Posts Tagged "photography"

Komodo Reef Fish Ballet

Posted by Kathy on Mar 26, 2012

While I was diving in Komodo Marine Park I was fascinated with the small reef fish. They were all different colors and they would swoop in and out of the coral in a choreographed fish ballet. Here are a few images of the reef fish dancing along the reef.

Reef Fish and Coral Gently Waving in the Current

Nudibranchs, Slugs in the Sea

Posted by Kathy on Mar 16, 2012

Glossodoris cincta

Translated literally nudibranch means naked bronchi (lung). The name is due to the fact that they carry their bronchi (gills actually) externally, outside of their bodies. So their lungs are naked in a sense. Nudibranchs are snails, phylum Mollusca. Unlike most land slugs nudibranchs are beautiful! They often have brilliant colors and their gills and cerrata can be simple or intricate. They don’t need shells for protection as they carry poison in their bodies. Their brilliant coloration is a warning to predators to stay away, “I may be beautiful but I taste awful!” Some have obvious heads and others it is hard to tell whether you are looking at the head or tail. I always take pictures of both ends if I am not sure just in case what I am looking at is not what I think it is.

Photo Adventure – Merced National Wildlife Reserve

Posted by Kathy on Jan 22, 2012

Randy and I have been off on several photo adventures lately and I thought it would be nice to start a regular series of posts about one-day and overnight photo adventures that are close to the San Francisco Bay Area. My post about New Idria Mine and Ghost Town was a good start to that series.

Our second 2012 photo adventure was a trip to Merced National Wildlife Reserve (MNWR). The reserve is between Los Banos and Merced on Sandy Mush Road. I had seen the sign for Sandy Mush Road in the past, while driving up Hwy 59 to go to Yosemite, and had always wondered what was down the road. I mean, Sandy Mush, sounds interesting doesn’t it? If you go plan on staying overnight either in Los Banos or Merced and visit the reserve in the afternoon (including sunset) and early morning. Both towns are approximately 30 to 45 minutes away and have plenty of motels and restaurants. Take water and snacks to the reserve, there are no facilities there to buy food or drink.

Welcome to the Merced National Wildlife Refuge

New Idria Mine and Ghost Town

Posted by Kathy on Jan 1, 2012

Over the holidays Randy and I decided to explore a place that his father had told us of; an old quicksilver mine and ghost town called New Idria. Randy’s father had been there a long time ago. The mine was opened in 1854 and was named after the world’s second largest quicksilver producer in Idria, Slovenia. The town grew up around the mine with the local population eventually reaching more than 3,000 people. The mine was closed in 1972 due to falling quicksilver prices. The town still contains many historic buildings although many buildings are in extreme disrepair and the furnace building and some other buildings are fenced off.

Colorful Sunsets in Yosemite National Park

Posted by Kathy on Nov 16, 2011

Last month I made reservations in one of our favorite places, Yosemite National Park, for an “all U can heat” Camp Curry tent cabin during the full moon and off we went for the weekend. The “all U can heat” special runs for only certain dates. You pay what the temperature was the night before plus $20. This is a great deal! Camp Curry was sold out Friday and Saturday nights for that weekend, so we stayed at the Yosemite Inn in Mariposa on Saturday and checked into Camp Curry on Sunday. Monday was a holiday so we were able to stay for an extra day. It is so nice to live close enough to go to such an amazing place like Yosemite for the weekend.