I had a hard time choosing which photo to post first from my new camera, but I finally decided to go with the one that has the best curves and the best exposure, if you catch my drift. ;-) I hadn't been to Torrey Pines in years, despite its proximity, but I had read that there are lots of birds there, so I went there to try out my new camera, which I bought for the purpose of shooting birds. I didn't see any birds, but I did find it to be a beautiful and very popular place for hikers, joggers, and cyclists, who were the friendliest of any place I've been. As I walked along the Guy Fleming Trail, at least 90% of the people that I encountered there said hello. Plus, the mid-summer temperature was a cool 72° and I really enjoyed shooting there, despite the lack of birds.

Incidentally, I zoomed way in and studied this image intensely (just for scientific purposes, mind you) and I still have no idea what was holding her pants up. Double-sided tape, maybe?

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Growing right along the trail, on the Guy Fleming Trail. Since I wanted to travel "light", I only brought three lenses and two camera bodies ;-), and didn't bring my macro lens. Instead, I used a 25mm extension tube and my 24-105mm lens, which has a macro setting.

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That's Sea-cliff Buckwheat (or buh wheat, as Eddie Murphy would say) in the foreground, with chaparral and Torrey Pines behind that, Los Peñasquitos Marsh in the middle-ground, and Del Mar Heights on the distant hill. Los Peñasquitos Marsh is part of Torrey Pines, but it is designated as a Preserve, which is even more restricted than a Reserve, which is more restricted than a State Park. Wetlands in Southern California are extremely sensitive, but I trust that they are now well-protected.

If you look carefully, you can see the railroad bisecting the marsh diagonally. I used to occasionally commute on the Coaster, which uses those tracks, and that was always my favorite part of the route. The Coaster was touted as a great place to get some work done, rather than sitting in traffic, but I couldn't stop looking out the windows. I stopped using it, once I figured out that it was faster to drive, even in bad traffic.

Even though they are the rarest native pine tree in the United States, the most remarkable thing about the Torrey Pines is that they can survive at all, given the poor soil, frequent drought conditions, an average rainfall of about 10 inches, and the weather, typically salt-carrying wind. I think they are beautiful, though, and reminiscent of the Monterey Cypress, which are the rarest trees in the US.

Better in Original size, in my opinion.

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When I first got my driver's license, this was the main road between our house in Oceanside and the city of San Diego. The drive used to take an hour each way. Now that we have multiple freeways, with four lanes in each direction, it still takes an hour each way. Go figure.

I like the way the road and the railroad form a "Y" at the top of this photograph.

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