Photography . . . Travel . . .

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Anza Borrego Desert State Park - Feb 25, 2012

Heather and I gathered up a few friends yesterday for some exploring in Anza Borrego Desert State Park, in eastern San Diego County. We started out going to 17 Palms Oasis, then 5 Palms Oasis, checked out the Pumpkin Patch in adjoining Ocotillo Wells SRVA, and then headed back into the State Park to visit Vista del Malpaias and Fonts Point. On our way back through Borrego Springs we stopped for a bit to see the sea monster sculpture on Borrego Springs Road north of town. 


It was almost perfect out there in terms of weather, high-70's, maybe up into the low 80's at times. Low wind. A few clouds in the sky might have made for nicer photos, but who cares - it was a great day spent wandering around with some good friends. Here are a few images.




The area between 17 Palms Oasis and 5 Palms Oasis is a bit desolate. Not that the rest of the area all that lush.




Some pumpkins, at the Pumpkin Patch.






Our little group - my black Xterra in the lead, followed by Mitch's yellow Xterra, Mark's Frontier, and Rae's Jeep.




We all lined up for a group picture in the late afternoon sun at Fonts Point.




It looks like Mark is gaining on me as we drive north in Fonts Wash towards the highway. I had to stop taking pictures after this one, as my passengers were getting nervous with me driving with my left hand and shooting pictures out the window with my right. We were only doing about 25mph at the time, but they were new to my driving style.




The sea monster sculpture is pretty cool. It's 350' long, so I settled for a shot of just the head.




Click here to see a few more images from our day in Anza Borrego Desert State Park.
   

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Some New Images From The San Diego Zoo

Heather and I spent the morning walking around the San Diego Zoo with our friend LaRee. It was nice to get outside after being at the office all week.


We started out at the Flamingo pool, where this one male peacock was trying to alternately impress or molest some of the ducks.




The ducks didn't seem all that impressed, but every now and then he would grab one of them by the top of the head. That generally got their attention. This isn't the first time I've seen this behavior there.




Adhama the young Hippo was cruising around the pool, riding on his mother's back mostly. You can't really see it in the pictures, but she's underneath him. Every now and then she would stick just the end of her nose up out of the water for a breath.



We spent some time watching the Spot-Nosed Guenon at the Ituri Forest exhibit. They share the enclosure with the Allen's Swamp Monkeys and the River Otters.




I realize that I shouldn't ascribe human emotions to animals based on facial expressions or body language, but this Swamp Monkey really looked like he had something to say - and it didn't look like it would be pleasant.




There is a big pool full of all sorts of birds at the bottom of the hill. It's always a great place to hang out.








The keeper was in the back of the pond area putting out food, and one of the local mallards decided he was ready for some salad.




We stopped to see the Malayan Tigers, but only got a few shots as it was very crowded. Here's Christopher, one of the cubs.




Click here to see more images from our walk around the San Diego Zoo on Saturday, February 18, 2012, including some rather strange close-ups of the hippos, and a couple different shots of Ubon, the new male Malayan Tiger.
      

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Seaport Village - San Diego, CA - San Diego dSLR Club Monthly Group Shoot - Feb 2012

For our February group shoot the San Diego dSLR club met at the Seaport Village shopping center, which is located on San Diego Bay. We decided to make this an evening shoot, hoping to catch some color in the clouds or sky at sunset. I shot the entire evening with just my 40mm pancake lens, and then cropped to get different views when it seemed appropriate. Here are a few shots from our evening at Seaport Village.












Click here to see a few more images from Seaport Village in San Diego on Saturday evening, February 11, 2012.
     

A Swamp Monkey, A Red Panda, Some Tigers . . . and More

I'm told that they now have two red pandas at the San Diego Zoo - I'm not sure if this is new one, but it does look a bit smaller than the one I've seen in the past. A little more energetic too.






The Allen's Swamp Monkeys are always fun to watch. They share a large area with the river otters, the spot nosed guenons, and some other larger animals.




I get the feeling they think they own the place.




The baby hippo Adhama was in the pool with his mother, but the glass was pretty dirty, and there were lots of people in the way too. I went for an alternative shot of the hippo - which, as luck would have it, also got me a picture of a giraffe, an okapi, a parrot, a monkey and even a tiger. Very convenient.




I'm not sure if Conner thinks he's actually hiding behind this bush, or what. In any event, he's watching pretty intently, and ready to jump.




Here's a closer look at the same shot.




Here's his brother Christopher.




I got a quick glimpse of Camo, the Malayan tapir, on my way down the Tiger Trail path.




We'll end up this set with a zebra shot - the other end from what I posted a couple of weeks ago.




Click here to see a few more images from the San Diego Zoo on Saturday, February 11, 2012.
     

Catching Up - Some San Diego Zoo Pictures From Last Weekend

I spent about half the day on Saturday, Feb 4 at the San Diego Zoo, but almost all of that was spent on the phone for work. Looking back on it, I really should learn to use the Caller-ID feature a lot more often. In the end I did manage to get a few shots that I liked - and I got to see Ubon, the new male Malayan tiger, up close. Very close.




There was a young Harpy Eagle up by the front entrance.




These little crocs are always cool to watch.




The new male Malayan tapir, Camo, was up wandering around. He has a great profile.




I spent quite a bit of time in the old Hummingbird House, but since I had my 300mm lens, with its 10' minimum focus distance, I didn't actually get any pictures of the hummingbirds. Still, it's a very relaxing and quiet place to hang out for a while.




There was a pair of sunbitterns that were fun to watch. There is quite a bit of color on their wings, but you can only see it when they're flying. These two did fly around for a while, but they got too close for my lens when they did.




Click here to see a few more images from the San Diego Zoo on Saturday, February 4, 2012.
     

About Me

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San Diego, California, United States
About me . . . When I'm not working I like to be out exploring and photographing. I do this blog just for fun, and to be able to share these images with friends. I hope you enjoy viewing these images as much as I enjoyed creating them.

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All of the content and images on this site (c) Frank B. Baiamonte. If you would like to use any of these images please contact me via email at frank@frankbaiamonte.com to discuss terms of usage. Note that images from the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park are not available for commercial usage. You can also see more on my Instagram page @frankbaiamonte.

Header image: Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, Cibola, Arizona. End image: Downtown San Diego, California skyline from Coronado Island. Profile picture: Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho, by Heather Baiamonte.