New Work – September 2013

By October 23, 2013January 12th, 2016New Work

During the last few months my photographic efforts have been limited so I have just a few images to include in this release. These new works arise from photography efforts at Guadalupe Island (Mexico), the White Mountains, Yosemite National Park, the Owens Valley, a blue moon evening along San Diego Bay and Palomar Mountain State Park. Many of these images were shot at dusk, dawn or at night. Partly this is due to a major shoulder overhaul in February that required me to take a year off of underwater-, backpacking-, wave– and other strenuous types of photography. This put me into “old man mode” and I was humbled into finding relatively sedentary photo pursuits. For the past several years, I have been building a portfolio of landscape astrophotography images for editorial and natural history licensing. So I decided to dedicate 2013 to more of this “landscape astrophotography” as it was easily tolerated by my mending bionics. (Landscape astrophotography consists of nothing more than hiking to a cool spot, waiting around for the sky to get dark, shooting a few photos and hanging out with friends, only to stumble back to the car in the dark and drink coffee on the drive back to the hotel as the sun rises.) August and September included a few such night photo outings that produced five of these favorite seven. Click on any one of them to see more. Cheers and thanks for looking!

Perseid Meteor Shower and Milky Way, Andromeda Galaxy and the Pleides Cluster, over Half Dome and Yosemite National Park, Glacier Point

Perseid Meteor Shower and Milky Way, Andromeda Galaxy and the Pleides Cluster, over Half Dome and Yosemite National Park
Image ID: 28746
Location: Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park, California, USA

The OVRO 40 meter Telescope, part of the Owens Valley Radio Observatory located near Big Pine, California, USA. The telescope is used to conduct interferometric observations along with the other telescopes in the observatory, as a Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) station and as a single dish instrument. Its main focus today is on the monitoring of blazars

The OVRO 40 meter Telescope, part of the Owens Valley Radio Observatory located near Big Pine, California, USA. The telescope is used to conduct interferometric observations along with the other telescopes in the observatory, as a Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) station and as a single dish instrument. Its main focus today is on the monitoring of blazars.
Image ID: 28796
Location: Big Pine, California, USA

Blue Moon, Full Moon at Sunset over San Diego City Skyline, approaching jet with headlights appearing in front of the moon

Blue Moon, Full Moon at Sunset over San Diego City Skyline, approaching jet with headlights appearing in front of the moon
Image ID: 28753
Location: San Diego, California, USA

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Tree at night, stars and the Milky Way galaxy visible in the evening sky, near Patriarch Grove, Pinus longaeva, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, Inyo National Forest

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Tree at night, stars and the Milky Way galaxy visible in the evening sky, near Patriarch Grove.
Image ID: 28782
Species: Ancient Bristlecone Pine, Pinus longaeva
Location: Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, Inyo National Forest, California, USA

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Tree at night, stars and the Milky Way galaxy visible in the evening sky, near Patriarch Grove, Pinus longaeva, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, Inyo National Forest

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Tree at night, stars and the Milky Way galaxy visible in the evening sky, near Patriarch Grove.
Image ID: 28786
Species: Ancient Bristlecone Pine, Pinus longaeva
Location: Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, Inyo National Forest, California, USA

Guadalupe Island at sunrise, panorama. Volcanic coastline south of Pilot Rock and Spanish Cove, near El Faro lighthouse, Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe)

Guadalupe Island at sunrise, panorama. Volcanic coastline south of Pilot Rock and Spanish Cove, near El Faro lighthouse.
Image ID: 28758
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico

Great white shark, research identification photograph.  A great white shark is countershaded, with a dark gray dorsal color and light gray to white underside, making it more difficult for the shark's prey to see it as approaches from above or below in the water column. The particular undulations of the countershading line along its side, where gray meets white, is unique to each shark and helps researchers to identify individual sharks in capture-recapture studies. Guadalupe Island is host to a relatively large population of great white sharks who, through a history of video and photographs showing their countershading lines, are the subject of an ongoing study of shark behaviour, migration and population size, Carcharodon carcharias, Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe)

Great white shark, research identification photograph. A great white shark is countershaded, with a dark gray dorsal color and light gray to white underside, making it more difficult for the shark’s prey to see it as approaches from above or below in the water column. The particular undulations of the countershading line along its side, where gray meets white, is unique to each shark and helps researchers to identify individual sharks in capture-recapture studies. Guadalupe Island is host to a relatively large population of great white sharks who, through a history of video and photographs showing their countershading lines, are the subject of an ongoing study of shark behaviour, migration and population size.
Image ID: 28765
Species: Great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico

About Phil Colla

I am a natural history photographer. I enjoy making compelling images in the ocean, on land, and in the air. I have maintained the Natural History Photography blog since 2005 and my searchable Natural History Photography Library since 1997. Here are some tear sheets and behind the scenes views. Thanks for looking!