Layers, Abstract Photo
Another abstract cloud photo. I like using a medium telephoto lens to isolate landscape elements, and patterns in clouds are no exception. This was probably shot with a 70-200 on Velvia film, vintage. Moments after the green flash, orange skies over La Jolla. Today’s abstract photo, #12 of 15.
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| Clouds and sunlight. La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 04818 Location: La Jolla, California, USA |
Pelican Entangled in Plastic Bag
View this blog entry in Google EarthLatitude: 32° 50' 59.96" N, Longitude: 117° 16' 12.25" W, Coord: 32.84999°, -117.27007°
Filed under: California, La Jolla, Pelican, Wildlife on 3/6/2009
Discarded plastics and styrofoam are destroying our environment. They wreak havoc especially hard on marine wildlife. I recently came across a textbook example of how such trash can injure and kill in the form of this unfortunate brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) which is entangled in what appears to be a plastic bag. I am reasonably certain it is the lightweight sort normally used at grocery stores. I have a good idea of how this predicament came to pass. Plastic bags blow in the wind until they reach the ocean, at which point they float. As these translucent bags drift along on ocean currents, they look like food to many marine animals. Pelicans typically dive from high in the air onto the prey, piercing the water like a spear. I think this pelican saw the plastic bag as it was foraging over the ocean, thought that the bag was some form of food, made a dive into the water and speared the bag with its beak. The pressure of the pelican driving into the water pushed the bag over the head and down the neck of the pelican, were it now sits like a deadly necklace. It appears that the pelican has, during its preening, bitten away quite a bit of the bag, and hopefully will make enough further progress on the bag that it eventually breaks free and the pelican is liberated. (I have a few other photos of marine animal entanglement, including a sea lion with monofiliment fishing line wrapped around its neck.)
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| A California brown pelican entangled in a plastic bag which is wrapped around its neck. This unfortunate pelican probably became entangled in the bag by mistaking the floating plastic for food and diving on it, spearing it in such a way that the bag has lodged around the pelican’s neck. Plastic bags kill and injure untold numbers of marine animals each year. La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 22562 Species: Pelecanus occidentalis Location: La Jolla, California, USA  View this Image in Google Earth! |
See more brown pelican photos as well as our Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla.
Pelicans in La Jolla
View this blog entry in Google EarthLatitude: 32° 50' 59.96" N, Longitude: 117° 16' 12.25" W, Coord: 32.84999°, -117.27007°
Filed under: California, La Jolla, Pelican, Wildlife on 2/28/2009
I went down to La Jolla this morning to see how many brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) are there. (The California race of brown pelicans has been experiencing a mysterious malady this year, with many pelicans being found weak and disoriented far away from their usual habitat.) I had not been down there since December. The plumage colors on the birds were much more vivid than I saw on my last visit in December, but there were very few pelicans flying about. Given that flight photo opportunities were hard to come by, I concentrated on portraits.
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| Brown pelican preening, cleaning its feathers after foraging on the ocean, with distinctive winter breeding plumage with distinctive dark brown nape, yellow head feathers and red gular throat pouch. La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 22527 Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus Location: La Jolla, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
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| Brown pelican portrait, displaying winter breeding plumage with distinctive dark brown nape, yellow head feathers and red gular throat pouch. La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 22529 Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus Location: La Jolla, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
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| Brown pelican portrait, displaying winter breeding plumage with distinctive dark brown nape, yellow head feathers and red gular throat pouch. La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 22532 Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus Location: La Jolla, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
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| La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 22542 Species: Larus occidentalis Location: La Jolla, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
See our Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla.
See more brown pelican photos.
San Clemente Island and Mount Soledad, La Jolla
View this blog entry in Google EarthLatitude: 32° 48' 18.36" N, Longitude: 117° 9' 13.75" W, Coord: 32.8051°, -117.15382°
Filed under: California, La Jolla on 2/11/2009
The sun had set and we were en route back to land the helicopter. Rather than spacing out as I am wont to do, for some reason I was paying attention and just happened to notice this juxtaposition of La Jolla’s Mount Soledad and distant San Clemente Island. I rattled off a bunch of frames, but since the light level was very low I had a tough time getting enough shutter speed to freeze the image in the copter. I ended up with one keeper:
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| Mount Soledad juxtaposed against a distant San Clemente Island at sunset. San Diego, California, USA. Image: 22316 Location: San Diego, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
See more of our San Diego Photos.
Children’s Pool, La Jolla
View this blog entry in Google EarthLatitude: 32° 50' 52.11" N, Longitude: 117° 16' 49.58" W, Coord: 32.84781°, -117.28044°
Filed under: California, La Jolla, San Diego on 1/30/2009
Children’s Pool, also known as Casa Cove, is a pretty contentious place these days. The Children’s Pool is a simple pocket cove protected by a manmade seawall. It has a fine sand beach, calm waters and fairly good snorkeling. And harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) are often found on the beach, which has a lot of people up in arms. Seal lovers want the beach managed for the welfare of the seals. Divers and swimmers are unwilling to give up access to the beach, and some even go so far as to support physical alteration of the beach and seawall in such a way that the seals will have no choice but to depart. Children’s Pool is often in the news these days, and there are a number of websites created by interests on both sides of the issue. We’ll see how it all gets resolved, if ever. I have a lot of nice photos of harbor seals taken at the Children’s Pool, and often receive questions from people about them and the seals. Four years ago I posted my personal feelings about the harbor seals at Children’s Pool and my feelings really have not changed since then.
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| The Children’s Pool in La Jolla, also known as Casa Cove, is a small pocket cove protected by a curving seawall, with the rocky coastline and cottages and homes of La Jolla seen behind it. La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 22302 Location: La Jolla, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
See more photos of San Diego
Scripps Pier, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
View this blog entry in Google EarthLatitude: 32° 51' 56.8" N, Longitude: 117° 15' 38.48" W, Coord: 32.86578°, -117.26069°
Filed under: California, La Jolla, San Diego on 1/29/2009
During the flight that Ron and I took from Del Mar to downtown, we flew over three piers. The first was Scripps Pier, the research pier that supports the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The original wooden Scripps Pier was built in 1915 and was replaced by the modern cement pier in 1988. On the hill behind the pier can be seen many of the buildings that make up Scripps Institute of Oceanography. To the left (north) is the southern edge of Black’s Beach, while if one walked along the beach to the right (south) one would come to La Jolla Shores Beach in a few minutes. When I was in grad school I worked in the Norpax building on the far left above the sandstone bluff.
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| SIO Pier. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography research pier is 1090 feet long and was built of reinforced concrete in 1988, replacing the original wooden pier built in 1915. The Scripps Pier is home to a variety of sensing equipment above and below water that collects various oceanographic data. The Scripps research diving facility is located at the foot of the pier. Fresh seawater is pumped from the pier to the many tanks and facilities of SIO, including the Birch Aquarium. The Scripps Pier is named in honor of Ellen Browning Scripps, the most significant donor and benefactor of the Institution. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 22293 Location: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
See more San Diego photos and photos of Scripps Pier.
Bear, Stuart Collection, UCSD
View this blog entry in Google EarthLatitude: 32° 52' 55.05" N, Longitude: 117° 14' 1.82" W, Coord: 32.88196°, -117.23384°
Filed under: California, La Jolla, Photo of the Day on 7/8/2008
Bear is one of the newer pieces in the Stuart Collection of Art at University of California, San Diego (alma mater).
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| Bear is another of the odd outdoor “art” pieces of the UCSD Stuart Collection. Created by Tim Hawkinson in 2001 of eight large stones, it sits in the courtyard of the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering. University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 20851 Location: University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
See Mobius Arch photos.
Speeding Cormorant
View this blog entry in Google EarthLatitude: 32° 51' 0.46" N, Longitude: 117° 16' 12.96" W, Coord: 32.850128°, -117.27027°
Filed under: California, La Jolla, Photo of the Day on 3/2/2008
This is a photograph of a cormorant speeding over the ocean, viewed from above. Taken in pre-dawn light, the slow shutter speed of the camera allowed the details of the bird and water to smear across the image.
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| Double-crested cormorants in flight at sunrise, long exposure produces a blurred motion. La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 20460 Species: Phalacrocorax auritus Location: La Jolla, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
Pregnant or Just Plain Fat?
View this blog entry in Google EarthLatitude: 32° 50' 51.61" N, Longitude: 117° 16' 42.57" W, Coord: 32.847672°, -117.27849°
Filed under: California, Harbor Seal, La Jolla, Photo of the Day, Wildlife on 2/27/2008
This looks to me like a very pregnant harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardsi). Its pupping season right now and I’m guessing that she (if she is indeed a she) is about to pop the pup. If in fact it’s really a he, then he’s a porker.
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| Pacific harbor seal. La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 20444 Species: Phoca vitulina richardsi Location: La Jolla, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
Asking someone if she is pregnant is never a good move.
Photo of a Brown Pelican Preening
View this blog entry in Google EarthLatitude: 32° 51' 0.75" N, Longitude: 117° 16' 13.01" W, Coord: 32.850211°, -117.27028°
Filed under: California, La Jolla, Pelican, Photo of the Day, Wildlife on 2/8/2008
Here is a California brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) preening. Using it’s long bill, the pelican spreads preen oil from its uropygial gland (near its tail) and spreads it over its wings and head. The preen oil helps to keep the feathers clean and dry. Check out the bird’s coloration, it is at the height of it’s breeding plumage with a bright red throat and chestnut brown hind neck.
See our Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla.
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| A brown pelican preening, reaching with its beak to the uropygial gland (preen gland) near the base of its tail. Preen oil from the uropygial gland is spread by the pelican\’s beak and back of its head to all other feathers on the pelican, helping to keep them water resistant and dry. Note adult winter breeding plumage in display, with brown neck, red gular throat pouch and yellow and white head. La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 20295 Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus Location: La Jolla, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
Abstract Water Photo
This abstract water photograph is a blurred time exposure of the ocean surface in La Jolla.
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| Abstract colors and water patterns on the ocean surface. Image: 20343 |
Photo of La Jolla Cove at Sunrise
View this blog entry in Google EarthLatitude: 32° 51' 0.46" N, Longitude: 117° 16' 12.96" W, Coord: 32.850128°, -117.27027°
Filed under: California, La Jolla, Photo of the Day, San Diego on 2/4/2008
Check out the deep pink skies, it was a super sunrise the morning I shot this. Probably due to smog or something. This is famous La Jolla Cove, one of the jewels of San Diego and home to good diving and snorkling, bird and whale watching, and rough-water swimming. It takes a really big swell to get the wave at La Jolla Cove to break, but when it does it is impressive. This day it was super flat. So dreamy.
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| La Jolla Cove meets the dawn with pink skies and a flat ocean. La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 20251 Location: La Jolla, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
Pelican Bluff at Sunrise
View this blog entry in Google EarthLatitude: 32° 51' 0.46" N, Longitude: 117° 16' 12.96" W, Coord: 32.850128°, -117.27027°
Filed under: California, La Jolla, Photo of the Day on 2/3/2008
This is the bluff on which the bird photographers take their photos of the California brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) in their breeding plumage. Note the distinct absence of photographers — this is unusual and due to the early hour (well before sunrise). I like to get to the bluff very early and watch the birds arrive. More pelicans and cormorants than are seen in this image will arrive soon, to warm themselves on the rocks when the sun hits, and photographers will likely follow. As I recall, on the morning this was taken I was the only person there for quite a while.
Check out our Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla.
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| Bluff and trees overlooking the ocean near La Jolla Cove, sunrise. La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 20249 Location: La Jolla, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
Photo of La Jolla Cave at Sunrise
View this blog entry in Google EarthLatitude: 32° 51' 0.46" N, Longitude: 117° 16' 12.96" W, Coord: 32.850128°, -117.27027°
Filed under: California, La Jolla, Photo of the Day on 2/2/2008
The biggest of the caves in La Jolla is seen here at sunrise. The other caves are around to the right. Atop this sandstone bluff are found many seabirds, particularly in winter when California brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) and cormorants can be seen here in their breeding plumage. Few birds appear in this image since this was taken in the cold hours before sunrise, but when the sun hits the bluff many more birds will arrive to warm themselves and preen throughout the morning.
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| A large natural sea cave lies below a sandstone bluff in La Jolla at sunrise with a pink sky, Black\’s Beach in the distant. La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 20250 Location: La Jolla, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
Photo of the La Jolla Cliffs at Sunrise
View this blog entry in Google EarthLatitude: 32° 51' 0.46" N, Longitude: 117° 16' 12.96" W, Coord: 32.850128°, -117.27027°
Filed under: California, La Jolla, Photo of the Day, San Diego on 2/1/2008
The La Jolla Cliffs early in the morning, under a pink sunrise. Marine Room restaurant is on the far left, and the famous caves are seen at the base of the cliffs. Check out the thousands of cormorants resting on the cliffs. They will eventually fly out to forage on the ocean, returning later in the morning.
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| La Jolla Cliffs overlook the ocean with thousands of cormorants, pelicans and gulls resting and preening on the sandstone cliffs. Sunrise with pink skies. La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 20254 Location: La Jolla, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
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| La Jolla Cliffs overlook the ocean with thousands of cormorants, pelicans and gulls resting and preening on the sandstone cliffs. La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 20256 Location: La Jolla, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
Photo of La Jolla Sea Lions
View this blog entry in Google EarthLatitude: 32° 51' 0.46" N, Longitude: 117° 16' 12.96" W, Coord: 32.850128°, -117.27027°
Filed under: California, La Jolla, Photo of the Day, Sea Lion, Wildlife on 1/23/2008
There is a big spawning aggregation of market squid assembled on the sand flats at about 60′ off of La Jolla Shores beach right now. As a consequence, many California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) are now in the area, feeding on the squid and hauling out on rocks to rest when not foraging. Here are a couple seen recently in La Jolla:
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| Sea lion portrait, hauled out on rocks beside the ocean. La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 20207 Species: Zalophus californianus Location: La Jolla, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
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| California sea lion, adult male. La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 20211 Species: Zalophus californianus Location: La Jolla, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
Photo of UCSD Library at Night
View this blog entry in Google EarthLatitude: 32° 52' 52.11" N, Longitude: 117° 14' 14.93" W, Coord: 32.881142°, -117.23748°
Filed under: California, La Jolla, Photo of the Day on 1/11/2008
This is Geisel Library, the central library at University of California, San Diego (alma mater). These two particular photos are composites, each consisting of three images with varying exposures, combined on the computer. Without using this approach, known as HDR (high dynamic range), the shadows would be totally black and the bright windows would be burnt out with no detail. In the full resolution versions I can make out individual books on the stacks in the top photo.
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| UCSD Library glows with light in this night time exposure (Geisel Library, UCSD Central Library). University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 20142 Location: University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
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| UCSD Library glows with light in this night time exposure (Geisel Library, UCSD Central Library). University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 20145 Location: University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
Photo of Geisel Library at Dusk
View this blog entry in Google EarthLatitude: 32° 52' 52.11" N, Longitude: 117° 14' 14.93" W, Coord: 32.881142°, -117.23748°
Filed under: California, La Jolla, Photo of the Day, San Diego on 1/10/2008
This is Geisel Library, the central library at University of California, San Diego (alma mater). Photos taken at dusk when the light emanating from the library are about equal with sunset. Since the light is balanced, a decent photograph can be achieved with just a single frame. Tomorrow I’ll post a few examples of composites.
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| UCSD Library glows at sunset (Geisel Library, UCSD Central Library). University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 14780 Location: University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
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| UCSD Library glows at sunset (Geisel Library, UCSD Central Library). University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 14777 Location: University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
The UCSD Library (Geisel Library, UCSD Central Library) at the University of California, San Diego. UCSD Library. La Jolla, California. On December 1, 1995 The University Library Building was renamed Geisel Library in honor of Audrey and Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) for the generous contributions they have made to the library and their devotion to improving literacy. In The Tower, Floors 4 through 8 house much of the Librarys collection and study space, while Floors 1 and 2 house service desks and staff work areas. The library, designed in the late 1960s by William Pereira, is an eight story, concrete structure sited at the head of a canyon near the center of the campus. The lower two stories form a pedestal for the six story, stepped tower that has become a visual symbol for UCSD.
More UCSD Library photos.
Photos of Sea Lions in La Jolla
View this blog entry in Google EarthLatitude: 32° 51' 0.46" N, Longitude: 117° 16' 12.96" W, Coord: 32.850128°, -117.27027°
Filed under: California, La Jolla, Photo of the Day, Sea Lion, Wildlife on 5/8/2007
La Jolla is well known for its population of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina richardsi), but it boasts California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) as well. When the movable feast of market squid (Loligo opalescens) arrives to lay its carpets of eggs on the edge of the undersea La Jolla Canyon, California sea lions as well as cormorants, sharks and rays arrive as well to eat the squid, which die after mating and laying eggs. These sea lions were perched on some rocks near the La Jolla Caves, sunning themselves between squid foraging sessions in February this year.
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| California sea lion, adult female. La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 18538 Species: Zalophus californianus Location: La Jolla, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
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| California sea lion, adult male. La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 18545 Species: Zalophus californianus Location: La Jolla, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
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| California sea lion, adult female. La Jolla, California, USA. Image: 18539 Species: Zalophus californianus Location: La Jolla, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
See also sea lion photos and harbor seal photos. If you were looking for La Jolla seals, try here instead.
Black’s Beach Sunset
View this blog entry in Google EarthLatitude: 32° 53' 41.84" N, Longitude: 117° 15' 7.75" W, Coord: 32.894958°, -117.25215°
Filed under: California, La Jolla, Photo of the Day, San Diego on 5/2/2007
Black’s Beach, famous for its isolation, surf and fashion sense, assumes a sublime evening glow. Viewed from top of the Indian Trail, north of the hang glider port. A bit of Torrey Pines golf course is visible in the upper right. The beach below was one of my favorite runs when we lived in Del Mar, and I still get down there a few times each year for a run and to check on the nudists.
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| Sandstone cliffs at Torrey Pines State Park, viewed from high above the Pacific Ocean near the Indian Trail. Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego, California, USA. Image: 14769 Location: Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
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Updated: November 20, 2009
