San Diego Botanical Garden

Previously known as Quail Gardens, San Diego Botanical Garden is another location to check if anyone is out there who likes to visit various gardens in SoCal. Luscious greenery and very well maintained....this is a place to go if you are ever in the Norther San Diego County area.

Stitching?

Tried out Photo Stitching and this is what I came up with. Interesting and have to play with it some more...

West Hollywood night shoot!

Did a little bit of night shoot in West Hollywood using my new lens using natural lighting! Can't wait to do another night shoot in a couple of weeks. Perfect location was the Pacific Design Center...although since it was private property, we had limited time to shoot before being asked to leave. Oh well...it was worth a try...

Another Amazing Garden

So, I have been visiting several gardens in Southern California and today was another surprisingly amazing garden. The Earl Burns Japanese Garden located in Cal State Long Beach. Although small, about 1.3 acres, it's still an amazing garden to just visit and walk around. I was actually surprised to see the amount of people at the garden. Several people were there just enjoying the great weather SoCal offered us today, but it was also a pretty nice location to do a little bit of picture taking. I wished that there was more acreage in this garden, but it was enough to slightly satisfy my shutterbug hunger. I can't wait to see this place in the Spring when all the flowers are blooming.

I truly recommend a quick afternoon visit to this place. Amazing and it is Free to the public. Just make sure to check their website for time because of the furlough days the college employees are mandated, so it affects the garden. Here's the website: http://www.csulb.edu/~jgarden/

LA Smug Mug

Attended the LA SmugMug group last Wednesday and listened to Nature photographer Don Gale. Amazing photos and he provided some great tip in nature photography. He was pretty funny at times when he recalls his experiences why sharing his pictures. Can't wait to sign up for his class in January. I will also be attending a Wedding photography class around the same time. Might as well learn as much as I can if I really want a change in careers. Oh...gotta check into Animoto.

Since it was my first SmugMug group meeting, I felt a little intimidated by all these seasoned photographers. The majority were Wedding photographers and I believe there was only 3 (including myself) that are nature photographers.

It was very interesting all in all. I can't wait for the next one....Orange County SmugMug group in December.

I just bought my vertical grip for my camera! I should've bought it months ago...so much easier to shoot vertical photos with this. I also just ordered a new lens...Canon 1.8 50mm. This will come in really handy for some natural light shooting, specially indoors.

Precious moment...

Did an impromptu mommy and baby photo session with Ashley and Aiden. It is amazing to see the love and innocence between the two. It was such a rewarding experience to photograph them two. I can't wait to do another opportunity like this.

Cultural Day

Today was a Cultural Day trip to Los Angeles with Trina. Drove to the Historic Filipinotown off 101 Fwy on Alvarado St....well, to our surprise....it was more of less just any streets in Los Angeles. Drove up and down Alvarado then on Beverly Blvd. Only signs that we are in Filipinotown was the banners on the poles. We had hoped to find some kind of a cultural center, but when we did, it was closed and empty. Not willing to just leave and drive back home, we stopped a little at this cafe called "Tribal Cafe". Interesting place. Next door was a small Vintage shop....more interesting place. Snapped some photos then drove some more, then saw a Filipino restaurant called "Bahay Kubo". So we thought we'd stop in and just look around. Well, as soon as we stepped into the restaurant the aroma of Filipino food made us hungry. Just so we can say we've done some cultural experimentation, we ordered some food (pancit "noodles" and fried chicken) and picked up a few snack items for Trina to share with her class.

The most amazing Filipino lady served us behind the counter. Of course, I have to bring out my "tagalog" and order in my native language. Feeling a little intimidated since I don't use it as much as I should, but I think I did fairly well. She understood me. While she serves us, she has the biggest smile and was singing. If there was ever anyone that made us feel very welcome, it was her. I even told her that her personality reminded me of my mom's aunt and she giggled. This just completely made our day and our trip to L.A. memorable.

By the way, the food was amazing...so if anyone is at all craving for some great "Filipino" food, "Bahay Kubo" in Echo Park is worth visiting. I guess, you can try some karaoke while you are there. Who knew, karaoke in a Filipino establishment....it's a staple!

Hsi Lai Temple and other cultural trip

Next trip will be Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights. I'm really looking forward to this. Not only will be a great cultural experience, but an absolute photo experience as well. Look for my next blog on this.

This Sunday will be a cultural trip to Historic Filipino Town with Trina. She needs to write a report on this and I think it will be a good photo trip for me as well. If we have enough time after, I hope I can squeeze in Hsi Lai Temple. Otherwise, it will probably be next weekend.

Garden or Nursery....

Well, the words says it all. Went to this nursery "garden" located in Corona Del Mar last Wednesday. One word to describe it..."amazing!" Roger's Garden is supposed to be a nursery, but it is far from it!

Anyone that visits a nursery would expect rows and aisles of various plants, flowers, and accessories, right? Well, not here! Roger's not only has a not so typical nursery environment, it has galleries. Gallery of plants and flowers, gallery of patio furnitures and accessories, and then there is this amazing gallery of Christmas trees, ornaments, accessories...you name it and they probably got it! I guess each year, they have themes for each exhibit of their Christmas tree...well, this year, it will not disappoint anyone! Themes such as: Harvest, Let It Snow, Little Drummer, Parisian, Enchanted Forest, Vineyard and many more!

I had so much fun photographing not just the various plants and flowers, but the Christmas display was so exciting to photograph. This is when I really utilized my camera settings to photograph the vibrant colors of the holiday!

If you are thinking of doing something one weekend afternoon...I highly recommend a visit to Roger's Garden! Give yourself a few hours to truly enjoy this place. In the meantime, visit their site: http://rogersgardens.com/ You can also see the photos from this shoot at: http://lizarosales.shutterfly.com/