Daniel Zeller Photography

12/19/2024

San Diego isn't exactly known for its fog. Sure, we have "May Gray" and "June Gloom" where the marine layer rolls in and covers the blue sky along the coast, but we rarely get a dense fog. When that happens, it's time to break out the camera. Today's weather was weird for mid-December. We had record-breaking temperatures during the day, and then a cool off-shore wind brought in dense fog right around time for the evening rush hour....

San Diego isn’t exactly known for its fog. Sure, we have “May Gray” and “June Gloom” where the marine layer rolls in and covers the blue sky along the coast, but we ra…

10/17/2024

October 2024 was the month of a once-in-80,000-years comet and another super moon. I'm not big on astrophotography, but these were two events that I didn't want to pass up. Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3) If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. It took me two attempts to photograph the comet. The first was perhaps a bit premature; the second paid off....

October 2024 was the month of a once-in-80,000-years comet and another super moon. I’m not big on astrophotography, but these were two events that I didn’t want to pass up. Comet Tsuchi…

05/08/2023

I'm not a very spontaneous person, so it was really out of character for me to decide at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday to make a run up to Lone Pine. There was a little motivation behind my madness, though. As you may have gathered, I'm a fan of the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains, and one of the best photographers of the region is…...

I’m not a very spontaneous person, so it was really out of character for me to decide at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday to make a run up to Lone Pine. There was a little motivation behind my madness,…

01/20/2023

After my visit to Death Valley, I spent two nights in Zion National Park. This was my fourth or fifth visit to the park, but the first time in winter and the first time staying in Zion Lodge, right in the heart of Zion Canyon. There was snow at elevation, but none in the valley. Regardless, Zion did not disappoint. …...

After my visit to Death Valley, I spent two nights in Zion National Park. This was my fourth or fifth visit to the park, but the first time in winter and the first time staying in Zion Lodge, right…

01/18/2023

I took a quick trip to Death Valley National Park 9-12 January 2023, arriving along with one of southern California's recent atmospheric rivers dumping rain on the state. It was raining as I arrived at the west entrance to the park near Panamint Springs, and that did make for some interesting shooting conditions. I spent three nights at Furnace Creek and got to observe a multitude of weather conditions during my time there. Click on any image to open an enlarged version. Zabriskie Point Artist's Palette Dante's View Badwater Basin General Death Valley Views

I took a quick trip to Death Valley National Park 9-12 January 2023, arriving along with one of southern California’s recent atmospheric rivers dumping rain on the state. It was raining as I …

12/29/2022

If you're not following the NPS social media, you should for little gems like this.

Friend: “I love your outfit!”
Me: Thanks! It has pockets!

Did you know sea otters have flaps of loose skin under each forearm that they use like a pocket? What are these pockets full of? (Well, it's not sunshine.)

It’s not pocket science. When swimming, the pockets are used to carry as much food as possible back to the surface. Think buffet f***y pack.

Hot pocket! Otters also use their pockets to stash rocks. They use rocks to crack open clams, crabs and other shellfish on their tummies. (Tummies is the scientific term. Thank you.) They may also use rocks to hammer abalone shells, as quickly as 45 times in just 15 seconds (hammer time!), until the abalone loosen their tight grip on the seafloor. The ones left behind are left…abalonely.

Have rock, will travel. Many otters have a favorite rock that they store in their pocket. Some even name their rocks. Popular names include: Otter Destruction, Gneiss Knowing You⁣, King Clammer⁣, Rockslayer, and Fred. Research is still pending.

Image: An otter afloat in the water at Kenai Fjords National Park. NPS/Pfeiffenberger

04/20/2022

I have visited La Jolla countless times, but oddly, I've never taken photos of the tide pools there until last night. They are easy to access and I'm sure I'll be back. Luckily, I was there after low tide, but the tide was coming back in, and I had to dodge a few waves splashing on the rocks a couple of times.

I have visited La Jolla countless times, but oddly, I’ve never taken photos of the tide pools there until last night. They are easy to access and I’m sure I’ll be back. Luckily, I…

03/03/2022

Spring has sprung in Southern California! Yes, SoCal really does have seasons, as mild as they are. This photographic expedition required a bit more effort, as the location was about 250 miles from my home, and I had to drive across Los Angeles to get there. That is never fun. Ever. I planned my trip to arrive in mid-afternoon to catch the late afternoon sun illuminating the flowers....

Spring has sprung in Southern California! Yes, SoCal really does have seasons, as mild as they are. This photographic expedition required a bit more effort, as the location was about 250 miles from…

11/21/2021

Last week (16-19 November 2021), I made a quick run to Yosemite National Park. It was my first visit there since September 2009, and I was anxious to get out and capture some images. I arrived at the Tunnel View around 3:30 p.m., just in time to catch the setting sun light up El Capitan and the rising near-full moon. The next day was a picture-perfect but essentially cloudless day....

Last week (16-19 November 2021), I made a quick run to Yosemite National Park. It was my first visit there since September 2009, and I was anxious to get out and capture some images. I arrived at t…

11/04/2019

Last week, I took six days to do a little photography scouting trip of some new locations and of some that I hadn't been to in over 30 years. Here are some of the results of that recon trip. One thing that was a bit of a photographer's "nightmare" was the fact that I saw only one, puny, wispy little cloud the entire six days I was in the area. [ 427 more words ]

Last week, I took six days to do a little photography scouting trip of some new locations and of some that I hadn’t been to in over 30 years. Here are some of the results of that recon trip. …

10/13/2019

First time I've had the camera out in a while. Last night's sunset and moon rise and the San Diego skyline.

05/11/2019

The weather in San Diego was a bit wacky all day long. Passing showers yielded to sunshine followed by intriguing cloud formations. On the way home it was mostly overcast, but a sliver along the western horizon hinted at the possibility of a decent sunset. I'm glad I grabbed my camera and headed out.