Great Reno Balloon Race 2002
Disneyland '02
San Diego Wild Animal Park
San Diego Zoo
Sea World (San Diego)
Fort Churchill (Civil War Reenactment)
Governor's Mansion
Great Reno Balloon Race 2001
Monterey Peninsula
Zion National Park
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I couldn't get my beautiful (but timid) wife to get aggressive enough to pet the dolphins, although she did pick up a starfish. SeaWorld0023.jpg (34715 bytes)SeaWorld0021.jpg (67622 bytes)SeaWorld0040.jpg (78186 bytes)
I took these shots of the moral eels both by natural as well as flash.  Can you tell which is which? SeaWorld0032.jpg (75835 bytes)SeaWorld0034.jpg (61720 bytes)SeaWorld0037.jpg (47863 bytes)
This was the first time I had tried flash in an aquarium and it worked well.  I was handholding the flash off to one side and triggering it with the ST-E2. SeaWorld0043.jpg (31906 bytes)SeaWorld0044.jpg (30229 bytes)SeaWorld0047.jpg (37761 bytes)
Obviously you have to watch for reflections, but I held the flash at an angle.  And, of course, the digital review helped me greatly. SeaWorld0048.jpg (19879 bytes)SeaWorld0049.jpg (20605 bytes)SeaWorld0051.jpg (52874 bytes)
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I love sea turtles, and the SeaWorld exhibit provided good photo opportunities. SeaWorld0064.jpg (44651 bytes)SeaWorld0075.jpg (57048 bytes)SeaWorld0072.jpg (54277 bytes)
The red bird is part of the park -- the heron is an interloper.  They come right down for the seal and sea lion feeding, aggressively taking the fish right out of your hand (so it's easy to get pictures of them).  The one on the right was about 12 inches away from me (and wouldn't budge). SeaWorld0078.jpg (52832 bytes)SeaWorld0079.jpg (26605 bytes)SeaWorld0080.jpg (24690 bytes)
The noisy sea lions begged shamelessly for the fish. SeaWorld0086.jpg (37812 bytes)SeaWorld0084.jpg (40381 bytes)SeaWorld0082.jpg (40482 bytes)
Although they photographed better, I didn't like the sea lions as much as I liked the quiet seals, who sat there patiently waiting to be fed. SeaWorld0087.jpg (25727 bytes)SeaWorld0092.jpg (32898 bytes)SeaWorld0097.jpg (45101 bytes)
I included these shots, even though they're terrible, to show how hard it is to get a good shark picture.  They swim deep in the tank where the flash doesn't go, and move so fast it's hard to get a good focus lock. SeaWorld0103.jpg (15801 bytes)SeaWorld0107.jpg (33017 bytes)SeaWorld0109.jpg (11182 bytes)
The best shot I could get of the manatee (in his flash killing curved glass enclosure) was the stone one my wife posed with. SeaWorld0111.jpg (45347 bytes)SeaWorld0112.jpg (27839 bytes)
The turtle mating shot is actually not the shot it could have been -- I should have framed it lower so you could see the reflections (but I didn't notice it at that time).  Mudskippers are far right. SeaWorld0113.jpg (36380 bytes)SeaWorld0114.jpg (28348 bytes)
One thing I sure learned from these shows -- see them first, then photograph them. SeaWorld0119.jpg (77905 bytes)SeaWorld0127.jpg (55422 bytes)SeaWorld0123.jpg (56403 bytes)
We didn't have time to do it again, but next time I'll have a good idea what's going to happen and then be able to anticipate better. SeaWorld0138.jpg (53684 bytes)SeaWorld0142.jpg (67564 bytes)SeaWorld0146.jpg (59766 bytes)
The corporate symbol of SeaWorld's new owners. SeaWorld0154.jpg (84599 bytes)SeaWorld0155.jpg (74852 bytes)
Lessons Learned: SeaWorld was very touristy after having gone to the Zoo and Wild Animal Park.  Yet I got some of the best images there, due to the fact it was overcast much of the day, and a lot of the exhibits were indoors (so I used flash).

It's not a match for a good aquarium, but if you're in the area it's a lot of fun and offers some things (like dolphin encounters and the sea turtles) that aquariums don't.

 

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