All Posts By

Phil Colla

National ParksWyomingYellowstone

Madison River Coyote in Snow

I spotted this coyote (Canis latrans) before sunrise one morning along the Madison River on the western edge of Yellowstone National Park. I was looking for elk but the bulls with their harems were not out in the meadows, preferring the cover of the trees. This fellow caught my eye…
November 26, 2007
Photo of the Day

Photo of San Elijo Lagoon

We got out for a walk with the kids last weekend at San Elijo Lagoon. San Elijo Lagoon is one of my favorite places in North County. I have run there several days a week for about ten years, from the east end of the lagoon in Rancho Santa Fe…
November 25, 2007
CaliforniaCarlsbadPhoto of the Day

Surf Check

We went for a walk on the beach yesterday late afternoon, getting back to the car just before sundown. There were no good waves but the tide was out and the beach nearly deserted, so it was good to be there. The pullout just south of Palomar Airport Road almost…
November 22, 2007
National ParksWyomingYellowstone

Photo of Norris Geyser Basin

Norris Geyser Basin is one of the principal geothermal areas of Yellowstone National Park. Loaded with fumeroles, steaming hot springs, geysers and other generally hot-as-hell nasty holes in the ground, Norris Geyser Basin is best seen on a cool morning when it billows forth steam. The two photos below are…
November 7, 2007
National ParksWyomingYellowstone

Photo of a Coyote Hunting Voles

The meadows around Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park are a good place to look for coyotes (Canis latrans) hunting voles. This coyote was found working the tall grass. He would stalk quietly through the grass, stop and listen, poise, leap high and and drop on his prey. Brutally…
November 6, 2007
National ParksWyomingYellowstone

Coyote at Sheepeater Cliffs

I usually stop once or twice at Sheepeater Cliffs while in Yellowstone National Park, hoping to photograph the yellow-bellied marmots that are found there. This time I was disappointed: it was too late in the year and they had gone to ground for the winter, and I could not find…
November 5, 2007
National ParksStoriesWyomingYellowstone

Watching Wolves with Laurie Lyman

Update 12/28/07: Wow! This morning Laurie was pictured and quoted in an Associated Press article about the trend of people moving to western states such as Montana and Wyoming, appearing in newspapers throughout the United States. Our main motivation for visiting Yellowstone National Park this past October was to find…
November 4, 2007
National ParksWyomingYellowstone

Yellowstone Deer Photos

In October I was in Yellowstone National Park primarily to see and photograph the elk rut. However, my daughter's 3rd grade teacher now lives in Gardner, MT and spends her time studying the wolves, so I made a several drives up to the Lamar Valley to see her and check…
November 1, 2007
National ParksWyomingYellowstone

Snow, Grass and Fire Trees

Near the Lower Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park is a stand of fire-scorched trees, or "fire trees" as our younger daughter named them during her first visit to the park five years ago. The ground surrounding a section of these trees is often steaming, hinting at the subterranean warmth…
October 31, 2007
National ParksWyomingYellowstone

Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces and Dead Trees

We spent time checking out the travertine terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs, in the northwestern corner of Yellowstone National Park. Several thousand pounds of calcium carbonate, carried in solution from the hot springs that bubble up through thick limestone, are deposited onto the enormous terraces each day. As the terrace…
October 30, 2007
California

Plumes

Another interesting shot of the smoke plumes viewed from space. Look, there's Guadalupe Island down there too! No, I didn't take this photo. NASA did. They have better cameras than me.
October 24, 2007
CaliforniaSan DiegoSurf

Santa Anas — Good News, Bad News

Santa Anas whipped up strong yesterday, sending offshores out to meet the clean swells coming ashore. Every wave had a rainbow trailing it. Just as each wave was poised to break, the wind would rip the lip off with impressive sound, sending spray aloft only to fall back around me…
October 22, 2007
Surf

Cardiff Surf, Oct 21

Today things lined up in North County for some great surf. I got out shortly after the sun hit the water this morning in Cardiff. The sun was bright, the swell we've had for a few days was peaking, and we got the offshore winds that had the TV weatherman…
October 21, 2007
Photo of the Day

Photo of a Dolphin Jumping

Common dolphin leaping.Image ID: 19485Species: Common dolphin, Delphinus delphisLocation: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico This is a yet another photo of a common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), jumping alongside our liveaboard boat as we were making the one-day passage to Guadalupe Island.
September 25, 2007
Great White SharkGuadalupe IslandMexicoSharks

Shredder

This is "Shredder", aka "Scar", a great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) often seen at Guadalupe Island. In 2003 Shredder bit the anchor line of the Ocean Odyssey clean through, severing the boat from its anchor. He is named for his shredded dorsal fin. Shredder is about 13-14 feet long. Note…
September 22, 2007
Guadalupe IslandMexicoPanoramas

Guadalupe Island Panoramic Photo

I shot this panoramic photo, a series of six individual photographs, one morning last week, shortly after sunrise, from the upper deck of the boat Horizon. Guadalupe Island was covered in that great golden sunrise light that only lasts for a few minutes. The ocean surrounding the island was covered…
September 21, 2007
Surf

Ponto Sunrise Photos

Got to my favorite break at sunrise this morning. It was a short chance to cool off from the weird heat and humidity we've had. At 6:30 a mist was still hanging along the bluffs so that I could not see the sand from the water, just enough sun was…
September 3, 2007
Surf

Ponto Sunset Photos

Finally some surf and I am tied up at soccer games all weekend. I got a short chance to get in the water just before sunset Sunday evening. Click here are a few more. A green wave breaking, with sunset light filtering through.Image ID: 19395Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA Sunset…
September 2, 2007
LandscapeOregonPhoto of the Day

Derelict Pier Pilings in Astoria

Astoria, Oregon and the communities surrounding it, at the mouth of the Columbia River, have a long maritime history (since at least the time of Lewis and Clark). It seems like there are thousands of derelict, abandoned and decaying piers all over the place. Derelict pilings, remnants of long abandoned…
August 31, 2007
LandscapeOregonPanoramas

Columbia River Viewed From Vista House

Vista House was built in 1918 as a memorial to Oregon pioneers and as a comfort station for those traveling on the Historic Columbia River Highway. The octagonal stone structure towers 733 feet above the Columbia River and provides a spectacular view. Click it to see it larger, or see…
August 30, 2007
Panoramas

Lunar Eclipse Photo

I took some photos of the total lunar eclipse last night from my backyard. At the peak of the eclipse, when the moon was totally in the Earth's shadow, no direct sunlight reached the moon so it was lit only faintly by light refracting (bending) through the relatively thin layer…
August 28, 2007
CaliforniaPanoramas

Lake Tahoe Panoramic Photo

Last summer we went to Lake Tahoe for a wedding. Lake Tahoe in summer is beautiful. I found a turnout on the highway above Incline Village which offered this view. This is a panoramic photograph obtained by stitching 6 separate images together on the computer. If you like this you…
August 17, 2007
LandscapePanoramasWashington

Mount St. Helens Panoramic Photo

From the 2005 archives: I left Seattle in the late afternoon and began my speed run south, home to Carlsbad. I planned to stop at three spots: Mount St. Helens, Crater Lake and Oakland. I reached the Johnston Ridge viewpoint of Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument (say that three…
August 15, 2007
Photo of the Day

Le Barn Appetit, Seward, Alaska

Yvon van Driessche owns and runs Le Barn Appetit, a funky inn and delicious restaurant in Seward, Alaska. I was looking for a room in Seward and all the hotels I could find on the internet were full, but someone was kind enough to recommend Le Barn. Yup, its actually…
August 12, 2007