seals

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If you know me, you know I’m a sucker for cute, cuddly things. So obviously, I had to spend some time at La Jolla Cove while I was out in San Diego. This image was captured early morning while I was out shooting sunrise with Andrew and Frankie. As soon as I saw the seals, I squealed and yelled out that I had to get closer. Andrew, who is always looking out for me, told me that I can’t get too close but I didn’t listen. I pretty much hopped the wall and walked over to seals as fast as I could. Obviously I didn’t want to disturb them so I threw on my 70-200mm lens and got as close as I could without them noticing.

I love that little guy in the middle. Doesn’t it look like he’s smiling? It’s like a dog pile that I wish I were a part of. There were other seals all along the rocks but this group really made me happy. You know what though, one of my friends told me that there are times when there aren’t any seals here? Is that true? I’m grateful that I’ve never witnessed that. I always look forward to the seals whenever I’m in the area.

One last thing, this Thursday I’ll be a part of a travel writing panel at the Writer’s Center in Bethesda, Maryland. If you’re free, I’d love for you to attend. I’ll be there with my friends, Katie Bianco, author of 100 Things to do in Washington, DC Before you Die and Jennifer Barger who has worked with National Geographic, Traveler, etc as we discuss our experiences about writing and photographing the District. I will be talking about Snap DC.

Click here for the details.

My camera settings for the seal image is F7.1 at 1/200th sec and ISO 1000 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm.

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Andrew, Frankie, our cousins and I have officially made it to San Diego and were loving it. It’s so nice to be able to spend some winter days on the west coast. Before this we were in Joshua Tree National Park and it was so nice but our trip was way too short. But I’m glad we even got to go at all. It has always been one of those places that I try my best to visit, but every time the opportunity came up, there was so reason why we couldn’t go. So I’m glad we finally made it.

This image was taken last year around this time in La Jolla. I seriously could spend all day photographing and watching these Sea Lions. It’s one of my favorite things about visiting San Diego. It’s just so peaceful and a sight you would never see in Washington. This little guy was definietly hamming it up for the camera.

I’ve heard seeing the sea lions can really be a hit or miss. I’m lucky (knock on wood) that I’ve never not seen them. This image was taken at the La Jolla Cove. Every time I’ve seen them, they have been there or at Children’s Pool just in case you are planning your own visit.

I remember taking this image and purposely tried to shoot at a low perspective. I really wanted to at least get this little guy’s face in the reflection. You can see I got maybe a little bit of his mouth and that’s it. LOL. It’s ok though, I’m sure there will be plenty more opportunities on this trip to try to capture what I have envisioned.

My camera settings for this image is F9 at 1/200th sec and ISO 160 with my Sony A7II and 28-70mm zoom lens.

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To be honest my personal life has been busy, espcially in the past week or so. So busy to the point that I almost forgot that we’re leaving on a short getaway tomorrow. Around Thanksgiving time, Andrew and I booked a trip to Orlando with our cousins and I haven’t really thought about it much since then. But at this point, I can’t think of anything better. I can’t wait to soak up the Florida sun and spend a couple days on rides and rollercoasters. I’ll have my camera and drone with me, but I’m not sure how much I’ll be shooting. I hope to get at least one cool shot of the fireworks at the Disney castle, other than that I have no real plans.

So if you have any Orlando, Disney, or Universal Studios recommendations, please let me know! It’s my first time visiting since I was a child. You better believe that I’ll be rocking Minnie Mouse ears though! I can’t wait <3

This image has nothing to do with Florida but it does put me in a relaxing mood which is what I’m looking forward to the most on our trip. I took this one morning in La Jolla, San Diego. There weren’t as many sea lions out but for some reason they were all gathered on this rock. So I sat down and watched them for a good 20 minutes. The sun was just coming up and I loved feeling the wind in my hair. I knew I wanted to place myself in this image some how so I could remember the moment and what it was like to be there. So out came my legs and I took a shoefy. Don’t yell at me, but I never remember to tie my shoes until I really have to. LOL.

My camera settings for this image is F9 at 1/50th of a second at ISO 250 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

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Last summer when I was in San Diego, my friend, Sue and I spent a crazy amount of time at the La Jolla Cove. It was not intentional, it just happened. We had just finished driving cross country from northern Virginia and we were exhausted! Obviously we made stops along the way but our average drive everyday was about 8-9 hours. So by the time we arrived to our final destination in San Diego, we just wanted to chill!

We only had one full day in San Diego so we wanted to make the most of it. We spent the morning at the La Jolla farmers market sampling some of the finest vegan cuisine that SoCal had to offer and then walked over to the cove. That is when we spotted all the sea lions and seals on the rocks and it was pretty much over from there. There were so many of them! Neither one of us could not stop squealing at how cute the animals were and accidentally ended up spending more than 3 hours at the cove. LOL oh well. It was a much needed break and a great way for us to relax.

So this time around I knew that I had to go back and see my friends again. There weren’t as many of them out as there was last time I was here, but it was still cute none the less. They look like they’re loving that early morning light. I love watching them swim around, climb on the rocks and interact with each other. It’s like they are wet dogs. LOL.

My camera settings for this image is F10 at 1/60th of a second and ISO 125 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm lens.

Click here to watch my video from our road trip. It was a blast and a half!