Natural Born Images

Photographer, hiker and all around nature lover. Owner of Natural Born Images & Foxy Functional Photo http://etsy.me/1F6uZMG http://etsy.me/1KdM0sx http://bit.ly/1QwUeA6

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New Post has been published on http://sammyphoto.com/photo/nature/monarch-butterflies/

Monarch butterflies

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I was just looking back at a shoot from last October at my favorite botanical garden. This year Monarch butterflies had a late migrating season and were still around southern California into late October early December.

Title: Monarchs at the garden Location: Carpinteria, California Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

This Monarch is hiding in this purple flowering bush, but he could not hid from me and my camera.

Title: Purple flowers and a Monarch Location: Carpinteria, California Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

Title: Monarch pollinating purple wild flower Location: Carpinteria, California Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

Title: Resting Monarch butterfly Location: Carpinteria, California Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

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New Post has been published on http://sammyphoto.com/food-2/dragon-fruit-smoothie-bowl/

Dragon fruit smoothie bowl

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This dragon fruit smoothie bowl was so good I had to share the recipe with all of you! Instructions on how to make overnight chia seed oatmeal are in THIS BLOG POST.

Recipe- Smoothie 1/2 cup coconut water Fresh blackberries 1 Medjool Date Half a fresh banana 3 Strawberries 1/2 cup frozen dragon fruit 1/2 cup frozen strawberries & Banana 2 Ice cubes Mix all of that together in a powerful blender on a high setting like “smoothie” or “ice crush” until it’s completely blended together. Next add 2 scoops of Organic greek yogurt into the blender and mix on a low setting.

Now we are gonna put the smoothie bowl together. Put a few scoops of your overnight chia seed oatmeal into a bowl, then pour the finish smoothie over the oats.

Now we are going to get the toppings ready, cut up the fruits and pick out your superfood toppings. I really love getting creative with my toppings… making the bowl look beautiful is part of the fun. Toppings- Almonds Coconut flakes Hemp seed Flax seed Buckwheat groats Chia seed Blueberry Strawberry Raspberry Banana Granola Golden raisins Goji Berries Medjool Dates

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New Post has been published on http://sammyphoto.com/photo/eager-honey-bees/

Eager Honey Bees

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I went to the Carpinteria garden recently and found an unusual amount of honey bees hanging around the garden, this gave me the opportunity to capture a bunch of bees up-close including this little guy.

Title: Eager bee Location: Carpinteria, California Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8 4x diopter

This honey bee was busy pollination this white rose flower long enough for me to get a really good shot of him.

Title: Honey Bee and white flower Location: Carpinteria, California Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8 4x diopter

This photo is so up-close you can see the little pollen sacs on the honey bees legs. The pollen sacs are an important part of the pollination process. When the bee flies away, it carries the sac to other flowers, allowing pollen to fall out of the sacs and onto the flower.

Title: Honey Bee pollination Location: Carpinteria, California Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8 4x diopter

The best part of visiting this botanical garden is all the different variety of exotic flowers that attracts lots of different wildlife such as these honey bees.

Title: Honey Bee on a purple blue-eyed daisy Location: Carpinteria, California Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8 4x diopter

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New Post has been published on http://sammyphoto.com/food-2/mango-strawberry-banana-smoothie-bowl/

Mango, Strawberry & Banana Smoothie Bowl

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A few months ago I made a big lifestyle change and decided to get super healthy! Eating a healthy lunch every day was my first step so I started looking into healthy and yummy lunch options when I found a blog all about making smoothie bowls with superfoods. After my first smoothie bowl I was hooked, now I want to share my creative lunch recipes with other people.

Recipe- Chia Seed Overnight Oatmeal 1 Cup old fashioned oats 2 Tablespoons Chia Seed 1/2 Cup Coconut Water 1/2 Cup milk, could use coconut milk, almond or soy milk Mix it all & Refrigerate overnight

Recipe- Smoothie 1/2 cup coconut water Fresh mango slice Half a fresh banana 3 Strawberries 6 rainbow carrots 1/2 cup frozen mango chunks 1/2 cup frozen strawberries & Banana 2 Ice cubes Mix all of that together in a powerful blender on a high setting like “smoothie” or “ice crush” until it’s completely blended together. Next add 2 scoops of Organic greek yogurt into the blender and mix on a low setting.

Now we are gonna put the smoothie bowl together. Put a few scoops of your overnight chia seed oatmeal into a bowl, then pour the finish smoothie over the oats.

Now we are going to get the toppings ready, cut up the fruits and pick out your superfood toppings. I enjoy making my smoothies bowls look as good as they taste. Toppings- Almond slices Coconut flakes Hemp seed Flax seed Sunflower seed Chia seed Blueberry Strawberry Raspberry Banana Medjool Dates

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New Post has been published on http://sammyphoto.com/drawings/pen-and-ink-doodles/

Pen and ink doodles

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I’m super excited to announce my new shop on Amazon Handmade. I have been hard at work making lots of new drawings, photographs and handmade jewelry.Here are a few of my favorite mandala drawings up in my new shop.

Title: Cat mandala

Title: Deer head

Title: Giraffe

Title: Lion

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New Post has been published on http://sammyphoto.com/drawings/mandala-drawings/

Mandala drawings

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I recently started drawing mandalas with micron pens on premium sketch paper. I started doing it as a way to relax and clear my mind from the normal stresses of the day. My drawings started to really improve with practice so I started posting progress pics on my instagram and other people really enjoyed them.

Title: California Bear

Title: Elephant

Title: Lovebirds

Title: Talking lovers

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New Post has been published on http://sammyphoto.com/photo/a-walk-in-the-new-jersey-woods/

A walk in the New Jersey woods

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I love exploring different regions and finding what’s on the ground. In this case, it was the woods of New Jersey and I found such amazing mushrooms like this one.

Title: Broken mushroom Location: Edison, New Jersey Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

Even morbid subjects can be beautiful, as this skull shows that nature can be quite beautiful in it’s own way.

Title: Fish skull Location: Edison, New Jersey Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

A very unique mushroom.

Title: Mushroom on a log Location: Edison, New Jersey Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

There’s always little pieces of grassy moss poking through the strangest places.

Title: Green grassy moss Location: Edison, New Jersey Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

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New Post has been published on http://sammyphoto.com/photo/cityscapes-of-new-york-city/

Cityscapes of New York city

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They call New York the concrete jungle for a reason, it has many buildings that offer beautiful sky lines.

Title: Concrete jungle Location: New York city, New York Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

A slightly cloudy day made for better photos, and nicer weather since it was quite warm.

Title: Summer in the city Location: New York city, New York Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

The center of attention is the new World Trade Center, which stands quite tall among the towering skyscrapers of the financial district.

Title: Towering skyscrapers Location: New York city, New York Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

The dark clouds are really rolling in now, but it felt quite nice.

Title: Dark cityscape Location: New York city, New York Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

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New Post has been published on http://sammyphoto.com/photo/a-day-at-point-pleasant-beach/

A day at Point Pleasant beach

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These pictures were taken in New Jersey right before summer started, and it was quite windy!

Title: Point pleasant beach Location: Point Pleasant, New Jersey Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

In the background you can spot a colorful palm tree which is part of the summer tradition of the Jersey shore.

Title: Jersey shore Location: Point Pleasant, New Jersey Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

Part of the boardwalk on the Jersey shore, which has a storied history and has seen over a million feet.

Title: Point pleasant boardwalk Location: Point Pleasant, New Jersey Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

Don’t rub your eyes, these are real palm trees in the north east. They must be a special kind.

Title: Palm trees in New Jersey Location: Point Pleasant, New Jersey Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

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New Post has been published on http://sammyphoto.com/photo/nature/summer-garden/

Summer garden

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It’s been awhile since we’ve seen some pink flowers, so I think it’s about time we appreciate the pink colors of this world.

Title: Peach Blossom in bloom Location: Ventura, California Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

A great example of pink and purple mixing well together.

Title: Erodium cheilanthifolium Heronsbill Location: Ventura, California Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

Pink and white is also a great combination, and these anthers make it seem like the flowers are dancing.

Title: Peach Blossom flowers Location: Ventura, California Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

A surprise orange flower that pops out like none other.

Title: Bright orange California poppy Location: Ventura, California Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

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New Post has been published on http://sammyphoto.com/photo/plant-life-up-close/

Plant life up close

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Flower macros give us a view we rarely get to see, which is the inner workings.

Title: Pear blossom flower bud Location: Ventura, California Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

What looks like spray paint on this green plant is actually the natural coating it has. It’s amazing how many patterns nature can come up with.

Title: Plant on the beach Location: Ventura, California Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

Red is such a vibrant color that it can immediately catch the eye. Did it work for you?

Title: Abstract rose petals Location: Ventura, California Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

I love this Lampranthus flower with it’s unique colors like sun fire yellow and light purple, which both compliment each other.

Title: Lampranthus in bloom Location: Ventura, California Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

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New Post has been published on http://sammyphoto.com/photo/pacific-coast-sea-life/

Pacific coast sea life

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It’s time for more macro pictures of the beach, showing every grain of sand and every detail on this lonely sea shell.

Title: Tan seashell Location: Ventura, California Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

This lady bug was climbing on the rock ever so gently, giving me enough time to capture it perfectly.

Title: little lady bug Location: Ventura, California Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

I’m not quite sure what this was, but it definitely looks interesting and shows that nature can intertwine itself with anything.

Title: Strange sea life Location: Ventura, California Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

Sea weed bulbs are interesting to look at up-close, they look like they will pop at any moment!

Title: pacific seaweed Location: Ventura, California Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

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New Post has been published on http://sammyphoto.com/photo/cute-cat/

Cute cat

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I took a little break from blogging for a few weeks. I’m back and have lots of new awesome photos to share with all of you. I have not shared any pictures of my cat in a while… so enjoy!

Title: Sleepy kitty Location: Ventura, California Camera: NIKON D80 Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8

Title: Fluffy cat

Title: Cat yawn

Title: Green eyes

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This square photo pendant necklace is handmade by me, using original photography printed on high quality paper and sealed in resin.

➽ Buy this photo necklace HERE ❤Sammy

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GICLEE photographic Print, wall art for your home.

➽ Buy a print of this photograph HERE ❤Sammy

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This tote bag is made using original photography printed on high quality poly poplin fabric. This photography tote bag is suitable for many different daily uses such as the beach, grocery shopping, diaper tote, book bag or your daily carrying device.

➽ Buy this tote bag HERE ❤Sammy

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This long natural bridge is the most notable natural feature of Anacapa Island off the coast of California. If you are looking for Nautical home decor you found the right print!

➽ Buy a print of this photograph HERE ❤Sammy