http://www.oceanlight.com/log Nature Photography Blog by California photographer Phillip Colla. Natural history photography. Professional underwater, marine and wildlife stock photos. Sun, 21 Mar 2010 16:06:13 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I got out early this morning with Mike. We went looking for chocolate lilies. We got there at sunrise. It was warm and clear. We found a lot of lilies. They were so dark brown I am declaring them to be a new sub-species, or ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/in-search-of-chocolate-lilies.html Photos of California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) from past seasons. I am hoping we get some good displays this year! California poppies cover the hillsides in bright orange, just months after the area was devastated by wildfires. Image: 20497   Species: Eschscholzia californica California poppy plants viewed from the perspective of a ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/california-poppy-photos-eschscholzia-californica.html Journal: Right Whale Bay, South Georgia Island, January 6 Antarctic fur seal colony, on a sand beach alongside Right Whale Bay, with the mountains of South Georgia Island in the background, sunset. Image ID: 24315   Species: Antarctic Fur Seal, Arctocephalus gazella Location: Right Whale Bay, South Georgia Island  Upon reaching South Georgia Island ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/right-whale-bay-south-georgia-island.html Journal: Approaching South Georgia Island, January 6 Stern of the M/V Polar Star, foggy weather, sea birds flying in the wake of the ship, at sea. Image ID: 24137   Location: Southern Ocean  This was our third day sailing for South Georgia Island. We are fortunate to have had calm seas the entire ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/approaching-south-georgia-island.html -53.96060 -38.01267 It is uncommon for water to be flowing in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. At least, I have never seen it before. Sure, the washes are there for a reason: they channel rainwater that comes down the canyons out to the floor of the Anza-Borrego basin. But the ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/raging-waters-in-anza-borrego-desert-state-park.html Brittlebush at sunrise, dawn, springtime bloom, Palm Canyon, Anza Borrego Desert State Park. Image ID: 24301   Species: Brittlebush, Encelia farinosa Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Anza Borrego, California, USA  I made a sunrise visit to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, my first visit this spring. By 9am I had seen enough to ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/anza-borrego-desert-wildflower-update.html Journal: En Route to South Georgia Island, January 4-5 Sunset clouds create a colorful arch, spanning the heavens from horizon to horizon, over the open sea between the Falkland Islands and South Georgia Island. Image ID: 24073   It is a three day sail from the Falkland Islands to South Georgia Island. ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/en-route-to-south-georgia-island.html -52.55092 -48.87229 Journal: Steeple Jason Island, West Falklands, January 3 Steeple Jason, one of the Jason group of islands, is to be our only landing today. There has been quite a bit of anticipation for this visit. It is considered one of the major landings of the trip, the location of ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/steeple-jason-west-falklands.html -51.03544 -61.22915 Journal: Carcass Island, Falklands, January 2 Following our cloudy, drizzly, wet morning on the highlands of Westpoint Island, the weather transitioned to sunny, breezy and warm as the M/V Polar Star made its way to Carcass Island. I was curious about the ominous-sounding name, envisioning dead animals and stench. ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/carcass-island-falkland-islands.html -51.31144 -60.52234 Timelapse video of dusk and sunset at the Oceanside Pier, California, as tourists play on the beach and surf fish. Shot with a still camera, my lucky flipflops, and a pack of Altoids. Finished on our new iMac. Gotta love coastal Southern California. http://www.oceanlight.com/log/timelapse-movie-of-oceanside-pier-at-sunset.html A photo of a paraglider at sunset, viewed over the Pacific ocean from the Torrey Pines Gliderport in La Jolla, California. I shot this yesterday at sunset, wearing shorts, flip flops (my lucky pair!), and a t-shirt. Sorry Rest-Of-The-Country, you can have your Big Apple and Windy City ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/paragliding-torrey-pines-gliderport.html 32.889810 -117.251336 You know the feeling. That special iFeeling. You walk into the Apple Store and immediately have the joy. Oooh. Aaah. "How cool would it be to have one of those? Just think how my photography experience would improve with THAT! I know I could be ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/lost-my-apple-ginity.html Journal: Westpoint Island, Falklands, January 2 Morning finds us at Westpoint Island. We can only see about 200’ up into the rolling green hills; heavy cloud cover obscures everything above that. It looks wet in the hills. Our zodiac lands on a small boat ramp, one of the ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/westpoint-island-falkland-islands.html -51.34949 -60.71269 Journal: New Island, Falklands, January 1 Tall seacliffs overlook the southern Atlantic Ocean, a habitat on which albatross and penguin reside. Image ID: 23809   Location: New Island, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom Today is New Years Day, an appropos date on which to land at New Island in the Falklands, our first landing of ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/new-island-falkland-islands.html -51.69362 -61.26638 Our trip began with a two-night crossing from Ushuaia to the Falklands. During that middle day, as we sailed north-east though the Southern Ocean, we had some good bird watching, including albatrosses, prions (tiny little rocket birds I am not qualified to photograph), small petrels and the larger and ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/southern-giant-petrel-macronectes-giganteus-southern-ocean.html -53.80519 -63.75152 On a recent winter morning I found this adult California brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) displaying the species' characteristic winter breeding plumage (note the chestnut hindneck) posing nicely as the distant sky took on the pre-sunrise purple glow. This is basically straight out of the camera. I did ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/sunrise-pelican.html 32.85021 -117.27028 Garry McCarthy forwarded this link to me today, about the distress that many California brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) are in this winter: 14 recovering pelicans released along Calif. coast. It appears that this year's El Nino phenomenon is causing fish to be deeper in the ocean than normal, ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/california-pelican-with-identification-tag.html 32.85021 -117.27028 As we left Ushuaia and sailed down the Beagle Channel, one of the highlights was the sight of Cerro Cinco Hermanos (or Monte Cinco Hermanos, The Five Brothers, 1280m). Along with Monte Olivia, these rugged peaks rise high above Ushuaia but are often shrouded in clouds. We were ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/cerro-cinco-hermanos-the-five-brothers-tierra-del-fuego-argentina.html -54.81376 -68.28908 This morning I photographed brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) in La Jolla. I really don't need any more photos of pelicans but the setting is so beautiful that I keep returning. I've enjoyed these cliffs for 30 years. (We used to cliff dive off of them in ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/brown-pelicans.html 32.85021 -117.27028 We were scheduled to board the M/V Polar Star late in the day which gave us time to make a whirlwind tour of Tierra del Fuego National Park. We saw some forest, a couple of peat bogs, a beautiful lake and some of the rocky coastline along the Beagle ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/tierra-del-fuego-national-park-argentina.html -54.83015 -68.56322 I arrived in Ushuaia, Argentina with a couple of days to spare, to allow my luggage to catch up in case of delays. Where is Ushuaia, you say? It is a small but growing town at the southern tip of Argentina, situated on the archipelago of Tierra del ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/ushuaia-tierra-del-fuego-argentina.html -54.79011 -68.39065 During our crossing from Falklands to South Georgia Island we were treated to a magnificent sunset: Photographer takes picture of a spectacular sunset arch, spanning the heavens from horizon to horizon, over the open sea between the Falkland Islands and South Georgia Island. Image ID: 24096   Location: Southern Ocean View this Image ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/sunset-arch-southern-ocean.html One of the unexpected joys of the trip for me was the albatrosses. Before this trip, the only albatrosses I had seen were Waved Albatross in Galapagos (but only sitting on nests) and some distant albatrosses as we motored at sea to Guadalupe Island. Now that I have ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/black-browed-albatross-at-sunset.html [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="800" caption="Brash Ice, Antarctic Peninsula"][/caption] Following is what I took on my recent trip, along with comments about how useful it was and how I will change for my next trip. Yup, I took too much, but most people do and next time I'll have it dialed ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/photography-gear-for-antarctica-south-georgia-and-falklands.html Equipment List for Antarctica, South Georgia Island and the Falklands. This is what I used on my recent Antarctica, South Georgia and Falklands trip. Photo gear will be described tomorrow as that is a whole nuther issue. I'll take virtually the same gear next time, with one small alteration. ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/equipment-list-for-antarctica-south-georgia-and-falklands.html OK, I admit it, this post is really just an excuse to share a photo of myself. I get so few photos of me that when I receive one I like, its a big deal. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Photographing Adelie penguins at Paulet Island, Antarctic Peninsula, © Patrick ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/penguin-encounter-paulet-island-antarctic-peninsula.html I have just returned from a one-month trip during which I joined the most recent Cheesemans Ecology Safaris voyage to the Falklands, South Georgia Island and the Antarctic Peninsula. This was one of the few trips I have experienced that can honestly be called an "expedition". There are ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/cheesemans-antarctica-falklands-and-south-georgia.html After spending a long day ashore on Paulet Island in the northern reaches of the Antarctic Peninsula, the captain took us on a sunset cruise through some nearby waters. Most of the guests were outside enjoying the mirror-flat waters and moody light. We passed one of the most ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/sunset-cruise-through-antarctic-ice.html I have moved. My new address and phone number are: Phillip Colla Photography 8021 Paseo Arrayan Carlsbad, CA 92009 USA Phone: (760) 652-5350 Email remains the same: oceanlight@oceanlight.com http://www.oceanlight.com/log/moving-day.html The National Wildlife photo contest is the only one of the "big three"** in which I have not had any luck -- until now. After taking a hiatus from contests for about 8 years, something possessed me to enter this year. Lo-and-behold the image below caught the ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/national-wildlife-photo-contest.html Santa Barbara Island Sea Lions Santa Barbara Island, part of Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, is home to a large population of California sea lions (Zalophus californianus). Since Santa Barbara Island lies only 38 miles off the coast of Southern California, it is possible to visit the island by boat ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/sea-lions-of-santa-barbara-island.html 33.48418 -119.04530 The Red gorgonian (Lophogorgia chilensis) is my favorite species of sea fan. I got some nice shots of red gorgonians at San Clemente Island a few weeks ago. Like the golden gorgonion alongside which it is commonly found, the elegant red gorgonian is a colonial invertebrate that grows ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/red-gorgonian-lophogorgia-chilensis.html 32.81501 -118.35828 The California golden gorgonian (Muricea californica) is a common gorgonian species in southern California. It is typically found growing on rocky reefs from 40' to 200' deep. The California golden gorgonian is a colonial organism composed of thousands of individual polyps, each of which secretes calcium to form ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/california-golden-gorgonian-muricea-californica.html After a hiatus of almost four years away from the SCUBA gear, I decided to take a 3-day dive trip on my favorite vessel, the dive boat Horizon out of San Diego, for some diving at Catalina Island, Santa Barbara Island, and San Clemente Island. I got my regulator ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/back-in-the-saddle.html Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is important for photographers. With the growing number of photographer websites on the internet, it is increasingly difficult for a photographer's website to be noticed by photo buyers who rely on search results. Good positioning in search engine results translates into revenue. Here ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/seo-for-photographers-search-engine-optimization.html by Phillip Colla and Harrison "Skip" Stubbs, Ph.D. This post was originally published in Ocean Realm Magazine in the Spring 1997 issue, one of a series of articles I contributed to Ocean Realm in the '90s. In August 1995 a thirteen-member inter-agency scientific team of which Skip and I were ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/rose-atoll-a-world-treasure-in-peril.html -14.5469444444 -168.144 Kelp forest underwater photography. This story was originally published as a pictorial in Ocean Realm Magazine in the Spring 2001 issue, the last of a series of articles I contributed to Ocean Realm in the '90s. As he has with all of my past articles, Skip Stubbs critiqued ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/kelp-forest-reminiscing.html My friend and diving partner Skip Stubbs was doing a little diving in the Sea of Cortez with a group of long-time diving friends. Skip shoots primarily video, but on his trips he always takes some time out to shoot a few still photos with his Canon G10. ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/skip-stubbs-in-the-sea-of-cortez-2009.html Humpback whale underwater photography. Originally titled "Heat Run", this appeared in Ocean Realm Magazine in April 1995, the first of a series of articles I contributed to Ocean Realm in the '90s. Each winter North Pacific humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) converge on Hawaii to calve, form consort pairs and eventually ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/heat-run.html My kelp forest stock photos appear on Oceanlight.com in addition to the kelp forest pictures I have on Photoshelter: Kelp Forest Pictures, Macrocystis pyrifera - Images by Phillip Colla If you cannot see the slideshow above, see this kelp forest photo slideshow on Photoshelter! Keywords: giant kelp, macrocystis pyrifera, kelp forest, underwater photo, ... http://www.oceanlight.com/log/kelp-forest-pictures.html