Nature

I had an opportunity to take a short trip to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia.  I’ve always wanted to go, and this was my first trip.  Regarding theme parks, they weren’t very different from Kings Dominion or Hershey Park.  My family and I had a good time.

One of the attractions that most interested me was the Animal Ambassadors.  I’m not aware of other theme parks offering something similar.  They have an up-close tour, during which you pay to get behind-the-scenes exposure to the animals.  I was most excited about the Wolf tour, but my timing was horrible, and I missed it.  I was able to see some other very cool animals you don’t see every day.  Naturally, I went with a camera in hand!

I don’t always get an opportunity to review my photos right away. Distractions will arise, and photo reviews sometimes get lost in the shuffle. Periodically, I find myself going through my Lightroom catalogs and looking for interesting photos. Sometimes, I’ll find an interesting shot that I never got around to reviewing. I found this Praying Mantis on my front porch and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get a few photos.

My family and I traveled to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore in July 2011.  We had a great time, and I’m considering making it one of our annual summer excursions.

I was able to grab a decent set of photos during my visit.  I’m particularly fond of this one:

Dexter Cattle (Bos taurus)

You can see the rest of my trip photos here: Jaraxal’s Flickr Photostream - Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.

I decided to take a day trip to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Church Creek, MD.  I had never been there before, but I heard there were photo opportunities to be had.  The trip is about 2.5 hours from my house, so 5 hours total travel time.  I was only there for about an hour, but it was worth it.

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center · 2145 Key Wallace Dr, Church Creek, MD 21622

I usually take photographs with my Canon 7D. Sometimes, a shot presents itself when the only thing I have available is my iPhone. You can get some outstanding shots with an iPhone when the lighting is good.  I’m surprised by how well these photos came out with my iPhone 4S. Here is one of the photos:

European hornet (Vespa crabro)

You can find this photo and others on my Flickr