El Dorado Park East, Long Beach

Nature is one of my best friends. I love being around nature. There is something about being away from people & traffic and just opening your mind to what God has to show you that makes you smile. I also have the good fortune of having good friends, too. My friend, Garth, graciously allowed me to borrow his 300mm f/2.8 for this weekend so I could test it out and do a bit of nature shooting. I have been in the market for a good piece of glass for a while, but spending $5,000 on a lens isn't really an option. Priority #1 is Baby Q and Momma Q.

I got home last night and had the opportunity to head right over to El Dorado and see what I could see. It's great when you have good equipment and can reach out and touch something. Here are some of my shots from last night. Some have been cropped, but not too much. Sharpening and a 20% color pop makes them stand out. Let me know what you think. Any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. They were all shot on shutter priority and completely manual focus. No AF because it doesn't compute with my camera. I have much to learn, but I don't think I did too bad with it.