Couple of years ago, in Bonn, feeling lonely in a strange city and also coping with a personal loss, I decided to go to the botanical garden.

I happened to find a corner seat - after my walk-with pretty flowers all around, bathed in the warm glow of sunset, reminding me how soothing nature is.

There were some people in the park, many whom I thought to be regulars, taking their walks, spending time together...

Lost in my thoughts, I happened to glance up to find a gentle pair of blue eyes smiling at me. There was this old man, stooped, with a walking stick, who stood by my seat and smiled at me.

Even to stop by me, interrupting his routine of slow steps must have cost him effort, because he was leaning on his cane, breathing with effort, but smiling.

...

Of late, there has been an increased activity of Hummingbirds in my patio garden. These birds have always captivated me, because they look so fragile, but possess brilliant, iridescent colors in plumage, not to mention the impressive wing beat.

I also read that the fastest recorded wing beat rate was about 80 per second, on a tiny (called Amethyst Woodstar) Hummingbird. Well, this makes for a challenge to photograph this bird - but I have seen some good pictures on DS and elsewhere.

I'm waiting to get my best picture so far, out of the many I have already shot, but not uploaded on DS yet. As for now, I'm starting to even identify the birds, based on some reading done online.

I also bought a bright red feeder from the pet store and fill it with nectar ...

I have always been fascinated by water, from the beautiful fragile dew drops caught in the early morning rays of the sun, to my early school science classes discovering the physical properties to the amazing power of crashing waves on rocky shores.

When I moved to beautiful San Diego recently, I think how lucky I'm to be placed so close to the Pacific, because my home town was also on the coast.

The beaches are a perfect place to practice photography- water, sand sun and even the moonlight cast amazing interplay of light, colors, contrasts and shadows.

My personal feeling is to enjoy the place first and then start looking out for photography.

The see and shoot approach doesn't work with me all times- most often I visit places without my camera, however tempting that maybe.

Once you are ...