Instagram - Natural History Photography

philcolla

Double-crested cormorant, La Jolla.

Double-crested cormorant, La Jolla.

Blue whale shot, circa mid 90s, Nikonos 15mm and K

Blue whale shot, circa mid 90s, Nikonos 15mm and K64 film.

Gull top shot, La Jolla

Gull top shot, La Jolla

Two’s company, 22’s a crowd

Two’s company, 22’s a crowd

Skypointing cormorant

Skypointing cormorant

Warm morning light on sea lions.

Warm morning light on sea lions.

Courting grebes, walking on water.

Courting grebes, walking on water.

Full moon rising over University of San Diego

Full moon rising over University of San Diego

Double-crested cormorant portrait, La Jolla

Double-crested cormorant portrait, La Jolla

Portraiture. Sunny and warm at the shore now that

Portraiture. Sunny and warm at the shore now that the pesky rain has gone away.

There were cool high cirrus clouds all afternoon s

There were cool high cirrus clouds all afternoon so I took a Terramar beach walk to stretch the legs and enjoy the sunset before the next front comes through tomorrow bringing 1" of rain, because in Southern California we shut down harder than a Richter 7 quake when more than a 1/4" of moisture occurs. A crop circle guy had scrawled two of his awesome artworks on the beach today.

Every winter I reshoot my favorite city skyline vi

Every winter I reshoot my favorite city skyline views, so I have fresh stuff for the real estate agents that want to pay me the big $$$. This is one of my favorite spots. Canon R5 and 200-400 is a potent setup to shoot these long range cityscapes, super sharp and clean, more than any other camera/lens setup I have used so far.

Strikingly different neck plumage, otherwise same

Strikingly different neck plumage, otherwise same place same time both adults

A few flight shots from this morning, the birds wa

A few flight shots from this morning, the birds waves and wind were great.

Depths of winter on San Diego’s Gold Coast. Brrr

Depths of winter on San Diego’s Gold Coast. Brrr.

A look back at 2020, new retrospective post link i

A look back at 2020, new retrospective post link in my bio

Full moon and Christmas tree on Scripps Pier

Full moon and Christmas tree on Scripps Pier

Instagram post 17880986146977266

Instagram post 17880986146977266

Slippery when wet.

Slippery when wet.

Sea lion and spray, La Jolla

Sea lion and spray, La Jolla

Terramar this evening. I love North County’s fla

Terramar this evening. I love North County’s flat beaches, at low tide its like a mirror.

Torrey Pines view south to La Jolla, early morning

Torrey Pines view south to La Jolla, early morning

Superfly loves looking at our local reefs when we

Superfly loves looking at our local reefs when we have such huge tide swings. It's like X-ray vision only for the ocean. All the harbor seals were laying out on the reef flats in the sun like hotdogs.

My recent efforts photographing sea lions have bee

My recent efforts photographing sea lions have been almost exclusively at the waters edge. Naturally most of my shots are strewn with bubbles but I am hoping for one or two where the bubbles add to the story rather than obscure the subject. The keeper ratio is way way down this year as a result :) Bubbles are the new Backscatter.

Reef Structure, La Jolla

Reef Structure, La Jolla

- Because I was inverted. - (cough) Bullshit. - No

- Because I was inverted.
- (cough) Bullshit.
- No, he was, man. It was a really great move. He was inverted.

You there ... fetch me my sea cucumber

You there ... fetch me my sea cucumber

El Capitan reflected in still Merced River

El Capitan reflected in still Merced River

Black Oaks in fall, Yosemite National Park

Black Oaks in fall, Yosemite National Park

A path in the woods

A path in the woods

More Yellow Mellow

More Yellow Mellow

Japanese Olympic medalist Mikako Kotani and spotte

Japanese Olympic medalist Mikako Kotani and spotted dolphins, Bahamas, mid-90s.

El Capitan in #Yosemite before and during the #Cre

El Capitan in #Yosemite before and during the #CreekFire

Oil rig details

Oil rig details

Sand Harbor, NV

Sand Harbor, NV

Second breakfast? Always.

Second breakfast? Always.

Cathedral Lakes late afternoon yesterday, this was

Cathedral Lakes late afternoon yesterday, this was my spot to rest my legs and cook my freeze dried dinner (gross) before hiking back to my car at dusk. I did not see a single person on my return hike, crazy empty for Yosemite.

New blog post: “So you want to dive with Steller

New blog post: “So you want to dive with Steller Sea Lions? This is what you have to look forward To” see link in bio. #canada #britishcolumbia #underwaterphotograpy #sealion

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