New Lens Tryout

I got a new lens!
It's a Canon 100mm f2.8 macro

So I took it out to try it out.
Didn't find much except for some flies, but they looked awesome!

Invasive Polka Dot Nudibranch

Last year my professor brought a nudibranch (sea slug) form his dive which is new to the Mediterranean. It was a Chromodoris annulata and it is originally from the Red Sea.
It was my job to document it. But I got some other cool pictures. This is one of them.

I've Got My Eyes On You

My mom was excited the other day when she came back from Ferzol.
She showed me that she found this Mediterranean Chameleon (Chameleo chameleon)

My brother and I both love reptiles so this little guy roams on the balcony.
I took this photo when it was hiding in the plant.

Photos from MENAXLDS 2013

As the only designer of MENAXLDS, I was also the only photographer of the event. These are from the best photos that I took that I personally like.

The Guardian of Jupiter

The Guardian of Jupiter on patrol
Photo taken in the Baalbeck ruins
Laudakia Stelio  Starred Agama

Pigeon on the Snow

It snowed and the only thing that could pass through my mind was... WHITE PIGEONS ON SNOW
My father has fan tailed pigeons on our roof. So I waited till the snow was removed from the mountains so I could make it home to take the photos.

Here is one of my favored photos.

The Day I got bit twice

I was walking home when I saw a snake go hide under a rock. So by my nature was to go and pick it up and carried it home. My brother and I petted and let it move from hand to hand. It did nothing!

So I took my camera to go take pictures of it in the wild. After the photos, I was trying to push it to wander off to nature. When I got my hand near, it lashed at me biting my palm. It was fine because it was small and its teeth were minute and the snake is non-venomous. But the better part gets when I got bit by the Nile Crocodile young in my cousin's pet shop...

Here is a photo of the snake

The Botanical Garden

As my last thing I wanted to do in Colombia was to take pictures of humming birds.
So my host mother took me to the Botanical Garden to see orchids (which are my favorite flowers) and to see humming birds.

It was a fruitful day, but I learned a valuable lesson. Taking pictures of humming birds is extremely difficult, more than you can imagine!

Here are of some of what I got that day.

Note: I really do miss my Host Mother, I hope to be able to go visit her again someday

Santander

While in Colombia, the IAESTE folks did a trip to Santander
I was capable of taking some good photos of some friends and some wildlife before I realized I committed the biggest mistake, forget the camera battery charger...
 

To anyone who has a camera: NEVER LEAVE ANYWHERE WITHOUT MAKING SURE YOU HAVE THE F'N CAMERA CHARGER!

A Trip to Medellin

I had the chance to go to Medellin with some friends I met in RIE
Medellin is nicknamed the city of forever spring!

It truly is spectacular from the nature to the wildlife that are actually coping nicely with the city.
Here are some photos of animals I found there

What I also found interesting was that there was a girl that was standing in front of us in the line to go to the butterfly cage, and I couldn't help but realize the tattoo on her back. It was of Arabic letters.
As I was standing there, I couldn't help but read the text. Everyone was looking at me trying to read the text with curiosity. After I finished reading, my friends asked what did the text mean. She said that it was her parents' names. I think it is a mix between Maghribi and Kufic scripture. I didn't want to break it to her that it is not clear. But hey, she doesn't know and she isn't alone. This shows that letters are truly symbols perceived by people differently, some as shapes others as a form of reading.

Last note: When I returned back to Bogota, I lost my luggage with a Taxi driver... It drove me crazy