cazalea
[Seiko Moderator]
17087
How do those walks happen? (you might ask)
I'm not the most disciplined person when it comes to exercise, and I loathe the gym. I prefer to be outdoors, and to be thinking, observing, and taking photos. But I need sunshine and physical activity. Add to this the need to stay clear of others during the pandemic ... and avoid a mask for reasons of a sinus condition ... thus we started to walk in the early morning. Confession -- I have what CS Lewis called "A Horror of The Same Old Thing" so I can't imagine walking the same route every day, striving for a Personal Best Time (like one of our neighbors).
My exercise-loving, former PE teacher wife walks with me, which is a great help. She makes observations "see, a
hummer up there!", suggestions on safety "don't lean over so far!",
friendly greetings to cyclists I don't even notice "Hey, watch out!", etc.
Each morning I look at the weather and the time of day we can walk, then choose
coastal, inland, hills or valleys; and we head out.
I have no specific
outline or sequence in mind, but I have evolved a certain "quota" of
images that I would like to achieve before we come home:
- mammal
- reptile
- insect
- birds
- flowers
- bokeh shot (sharp foreground & vague background)
- action in nature
- interesting architecture
- obligatory watch photo
So we set out, leave the car, walk and take pictures of whatever we see.
We come home, I load the
images - usually 40-100 or so, and then delete the 20-30% that are out
of focus, shots of the ground etc. If I'm lucky, my wife might make us some breakfast, and as I eat I consider what to do with the photos, and
the sequence in which the images will appear. Today I'm going to do a
stream of consciousness presentation rather than a composition. OK? Here we go:
Outside,
between the kitchen and my office (before leaving on the walk) I noticed two
squirrels playing. When we had our big Tiger cat, they wouldn't have
dared come near our yard. This guy was about 50 feet from me.
We
loaded ourselves in the car and headed to the north side of the San
Diego River.
This area has a disadvantage of having to shoot into the morning
sun, but it's cool and flat and easy to park. We heard birds
and were surprised to see a couple hummingbirds immediately, as they are rarely seen at this point near the river.
HUMMINGBIRD ✓
BOKEH & FLOWER ✓
MAMMAL ✓ Rabbit cleaning his paws.
HUMMER silhouette against PRESIDIO PARK architecture ✓
A flotilla of ducks was cruising upstream in formation -- 13 of them (aka a baker's dozen).
We walked along with the ducks for about 1/4 mile. A mild walk for us; eager paddling speed for them.
It seemed to be easy going for the ducks but we were dodging through the brush to keep them in sight.
The river turned so now we were behind the flotilla.
They reached a low-lying island (we are about an hour before low tide, and the island is just now appearing).
Instead of marching onto dry land, they decided to take baths and clean themselves up. Maybe
this is the point where fresh water overcomes the salt water in the
river.
In any case, they eventually came aboard and started to groom and
sun themselves.
Then 6 more ducks came downstream and joined our first group.
At this point we headed west, down river towards the ocean.
An model airplane flew overhead, controlled by an old gent across the road at the Electric Air Field.
I remembered to take the obligatory watch shot.
And captured my first reptile photo of the day.
A flower macro with insects too!
Heron on a rock
Another Hummer and Bokeh ✓
ACTION SEQUENCE ✓ Ducks Taking Off Run, Run, Run, Flap Flap Flap Lift-off
Landing gear up
Formation established, heading west down river
ACTION SEQUENCE ✓ Coming in for landing, flaps
Prepare for landing, tray tables, seat belts
Whoa! almost overshot the runway. Reverse thrusters on max.
Well, that was a little dramatic! Where did you come from?
What? Who, me?
Grooming
END OF ADVENTURE
START BREAKFAST
Cazalea
How do those walks happen? (you might ask)
I'm not the most disciplined person when it comes to exercise, and I loathe the gym. I prefer to be outdoors, and to be thinking, observing, and taking photos. But I need sunshine and physical activity. Add to this the need to stay clear of others during ...
I always enjoy your photographic journeys, Mike
And sure hope I can find the time for such activities myself one day...
I love the 'stream of consciousness' mindset :)
Effective results you were able to obtain there=)). Cheers, Filip
Today was a fun day
I like having the surroundings dictate the results, rather than starting with an agenda in mind.
Your "quota" shoot list makes for an inspiring photo scavenger hunt.
These are fun to see for me, as I once lived in San Diego.
Great pictures
I love the hummingbird picture. It must have been a very long and scenic walk. I remember my most memorial walk was with my mother, stepfather and sister, along the cliffs of Dover. That was a long time ago, and we saw fields and fields of wildfllowers, a...
I've done a few "white cliffs of Dover" walks
And a few score walks in Surrey where we used to live. Thanks for reminding me. Mike ...
Mike, I’m a great fan of your morning walks.
Love the pictures you take and even more so your witty comments, like with the landing Heron… a gem. Regards, George
Thank you
I do like writing these little stories. I’m glad some people like reading them. Mike
I had been wanting to ask how you and your wife came to the decision to go on these regular adventures…
and then you shared this great post without me even asking! Thank you 🙏🏼
