Capt Mondo's Photo Blog

My flight to Bangalore on British Airways had been overbooked, so I had the option of staying in London for another day, and being well compensated for it as well. So I and a colleague from ARM both opted to stay behind an extra day, and we spent a few hours touring London.

We first went to the Victoria and Albert Museum, where I took photos… and then the battery in my camera conked out.

Then we headed to Oxford Street. The following pics were all shot using the camera on my iPhone, capturing the street at the end of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations:

Oxford Street 1

Oxford Street 2

Oxford Street 3

While visiting the interiors of the buildings comprising the R.C. Harris Water Filtration Plant, there was also a show happening outside of the buildings, as Swallows were building their nests in small nooks near the tops of these buildings. Here are some of the better shots:

Nesting Swallows 1

Nesting Swallows 2

Nesting Swallows 3

Nesting Swallows 4

Nesting Swallows 5

The Royals came to visit and observe the annual fireworks display commemorating the current Queen’s Great-Grandmother Victoria, which added to the usual crowds. It is also likely why things started 15 minutes earlier than usual, which meant I wasn’t fully set up when things started. Still, I managed to get a few decent shots in before it ended.

Victoria Day Fireworks 1

Victoria Day Fireworks 2

Unfortunately I accidentally spooked this bird when he was wading in a marshy pool at Woodbine Park, but he gave me a great view when he flew by to head to the beaches further south of Woodbine Park.

Snowy Egret in Flight

Just before leaving the hotel to head back home, I toured the hotel grounds with camera in hand to see if there was any other birds I could shoot. No Anna’s Hummingbirds in sight this morning, and no other birds (other than sparrows) came into range. And then I saw this little guy singing his heart out on the patio of the hotel. I managed to get a few shots off, and here are the results:

Rock Wren Singing

Rock Wren on Rail

One of the reasons I went to Balboa Park was because I was told that the gardens were a haven for the local bird life. I started out at what’s known as the Old Cactus Garden, and took a number of shots in the morning, and after visiting a number of the “pocket museums” on the grounds, came back in the afternoon. The sun was never fully out, but it cooperated just enough for me to get some great shots, particularly of some of the hummingbirds that loved some of the bright red flowers on one of the tree-like succulents there.

Female Anna's Hummingbird Sipping Rainwater from Ground

Female Anna's Hummingbird Drinking Nectar from Red Flower

Female Anna's Hummingbird Drinking Nectar from Red Flower - Close-up

Female Anna's Hummingbird Drinking Nectar at Base of Red Flower

California Towhee

Female Hooded Oriole

Male Hooded Oriole

I had a package deal that allowed me entry into any five of the museums on the Balboa Park grounds. I decided just for fun to go into the San Diego Model Railroad Museum, which is the largest such museum in North America. I had an electric model train set when I was a boy, but never really caught the “bug” and went beyond that point, but have always been fascinated in the elaborate detail and often humorous touches that go into such large-scale layouts.

Thanks to the lighting and the pervasive glass, I found that it was next to impossible to get good shots of moving trains with the gear I had with me. So I concentrated on some of the miniature details. If I had a tripod with me I could have done better, but I still like some of shots I came away with from that visit.

I noticed that the Wikipedia article on this museum didn’t have any shot of the museum, so I posted the following image to Wikimedia Commons for use on the Wikipedia page:

Facade of the San Diego Model Railroad Museum

Enthusiast Among a Small Scale Layout

A Contented-looking Engineer

Traffic by the Pacific Hotel