Day at the Los Angeles Arboretum

anonymouscuban

Had nothing planned for yesterday and the weather was nice so we took a drive down to the Los Angeles Arboretum. I had never been. My wife went as a kid so it was like her first time as well. There are several gardens like this in the greater Los Angeles area. The most notable is the Huntington Library. Although it didn't match the size of the Huntington, the Arboretum did not disappoint.

The big attraction this time of year are the peafowl. BTW, I just learned the term as I always thought they were all called peacocks. Makes sense now. :dunno

They roam the grounds and even the neighborhoods that surround the Arboretum. They are mating this time of year so the males have all their beautiful feathers on display. This guy here welcomed us as we walked in. Not shy, he stood right in the walkway as you enter the gardens.

1


After spending some time admiring the fellow above, we ventured further into the park and ran into this guy. He was quite aggressive. I was shooting with my long lens so I needed some space between him and my camera but he had other ideas. Every time I moved away, he followed until he was within inches of me. He seemed fine to me until another photog decided to sneak up behind him. That was a mistake... for me. The damn bird attacked me. LOL

2


We decided to move on and then happened upon a large grassy area with several Peacock and Peafowl. Here is a shot of my wife between a couple of them, trying to grab a shot for Facebook.

3


We spent several minutes here just watching the males putting on their show for the females. I grabbed a few shots to document the spectacle.

4


5


6


7


Ever see the rear end of a peacock? I never did, till I took this shot. Actually quite pretty. Almost looks like a headdress of sorts.

8


Once we got our fill of the peafowl, we continued on into the gardens. There are several different regional garden areas which showcase gardens from all over the world. Beautiful. I tried my best to capture some of it. By this time, the clouds broke away and the sun was pretty harsh so I tried to stay in the open shade as much as possible.

9


10


Some how I think my photo is a lot more beautiful than the one she got.

11


They had beautiful orchids in a green house. Had some real fun keeping my lens from fogging up.

12


13


14


I still prefer photographing my wife

15


We ran into some locals along the way.

16


17


18


They had a large garden of day-lilies of all sorts.

19


20


21


On our way out, we stopped at a meadow planted with California wild flowers. I've tried several years now to photograph the wild flowers but with the little rain we've gotten, they've eluded me. My wife thought it was quite amusing that we could have just come to the Arboretum to shoot them.

22


As were were leaving, we ran across these ladies. I guess it's not just peacocks that sport colorful plumage this time of year.

23

slpollett

I love them! All! I SO want to visit this place.

Your pea-fowl shots are beautiful. #1, #7 (wow), & #8 are my faves. I never realized the rear of the bird was also interesting.

Orchids are beautiful. #13 for me. Also, lovely shot of your wife. I love the light & the setting in that one.

Cute bunny & baby ducks. Awwwwww factor, for sure.

Thanks for sharing.

Sherry

David_S85

Looks like you two had a wonderful time. #7 has got to be one of the best-ever "pea," um, "fowel" shots I've ever seen. This all reminds me I need to visit the local Morton Arboretum and Chicago Botanical Gardens before the season is too far gone.

anonymouscuban

slpollett wrote: »

I love them! All! I SO want to visit this place.

Your pea-fowl shots are beautiful. #1, #7 (wow), & #8 are my faves. I never realized the rear of the bird was also interesting.

Orchids are beautiful. #13 for me. Also, lovely shot of your wife. I love the light & the setting in that one.

Cute bunny & baby ducks. Awwwwww factor, for sure.

Thanks for sharing.

Sherry

Thanks for commenting Sherry.

David_S85 wrote: »

Looks like you two had a wonderful time. #7 has got to be one of the best-ever "pea," um, "fowel" shots I've ever seen. This all reminds me I need to visit the local Morton Arboretum and Chicago Botanical Gardens before the season is too far gone.

Thanks David. I actually had a good time. It was a good exercise in focusing on the little stuff... smaller compositions. I tend to lose sight of those things when I'm out shooting.

denisegoldberg

You've got some wonderful shots here.

I've never seen a peafowl from behind (with tail raised), very interesting. Loved the shot of the ducklings and laughed to see the ladies in purple and red.

Thanks for sharing!

--- Denise

anonymouscuban

denisegoldberg wrote: »

You've got some wonderful shots here.

I've never seen a peafowl from behind (with tail raised), very interesting. Loved the shot of the ducklings and laughed to see the ladies in purple and red.

Thanks for sharing!

--- Denise

Thank you Denise.

Qarik

#7 holy smokes..that is GREAT shot. I like #19 a lot as well

anonymouscuban

Qarik wrote: »

#7 holy smokes..that is GREAT shot. I like #19 a lot as well

Thanks Daniel. #7 is my fav of the day.

divamum

You've abandoned hot chicks for beautiful birds?

Also, did they 'sing" for you - they sound like strangled cats or babies that are in some kind of dire distress. Once heard, never forgotten!

Gorgeous shots. Now get your butt back to People. You are missed..................

anonymouscuban

divamum wrote: »

You've abandoned hot chicks for beautiful birds?

Also, did they 'sing" for you - they sound like strangled cats or babies that are in some kind of dire distress. Once heard, never forgotten!

Gorgeous shots. Now get your butt back to People. You are missed..................

Diva. Still shooting people but I've also been doing a lot of shooting for fun.. for myself. I have a couple of people gigs coming up and I will be sure to post them. I've been doing boring Corp Headshots lately that haven't really inspired me to post. Maybe I will.

And yes... the peafowl were moaning all day long. Such a beautiful bird with such a hideous song.

divamum

Believe it or not, I use imitating a peacock call as a singing exercise! Seriously (it's a great way of helping students figure out resonance!)

I should add: also smitten by #7. Please tell me that's going into stock somewhere so it can make you some $!

anonymouscuban

divamum wrote: »

Believe it or not, I use imitating a peacock call as a singing exercise! Seriously (it's a great way of helping students figure out resonance!)

I should add: also smitten by #7. Please tell me that's going into stock somewhere so it can make you some $!

Diva, I submitted #7 to Getty Images so hopefully others will like it as much as you do.

JC

I love that place, haven't been either since I was a kid, but I used to go a couple of times a year. If you go again, there's also an old train station tucked away in the far corner that's worth a visit.

Awesome photos.

valdano

Wow! Amazing. Especially the ones of the peacock. Really stunning stuff here. I'd really wanna visit this place someday.

anonymouscuban

JC wrote: »

I love that place, haven't been either since I was a kid, but I used to go a couple of times a year. If you go again, there's also an old train station tucked away in the far corner that's worth a visit.

Awesome photos.

Glad I could take you back there through my photos. It is a nice garden and we plan to return. We go to the Huntington and Descanso gardens every now and again but never this one so it's nice to have discovered it.

Oh and we did check out the train station. The clouds gave way by then so it was quite harsh out and the inside was really crowded so I didn't get any pics. Next time.

valdano wrote: »

Wow! Amazing. Especially the ones of the peacock. Really stunning stuff here. I'd really wanna visit this place someday.

Thanks Valdano. Oh... and welcome to Dgrin.

troopers

After seeing this post, I happen to see an CNN article with your photo of the peacock, picture 7. But after closer review of the photo (and the CNN caption), it appears not. Pretty close though.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/30/travel/wildlife-photography-irpt/index.html?hpt=tr_t2 (coincidentally photo 7 of the article).

anonymouscuban

troopers wrote: »

After seeing this post, I happen to see an CNN article with your photo of the peacock, picture 7. But after closer review of the photo (and the CNN caption), it appears not. Pretty close though.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/30/travel/wildlife-photography-irpt/index.html?hpt=tr_t2 (coincidentally photo 7 of the article).

It is very close. Maybe do a double-take.