San Diego looking for photo and any Local Tips?

Go to Torrey Pines Park.there was a pair of falcons there.great sunset shots and the cliffs are cool as well.

might you be referring to Devil's Punchbowl just south of
Depot Bay, Oregon? The downtown part sounds like Otter Bay
a residential area where one parks while visiting that scenic wayside.
Hope to see you at the PSA Conference?

go to the wild animal park.

Oceanside has one of the most beautiful missions, and also has a long pier which is great if there is a sunset.

Driving south, lots of beaches of course, and when you get to San Diego there is Torrey Pines which has hiking trails with great views but there won't be much in bloom right now, but will have birds and other small animals.

Another good pier and beach in Pacific Beach area has some good photo ops, from this pier you can photograph surfers when the waves are good.

The embarcadero area of San Diego, which stretches along the downtown area, has many photo opportunities.

Go to Coronado for a wonderful old victorian hotel, the Hotel del Coronado.

Try the Little Italy area of San Diego, its near downtown, for wonderful colorful buildings. Go here in the late afternoon for the golden color of the setting sun. (Also find many great italian restaurants. )

Try the Old Town area of San Diego for old buildings, people in period costume on the weekends, stables and blacksmiths on the weekends, (Also find many great mexican restaurants in this area.)

And definitely go to Balboa Park, in the center of the city. Numerous gardens including lily pond and botanical building, buildings of spanish colonial design, and don't miss the Spanish Village area. This is best photographed in early morning and hope for an overcast sky. You'll find lots of color in buildings, floors, flowers and the whole setting.

And instead of the San Diego Zoo, try the Wild Animal Park which is north of the city.

Lots of fun stuff to do around here.
Have fun

I second the wild animal park, it was phenomenal. Owned by same ppl
as the zoo. Check their photo safari option. A little pricey but it
was a highlight of my trip.

Get a travel guide to the various beaches. Windandsea beach is
gorgeous and another beach further north has a group of sea lions you
can getvery close to near the beach.

San diego is one of those places I could go back to over and over, I
loved it when I went there a year or so ago.

The LaJolla area is a must see. Great beach scenes. Great rock
outcroppings along the beach, sea lions/seals etc...just a really cool

The Cabrillo National Monument area at sunset. La Jolla. Pt Loma Seafood for lunch.

http://www.meriyatrra.com/travel-blog/sa n-diego.html">San Diego

Make sure and get to the Zoo and Animal Park when they open. I am
always waiting at the gate and the first one in. By noon the light is bad
and the parks are swarming with people. The negative is that some of the
animals have grown use to the Zoo life and don't get up that early.
I would also spend a day or two in Mexico. You can ride the trolley and
walk across the border. Nice to just hae a lunch.

The wild animal park is excellent. If you go on the photo safari be sure to bring a wide angle lens with you. The animals come very close to the vehicle. If you have something like an 18-200mm lens be sure to bring it.

Good point. I used my 17-40L most of the time. While I did wish I didn't have to change lenses to get a little longer, I needed the wide angle prob 95% of thetime. When I was there I did the longest of the optionsand we got to feed giraffes and rhinos. The giraffes stick their head and those amazing tongues in the truck so at times even 17mm wasn't wide enough on a crop body. The rhinos are fed over the side and they are close enough that you half hand half drop the food into their mouth. They're all very friendly so no worries there.

Altho the giraffes can get a little frisky searching for food after it's run out.
:)

Just a quick note: Cabrillo National Monument opens at 9:00AM and closes at 5:00PM, so you can forget about sunrise and sunset shots there.

You have to drive through gated US Navy property to reach the park