Photography . . . Travel . . .

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Amur Leopards - San Diego Zoo

I got to spend some quality time with the Amur Leopards at the San Diego Zoo earlier this year.


They were enjoying an early lunch when I got there.




Click here to see a few more images of the Amur Leopards at the San Diego Zoo on June 15, 2019.
       

Mandrills - San Diego Zoo - June 2019

Here are a few images of the family of Mandrills that live at the San Diego Zoo.





Click here to see a few more images of the Mandrill family at the San Diego Zoo on June 15, 2019.
     


The J. Paul Getty Museum - Los Angeles, California

Here are a few images from the J. Paul Getty Museum taken earlier this year.  For me, the architecture and grounds are as impressive as the collections.








We had dinner in the Getty Restaurant, which is excellent.  This is what we shared for dessert, a deconstructed lemon tart.


Click here to see a few more images from our trip to the J. Paul Getty Museum in August of 2019.
        

The Book of Beasts - Getty Museum, Los Angeles

We drove up to the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles earlier this year to check out an exhibition of illuminated manuscripts called The Book of Beasts.













We were there for the closing weekend of the exhibit, but there are always lots of great things to see at the Getty.

Click here to see more images from this set.
     

Sunday, July 14, 2019

San Diego Zoo - June 9, 2019

Not just tigers this time, although I will start with both Cinta and Berani (in that order), since I pretty much always start a day at the San Diego Zoo with a visit to the Malayan Tigers.



Found some cool looking flowers.



There was a new baby Giraffe.




Click here to see a few more images from the San Diego Zoo on June 9, 2019.
      

Mek Degong - Malayan Tiger - San Diego Zoo - May 26, 2019

The story of Malayan Tiger Mek Degong is a bit fuzzy.  It looks like she came to the US sometime in 2003, after being captured by Malayan authorities.  Over the years I've heard several variations of the story as to why she was captured, it seems she was either scaring villagers by getting too close, or eating the villagers' livestock, or eating the villagers.  Who knows?  At least she wasn't killed, either by authorities or poachers, and she ended up in San Diego.  I have photos of her going way back on this blog, including her litter of three cubs in 2009, then Christopher and Connor in 2011.  You could say that she is the "mother of all tigers" because she is in fact the mother of all of the other tigers at the San Diego Zoo right now.
   
Mek moved from San Diego up to Fresno in late 2013, where she had four more cubs in January of 2014, bringing the total up to 11.  Two of those cubs, the males Cinta and Berani, have been here in San Diego since November of 2014.  There are lots of pictures of the two of them on this blog.
   
Fresno Zoo is apparently going to renovate its tiger habitat and so . . . Mek is back in San Diego.  Here are a few pictures from one of Mek's first days out in the large enclosure.









They are not even sure exactly how old Mek is, so they are using the assumption that she is 20 this year, which makes her a fairly old cat.  Still, she is quite quick and alert, and from what I saw yesterday, still fairly aggressive and loud.

Click here to see more pictures of Mek Degong, one of the Malayan Tigers at the San Diego Zoo.    
     
All images in this post were taken with a Fujifilm X-T2 and XF55-200mm lens.
     

San Diego Zoo - May 25, 2019

Berani the Malayan Tiger.


Click here to see more images of Berani and his brother Cinta, and the Amur Leopards, at the San Diego Zoo on May 25, 2019.
     

Universal Studios Hollywood - April 2019

We spent a day at Universal Studios Hollywood back in late April.  It was a blast.  The last time I was there everything was still in black & white.  It sure has changed.

The main thing we wanted to see were all the Harry Potter attractions, and it was worth is just for that.  The rest of it was really good too, including the Waterworld show, the Studio Tour, and even the Walking Dead thing.  It was crowded (we went on a Saturday) but it was fun.

They were previewing a special light show called Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle, and we waited (along with a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd) for well over an hour before it started.  It was impressive.


Standing around, waiting for the light and sound show to start.  







     
Click here to see more images from our day at Universal Studios Hollywood in late April of 2019.
     
All images taken with a Fujifilm X100F using the Velvia or Acros film simulations.
     

Old Los Angeles Zoo - April 2019

The old Los Angeles Zoo was open from 1912 to 1965 before moving to its current location. I actually remember going to this Zoo as a young child.


I like that they've left many of the old structures in place, and turned it into a family picnic area.  Some of the old stairways used by the keepers to get to the back of the grottos are covered in colorful graffiti.  They are supposedly fenced off, but there are lots of holes in the fencing.  We saw several groups using it as a location for photos and videos when we stopped by on our way home from Universal Studios in April.







     
Click here to see a few more images from the Old Los Angeles Zoo in Griffith Park.
     
All images taken with a Fujifilm X100F using the Velvia film simulation.
     

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.