A Lot Can Happen In 20 Seconds

A lot can happen in 20 seconds. 

These 5 images were shot Sunday morning, at the San Diego Zoo just before the start of the Keeper Talk at the tiger enclosure.  The first shot here was taken at 11:28.03, the last at 11:28:23. That's 20 seconds.  I actually took 6 shots, but left out one from the sequence here. 

The adult tigers are pretty smart, either that or they have wristwatches we're not seeing. They know exactly when it's time to head down the hill to the spot where the keeper will be throwing food. Today it was meatballs. Mek and her 2 sons Christopher and Conner were up at the top of the hill lounging under the misters staying cool, but a bit before 11:30 she knew it was time to head down to the second viewing area.

I can just imagine the conversation between Mom and Son going something like this:

Son: Hey Mom, what's happening? Is Rochelle going to be tossing us some treats today?

Mom: Hi Son. You know, you really should go find your own spot. You really do need to learn to hunt for yourself.

Son: Oh, come on Mom, there's plenty for both of us.

Mom: Not so fast, kid. Go find your own spot! Now!

Son: OK Mom, I get the message, I'm going.

Son: Look Mom, I can hunt too.

Okay, so maybe I read a little too much in to this whole thing - but it was a blast to watch.

     

A Few More From Sunday at the San Diego Zoo

Here are a few more from Sunday, on a more serious note than the previous post.

I'll put up more tiger pictures in a separate posting.

     

Sunday at the San Diego Zoo

I met a few friends early on Sunday morning for a walk around the San Diego Zoo. 


The fishing cat was up and about (sort of). This one is Miri, the female.

Funani the hippo was (sort of) swimming around. Her son Adhama was there too, but you can't see him in this shot.

This guy was (sort of) sitting on a log watching the world go by.

I (sort of) got a picture of a panda.

I (sort of) got a picture of a gorilla.

No sort of about it, this pygmy hippo really did have a monkey on his back.

Click here to see more images from our morning walk around the San Diego Zoo.
   

San Diego Waterfront & Maritime Museum - SD-dSLR Monthly Group Shoot

We had one of the largest turnouts I think I've seen yet for our monthly Group Shoot on Saturday. We met in front of the Star of India, on the Embarcadero, San Diego's scenic waterfront area. I think there were over 30 of us.


I spent most of the morning in or around the Maritime Museum, while others wandered up and down the waterfront. These first 2 images are from the Star of India sailing ship. The sky was a dull overcast, quite boring, so we tried to find things to shoot that didn't include a lot of sky.

A few of us went on board the Russian submarine. Its periscope was pointed right at the USS Carl Vinson, which was moored just across the Bay.

We all met for lunch at the Elephant and Castle Pub across the street from the Maritime Museum. It's my new favorite place for fish & chips in San Diego.


Click here to see more images from our monthly Group Shoot held on Saturday, August 13, 2011.


Click here to go to the club website to see what the other folks did. 
    

A Few More Tiger Pictures From Saturday Morning

Here are a few more pictures of the Malayan tigers from Saturday morning. Mek and her just over 4-month-old cubs Christopher and Conner. The keepers have set up a misting system at the top of the enclosure for them, so that they have a cool spot to hang out. You can the water droplets on Mek's back in few of the shots.

I guess it's just as tough to get tigers to sit still and pose for a group portrait as it is with people.

After all the excitement of climbing on the fences, chasing down the chunks of beef heart, and generally just being out playing around, the 2 boys decided to find a nice protected shady spot to just hang out for bit.

For more tiger pictures check out the post just before this one, and the link at the bottom of that post to the full gallery.
   

Morning Walk Around the San Diego Zoo - Tigers and More

This was a great morning for a walk around the San Diego Zoo. I met some friends from the local photo club at Tiger River. The cubs Christopher and Conner were out, playing and exploring around the enclosure. When I first arrived they were up towards the top of the hill, I had to shoot this through a piece of not-very-clean glass.

Mom Mek was there as well. Mek knows when it's getting close to 11:30, she heads down to the spot where she knows the keeper will be tossing some sort of tasty treats to her. Here she is watching as a piece of beef heart flies her way.

Here are a few with the little guys in the background. They're up to about 35 pounds now.

The little guys alternated between resting in the bushes and chasing each other around.

Along the way we checked in on the hippos - Funani and her young son Adhama were hanging out at the glass wall napping in the sun. I don't know if hippos actually smile, but little Adhama sure has a contented look on his face.

There were some cool little monkeys out.

We took a quick walk through the Children's Zoo, and found this butterfly.

Back in a seldom-visited corner of the Zoo, not too far from the Children's Zoo area, is the ocelot. He's tough to see, as the caging is pretty thick, but I managed to snag this shot through the cage.

On our way out we stopped in to see one of my favorites, the monitor lizard. I got quite a few shots that I liked, and had a hard time picking which ones to post here. You can see more at the link below (along with a lot more tiger pictures too).

This one has some serious claws.

Click here to see more images from today, Saturday Aug 6, 2011 at the San Diego Zoo.
    

Chihuly Bridge of Glass - An Evening Stroll in Tacoma, Washington

We spent last weekend in the Seattle area, with our first night visiting some old friends in Tacoma. After a very nice dinner at Marzano's Italian Restaurant in Parkland we drove over to the Bridge of Glass and walked around for a bit. Here are a few images from on and around the bridge. All of the glass sculptures are done by artist Dale Chihuly.

    

Click here to see more images from our evening in Tacoma, wandering around the Bridge of Glass on Friday, July 29, 2011.