could see obviously in the first picture above.

However, the picture above was just one of the many, and it does not really show the fun trials and more fun errors behind. :) Let us start with camera settings.

Setting: Shutter Speed Priority ( Tv mode for Canon users )

Shutter speed: 1/1250 ( because it is in shutter speed priority, the aperture is set by camera automatically as we perform the action )

ISO: 100

Shooting Mode: AI Servo, high speed continuous ( this will do burst shots capturing several frames per second, the speed is dependent on camera specs and also the lens )

Here was how it went (in 2 trials):

Trial 1:

Photographer ( KTL, my hubby): One of you will count 1, 2, 3. At 3, I will press shutter continuously as you all jump. Okay?

US ( 4 ): Okay. 

The four decided the front counts 1, 2, 3 loud enough.

Front: 1, 2, 3!

 Did everybody jump at the same time? Let us see! ( there were more frames, but I purposely did not upload similar pics to limit pictures in this post )

Macro Shots

Deep Inside a Bromeliad Flower

I am taking a break from sharing some of our adventure trips and hiking activities to share some macro shots I took last Tuesday at Balboa Park. Macro photography is probably the area of photography I explore least, and I do not overdo since I find it very strenuous for my eyes. If I do too much macro photography, I get headache somehow, I guess, from too much focusing. Being farsighted, I am not used to seeing objects up close without using my eyeglasses. However, if I use my eyeglasses when shooting macro, somehow, my pictures seem to be not focused. I guess, because the presence of eyeglasses between my eyes and lens bring me unnecessary movements. But anyway, from time to time, I do pick up my macro lens and enjoy seeing objects up close, something that I probably would not be able to see with my own naked eye since I would be too afraid to get too close to insects or too close to the flower's pollen. Whereas, macro photography, allows me to take a much closer look at blooms and various critters from a safer distance.

Here are some more of the macro shots I took this Tuesday:

Butterfly Hugging the Milkweed Tree 

Milkweed Blossom

One of the Many Caterpillars Crawling @ the Milkweed Tree ( do you see the eye? )

A Smiling Caterpillar?

 Monarch Butterfly on Milkweed