These all come from the famous Botanical Gardens building in Balboa Park, as well as a few from the lagoon outside. It was the last stop of a long and fulfilling day in the park, and all of these pictures were taken in about a 20-minute span just before they closed for the afternoon. I could have spent four times as long in there, with my tripod, and REALLY come back with some quality computer wallpaper. But for doing everything by hand with my aging discount point-and-shoot, I feel good about this batch.

The pictures can do most of the talking:


I loved this tissue-paper texture – capturing things like this correctly forces me to become a better photographer

There was a special annual indoor exhibit, too, which gave me a chance to put the ol’ tripod to work.

I try not to use my clumsy and harsh little pop-up flash – but every so often, it really does do the trick.

Turtle yoga

You learn something every day – me, I didn’t know a cactus could be this furry.