Jack Kelso photography

2011-08-27T16:29:00.000-07:00

The pomegranate is native to Persia and is grown here in California as well as in Arizona. The beautiful orange-red trumpet shaped flowers with ruffled petals are absolutely spectacular.

formal flower attire

2011-08-13T21:55:00.000-07:00

Yellow dinner jacket with formal trousers for coastal summer climate. ... Coordinating colors to match the flowers is always acceptable. Ties and cummerbunds are optional.
Fortunately for me yellowjackets do not usually sting when away from the nest. Unlike honey bees, these insects have a smooth stinger and can sting repeatedly. It's not a wise move to crush a yellowjacket. A dying yellowjacket worker releases an alarm pheromone that alerts its nest mates. In just a few seconds, you could find yourself surrounded by angry wasps.
The number of workers in the nest will reach its highest population level in about another month (up to 5000 worker), then the numbers will begin to gradually decline until the onset of significant rainfall.

The Hummingbird

2010-09-23T14:21:00.000-07:00

The sunlight speaks, and its voice is a bird:
It glimmers half-guessed, half-seen, half-heard,
Above the flowerbed, over the lawn--
A flashing dip, and it is gone,
And all it lends to the eye is this--
A sunbeam giving the air a kiss.

wild, but cute feral cat

2010-09-17T09:56:00.001-07:00

When shelters/feral rescue groups trap feral cats and spay and neuter they often clip one ear tip so at a distance they're able to see whether cats have already been spayed or neutered or not. This is a feral cat with it's left ear clipped.

Love

2010-08-23T17:34:00.001-07:00

Children are the most triumphant of us all as they succeed to be loved just for what they are!

San Luis Rey bridge

2010-06-29T16:15:00.000-07:00

On the SR-76 just east of Oceanside, CA is the great old abandoned bridge.

South Central

2010-06-03T19:23:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I revisited South Central LA. A place where I lived so many years ago and a place depicted for it's bad reputation in so many movies. South Central has also become a byword for urban decay. Though I did photograph the famous Watts Towers and my old house on 71st and Central, this is among my favorite shots. Sweet and loving children, they are the future of South Central Los Angeles.

2010-04-14T18:15:00.001-07:00

Spring is here..............

Natalie Merchant sings old poems to life | Video on TED.com

2010-04-13T17:24:00.000-07:00

Natalie Merchant sings old poems to life | Video on TED.com

HDR Cowgirl

2010-03-26T08:54:00.000-07:00

HDR sketch created from San Juan Capistrano, Swallows Day parade, Saturday March 20, 2010

Sundried Tomato Cafe, San Juan Capistrano, CA

2010-03-23T22:37:00.000-07:00

High Dynamic range imaging using multiple bracketed exposures and merging them together.

Friends Forever

2010-03-10T21:22:00.001-08:00

Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve

2010-03-08T21:15:00.000-08:00

One of San Diego County’s best kept secrets and most prized natural resource is the Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve. It is located close to Escondido. There are hiking trails as well as a Botanical Trail well marked describing the various plant life in the area. With this winters abundant rainfall everything seems to be in bloom including the stunning and vibrant blue Ramona Lilac. The Coast Live Oak is the most prevailing plant and each tree seems to be its own separate ecosystem.

Long Beach Sunset

2010-03-03T19:15:00.000-08:00

Shot from Joe's Crab Shack in Long Beach on Jan 16, 2010 at 5:06 pm. Shot with 17-85mm f/3.5 Canon EFS lens. Exposure, 1/320 sec at f/10, ISO 200.

Gateway to Heaven

2010-03-02T13:51:00.000-08:00

peregrine falcon

2010-02-25T14:46:00.000-08:00

Once an endangered species in the United States, North American peregrine falcon populations have made a great comeback due to bans on usage of DDT and similar pesticides.

These falcons are formidable hunters that prey on other birds (and bats) in mid-flight. Peregrines hunt from above and, after sighting their prey, drop into a steep, swift dive that can top 200 miles an hour.

California Brown Pelican

2010-01-09T22:10:00.001-08:00

In North America, the brown pelican is endangered, but populations are recovering to some extent. The sea birds were devastated by chemical pesticides, such as DDT, which damaged the eggs of pelicans and many other species.

Columbia River Gorge in Autumn

2009-12-16T15:38:00.000-08:00

The Columbia River Gorge in northwestern Oregon is especially beautiful in the Fall.

2009-11-03T14:29:00.001-08:00

The Columbia River Gorge is a spectacular river canyon cutting the only sea-level route through the Cascade Mountain Range.
It's 80 miles long and up to 4,000 feet deep with the north canyon walls in Washington State and the south canyon walls in Oregon State.

2009-10-26T09:16:00.001-07:00

On any given night, more than 1,400 sleep on Portland's streets. Homeless people can be adults, young people, couples or families with children. They are living on the streets, either temporarily or long-term, for a variety of reasons.

They may be homeless because of an untreated mental illness, a physical disability, domestic violence, the loss of a job, or an addiction. Some may be experiencing a financial crisis and have been evicted from their home. Others may have cycled in and out of homelessness or are chronically homeless, having lived on the streets for many months or even years.

Portland After Dark

2009-10-22T13:40:00.001-07:00

A visit to Portland Oregon, the Willamette Valley and the Columbia River Gorge would not be complete without a photograph of the Portland skyline at night. I shot this on Friday evening just past dark from the Eastbank Esplanade. Flanking the Willamette River and between the Steel Bridge and the Hawthorne Bridge was a ideal spot to shoot from. Tripod mounted 2.5 sec at f/16.

The Willamette Valley is protected from Pacific storms on the west by the Coast Range. On the east the Cascade Range draws the boundary between the Willamette Valley’s misty, cool climate and the drier, more extreme climate of eastern Oregon. The often pernickety Willamette Valley climate is truly the Promised Land for my favorite Pinot Noir’s in America.

As autumn commences in the Columbia River Gorge, the colors are in fact quite impressive. The landscape is fast changing and the beautiful trees of green, yellow and red are everywhere. It’s somewhat like in the Judy Garland film, Wizard of Oz, when everything changes from black and white to vivid color.

Sunset

2009-10-11T18:53:00.000-07:00

Watching an Eternal Autumn Sunset (by Dan Mathews)

There is damp grass underneath
Broad strokes of Red and Orange overhead
Ever fading into pale blue
against blackened pines and wilted oaks
whose most noble purpose
is now to latch onto my memory

The sun neither dips nor rises
The chilled breeze pierces
it etches it's will into me
I am translucent against the backdrop of it's
Majesty

The contours of my face
are lit with a poor reflection
that even though poor creates me again
my skin and hair, eyes and soul become
as one portrait
It is dark where I am
And so I look to the light

You unmake me
as I am caught gazing into eternity
Watching an Eternal Autumn Sunset

Mission San Juan Capistrano

2009-10-06T19:49:00.000-07:00

Dale Chihuly Tree

2009-10-01T09:07:00.001-07:00

I really cannot identify the type of this beautiful Dale Chihuly tree, But I want several in my yard.

Creative Thought

2009-09-02T22:21:00.001-07:00

"I roamed the countryside searching for answers to things I did not understand. Why shells existed on the tops of mountains along with the imprints of coral and plants and seaweed usually found in the sea. Why the thunder lasts a longer time than which causes it and why immediately on its creation the lightning becomes visible to the eye while thunder requires time to travel. How the various circles of water form around the spot which has been struck by a stone and why a bird sustains itself in the air. These questions and other strange phenomena engaged my thought throughout my life." ~Leonardo Da Vinci~

Flowers

2009-08-12T18:10:00.000-07:00

I thought that I would show you something that I have been working on. I have been collaborating with Yvonne Gaudet a graduate of the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. She is an accomplished artist and teacher. I combine my photography with her paint. I start with photographs of flowers that I shot at Roger’s Gardens in Newport Beach. After manipulating my photograph in Adobe Photoshop, I print it on Epson velvet fine art paper. I had to purchase a professional wide format printer that uses pigment dye ink. After printing, it is painted with acrylics. I am so much better with a paint roller than a brush or palette knife, but I am really passionate about it and hopefully someday will paint.

JOB 12: 7-9

2009-08-12T13:52:00.000-07:00

“Ask the beasts, and they will teach you; and the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; and the fish of the sea will explain to you. Who among all of these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?”

Yvonne

2009-08-11T15:44:00.001-07:00

blah blah blah

2009-08-07T08:38:00.000-07:00

I really do question what this gull is trying to communicate. What I got out of this one sided banter is Nag, Nag, Nag, but I'm sure that it is more profound than that. This poor and unfortunate guy justly doesn't merit the tongue lashing he’s getting.

Spiritual Sunsets

2009-08-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. ~Wayne Dyer~

Crown of Thorns

2009-08-05T08:50:00.000-07:00

Photographed in the gardens at Swami's in Encinitas, Ca. (the Self Realization Fellowship retreat)

The beautiful Crown of Thorns plant is a woody, spiny, climbing succulent shrub with shoots reaching a height of 6 feet. Leaves are found primarily on young growth,and the plant may defoliate completely if put under moisture or temperature stress. This plant flowers nearly all year, and especially in the winter. The flowers are small and inconspicuous, but the brightly colored modified leaves (bracts) found just beneath the flowers are quite attractive.

My web site

2009-08-03T22:38:00.000-07:00

Please visit my web site, My Life in Pictures and in Thought

Lesser Goldfinch

2009-08-03T12:05:00.001-07:00

Each time I go outside, there are new things to hear and see. My raucous friends are the hummingbirds, whose behavior is almost like a game. My alpha male Rufous is back from his winter migration to Mexico. With his rich bronze plumage, iridescent scarlet throat, and the determination of a football linebacker, this guy thinks he owns the hummingbird feeder and quickly chases away all rivals. The large feisty Crows caw incessantly (beginning at the crack of dawn) and perch in the tall trees as well as use my bird bath as a means to soften food that he has probably acquired from the neighbors trash. Always one can hear the calm and soothing cooing of the Mourning dove. The Goldfinches have a most beautiful song and I guess that after so much singing, a drink of water from my fountain is in order.

A Gift from God

2009-08-03T11:59:00.000-07:00

The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures. It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth in numberless blades of grass and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers. It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth and of death, in ebb and in flow. I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch of this world of life. And my pride is from the life-throb of ages dancing in my blood this moment. ~Rabindranath Tagore~

Family Outing

2009-08-03T11:54:00.001-07:00

The Pop art movement of the 1960's was really rather amazing and rooted in the tradition of Realism, it was in fact a special time. Today, with a digital camera, Adobe PhotoShop and a vivid or inspired imagination anyone can be an Andy Warhol. My thinking is that flower power, hippies, peace, love and rock and roll should once again be the culture of the day. Of course I may be subjective as I am an artifact of that era.

2009-08-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

These are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. Their talons and beaks to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh and in most cases, the females are considerably larger than the males.

In the attached photos is a Harris hawk, a Peregrine falcon and an eleven week old Saker falcon, sometimes known as a desert falcon. The Saker falcon winters in desert areas and is popular with Arab falconers.

These beautiful raptors for are part of a pest-bird abatement program at the Montage Resort in Laguna Beach and are handled by professional Falconer Jorge Herrera. Pesky seagulls really do seem to keep their distance.

Busy bees

2009-08-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

Busy bees on a summer Saturday afternoon in July.

Summer sunset in the OC

2009-08-03T11:20:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful evening here in the OC. I shot this from my yard this evening and thought that you might enjoy it.

Ramakrishna Monastery, Trabuco Canyon, CA, April 13, 2009

2009-08-03T11:17:00.000-07:00

You will find something more in woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters.
~St. Bernard~

Sea Anemones

2009-08-03T11:13:00.000-07:00

These beautiful sea flowers are Sea Anemones.

Sea anemones usually spend most of their lives in one place, but some have the ability to move. If they do move, they can only travel three to four inches an hour. Sometimes sea anemones hitch a ride on hermit crabs or decorator crabs. If they do that, the sea anemone can protect the crab and if the crab is a messy eater, the sea anemone can pick up bits of food from the crab and eat it. Some sea anemones just let go of the rock and go float around in the water. The sea anemone eats small fish and shrimp. The sea anemone captures its prey with its deadly stinging tentacles. The sea anemone's mouth and tentacles are located on the top of its body. Sea anemones reproduce by budding off baby sea anemones. The babies stay connected to the adult until it is old enough to go out on their own. If a sea anemone is torn apart by rocks, then each part becomes a new sea anemone.

Low Tide

2009-08-03T11:04:00.001-07:00

What awe-inspiring and natural wonders are reveled when the tide is low.

One is able to wander on the sea bed amongst beautiful wet rocks,
covered with Mussels and weeded brown.

As you wander, beautiful vibrant green grass beneath becomes noticeable,
as tide pools burst into life

fossil rock

2009-08-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

A most fascinating rock without a doubt. This rock shows a bit of geologic history. The imprint of what appears to be a fossilized Scallop shell can be seen.

Cow

2009-08-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I found this cute cow in Temecula. Being the California guy that I am, I was trying to figure out how you milk it. I concluded that it must be by using those two things hanging between her rear legs.