California

Birds California San Diego

Avian Surfer, Black Skimmer, San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge

This black skimmer (Rynchops niger) was photographed in the San Diego Bay. Black skimmer forages by flying over shallow water with its lower mandible dipping below the surface for small fish.Image ID: 17419Species: Black skimmer, Rynchops nigerLocation: San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge, California, USA

Phil CollaSeptember 16, 2006

California Pelicans of La Jolla Seabird Wildlife

Brown Pelican Photo

See my Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla. This brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) is coming in for a landing on the cliffs of La Jolla, California, just after sunrise: Brown pelican in flight. The wingspan of the brown pelican is over 7 feet wide. The California race of…

Phil CollaSeptember 8, 2006

Carlsbad

Fireworks at the Aviara Four Seasons

Happy 4th of July! The Aviara Four Seasons Hotel in South Carlsbad, just around the corner from our house, shoots off 4th of July fireworks each year. Sarah and I set up the lawn chairs on the edge of the 17th fairway at 9pm tonight to check it out --…

Phil CollaJuly 3, 2006

Blue Whale California San Diego Wildlife

Photo of a Blue Whale Fluke

Check out the fluke on this blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) , fringed with barnacles and sporting what is almost certainly an orca bite on the left lobe: See also whale fluke photos.

Phil CollaJuly 2, 2006

Blue Whale California Wildlife

Summer Is Here Now

Summer has not officially started until I have seen a blue whale. My first blue whale photo of 2006: I got out recently with Mike Johnson and we saw a few blue whales.

Phil CollaJune 22, 2006

California Landscape National Parks Sierra Nevada Yosemite

Photo of Nevada Falls, Yosemite National Park

Nevada Falls is one of Yosemite's most spectacular waterfalls but is only reached with some effort. A 3.5 mile hike (one-way) up the Mist Trail, which includes a good soaking while passing by Vernal Falls along the way, is required to reach the summit of Nevada Falls, including 1900' of…

Phil CollaMay 19, 2006

California Landscape National Parks Sierra Nevada Yosemite

Bridalveil Falls Rainbow

During spring months with heavy water flow, it is easy to see a rainbow in Bridalveil Falls: just visit the falls a short while before sunset and watch as the colors climb up the plummeting water as the sun sinks behind you. Bridalveil Falls with a rainbow forming in its…

Phil CollaMay 18, 2006

Astrophotography and Night Scapes California Landscape National Parks Sierra Nevada Yosemite

Yosemite Falls Lunar Rainbow

After getting word that the waterfalls in Yosemite are pouring at ginormous levels right now (due to a timely combination of last winter's deep snowpack and recent warm weather), I blasted up to Yosemite Valley for a quickie. Indeed, all the falls were huge. As I drove into the Valley…

Phil CollaMay 15, 2006

California Landscape National Parks Sierra Nevada Yosemite

Photo of Fern Springs, Yosemite National Park

Fern Springs, near the entrance to Yosemite Valley, is a quietly running spring that crosses below the road and enters the Merced River. The small cascades offer a change of composition to the photographer looking for something to focus on aside from the towering granite walls and thundering waterfalls for…

Phil CollaMay 5, 2006

Birds California Seabird Wildlife

Western Gull, Larus occidentalis

The Western gull, Larus occidentalis, is a large white-headed gull common along the western coast of North America. The Western gull ranges from British Columbia to Baja California. It is exclusively marine, and nests on offshore rocks and islands. While offshore it feeds on fishes and invertebrates that it can…

Phil CollaApril 18, 2006

California National Parks Sierra Nevada Yosemite

Photos of Bridalveil Falls, Yosemite National Park

Bridalveil Falls is a classic example of a "hanging valley". Two million years ago it was a stream flowing through a canyon that intersected Yosemite Valley. Over time glaciers carved away the intersection, leaving Bridalveil's canyon "hanging" above the valley and turning the stream into falls that plunge 620 feet…

Phil CollaApril 2, 2006

Beautiful Views of San Diego California San Diego

Between Showers

Downtown San Diego viewed from Point Loma. A storm system passed through Southern California last weekend dumping rain, hail and snow. However, the sun was able to peek through the clouds for a moment at sunset, lighting up the San Diego skyline while the surrounding harbor and mountains in the…

Phil CollaMarch 13, 2006

California Death Valley Desert National Parks

Photo of Devil’s Golf Course, Death Valley National Park

The Devil's Golf Course is a curious assemblage of crystalline salt shapes spread over a large swath of the Death Valley salt pan. This saltpan, which is the lowest point in Death Valley National Park, and indeed the western hemisphere, holds a small amount of subsurface moisture. This water is…

Phil CollaMarch 6, 2006

California Death Valley Desert National Parks

Photo of Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park

Zabriskie Point in Death Valley offers a great view from the Funeral Mountains, across curious gullies of sedimentary rock and packed mud that comprise the badlands below Zabriskie Point, to the floor of salt-pan floor of Death Valley and the Panamint Range in the distance. It is especially striking at…

Phil CollaMarch 2, 2006

California Death Valley Desert National Parks

Sand Dunes, Death Valley National Park

Death Valley National Park's most accessible sand dunes are just a few miles down the road from Stovepipe Wells, in the center of Death Valley. 14 acres of sand dunes, rising several hundred feet high in places, lie about a quarter mile from the road. While there is no official…

Phil CollaMarch 1, 2006

California Elephant Seal Wildlife

Piedras Blancas Elephant Seals

We have been visiting the Piedras Blancas rookery of northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) since early 1991, when it was newly colonized by animals from the San Miguel, San Nicholas and Ano Nuevo rookeries, and have watched it grow to its current size. We have had the good fortune to…

Phil CollaMarch 1, 2006

California Death Valley Desert National Parks

Photo of Badwater, Death Valley National Park

Badwater is the lowest point in Death Valley National Park, at 282 feet below sea level. Indeed, it is the lowest point in the entire western hemisphere. The Badwater Basin is the catch point for 9000 square miles of drainage, however, there is typically little water here except following winter…

Phil CollaFebruary 28, 2006

Central Coast Surf

Mavericks Surf Contest 2006

The Mavericks Surf Contest 2006 photos are now online. I shot the 2006 running of the Mavericks Surf Contest, held February 7, 2006 at Half Moon Bay, California. The event went off very well, with great organization, beautiful weather and near perfect waves. The Mavericks Surf Contest is about big…

Phil CollaFebruary 7, 2006

California

Recent California Snaps

A few recent images. Click on any one to see others that are related. Beach cliffs at Torrey Pines State Reserve: Sandstone cliffs rise above the beach at Torrey Pines State Reserve.Image ID: 14725Location: Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego, California, USA Broken Hill at Torrey Pines State Reserve: Broken…

Phil CollaJanuary 5, 2006

California Surf

Big Wednesday

Big Wednesday : December 21 2005. All of Southern California and Baja gets bombed with good surf, some of the best we've seen in 20+ years. Most excellent. I got away for a few hours and saw some guys tackle what is probably an 18 foot La Jolla Cove left.…

Phil CollaDecember 21, 2005

California Desert Wildlife

Photo of Desert Bighorn Sheep

The Desert Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) found in southwestern California, is a subspecies of the North American desert bighorn sheep that occupies the rocky and arid Mojave and Senoran deserts of the American southwest and northern Mexico. Desert bighorn sheep, male ram. The desert bighorn sheep occupies dry, rocky…

Phil CollaNovember 22, 2005

Beautiful Views of San Diego California San Diego

Photo of Oceanside Pier

The Oceanside Pier is the longest wooden pier on the West Coast of the United States. The concrete base of the pier was built in 1925. The wooden pier itself has been rebuilt several times, most recently in 1988. The names of locals who donated to the construction of the…

Phil CollaNovember 17, 2005

California San Diego

Photo of the Botanical Building, Balboa Park, San Diego

The Botanical Building in Balboa Park, San Diego, at 250 feet long by 75 feet wide and 60 feet tall, was the largest wood lath structure in the world when it was built in 1915 for the Panama-California Exposition. The Botanical Building, located on the Prado, west of the Museum…

Phil CollaNovember 14, 2005

California La Jolla San Diego

Photos of Birch Aquarium, La Jolla

The Birch Aquarium is located at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Completed in 1992, the aquarium was named for benefactors Stephen and Mary Birch. The Birch Aquarium contains over 60 tanks, including a 70,000 gallon kelp forest exhibit and 13,000 gallon shark tank. It is located on a bluff overlooking…

Phil CollaNovember 7, 2005

Beautiful Views of San Diego California San Diego

Photo of Star of India, the World’s Oldest Seafaring Ship

The Star of India is the world's oldest seafaring ship. Originally built in 1863, the Star of India is now a maritime museum docked in San Diego Harbor, and occasionally puts to sea for special sailing events. The Star of India is tied to her dock along the waterfront of…

Phil CollaNovember 4, 2005

Beautiful Views of San Diego California San Diego

San Diego Skyline Photo

Photos of the San Diego downtown city skyline. San Diego likes to boast that it is America's Finest City. Perhaps -- at least the notion is debatable. However, San Diego does have a beautiful downtown waterfront and city skyline. A few places to admire the lineup of hotels and buildings…

Phil CollaNovember 3, 2005

Beautiful Views of San Diego California San Diego

Photo of the Point Loma Lighthouse, Cabrillo National Monument

The original Point Loma lighthouse was built in 1855 and operated until 1891. It was one of the original 8 lighthouses built on the West Coast and was designed in the Cape Cod style common to all of them at the time. East Coast lighthouses were then built on promontories…

Phil CollaNovember 2, 2005

California Landscape National Parks Sierra Nevada Yosemite

Photo of Tenaya Lake, Yosemite National Park

Tenaya Lake lies in the high country of Yosemite National Park, surrounded by enormous granite domes and coniferous forests. Tenaya Lake is surrounded by epic granite domes, with Polly Dome on the left. Late afternoon, viewed from Olmsted Point. Image ID: 09955 Location: Tenaya Lake, Yosemite National Park, California, USA…

Phil CollaSeptember 19, 2005

California Landscape National Parks Sierra Nevada Yosemite

Photo of Mammoth Peak, Yosemite National Park

Mammoth Peak rises above Tioga Lake and Tuolumne Meadows in the high country of Yosemite National Park. Mammoth Peak and alpine meadows in the High Sierra are reflected in Tioga Lake at sunrise. This spectacular location is just a short walk from the Tioga Pass road. Near Tuolumne Meadows and…

Phil CollaSeptember 18, 2005

California Landscape National Parks Sierra Nevada Yosemite

Photo of Lembert Dome, Yosemite National Park

Lembert Dome rises above Tuolumne Meadows in the high country of Yosemite National Park. The hike to the summit of Lembert Dome is easy and leads through a forest of trees before emerging on the backside of the dome, and offers expansive view of the entire Tuolumne Meadows from the…

Phil CollaSeptember 17, 2005

California Natural World San Clemente Island Stories Underwater Life

The Kelp Forest :: Part V

When the goal is simply to swim in and admire a kelp forest, nothing beats the (relatively) warm clear waters of Southern California's San Clemente Island in late summer. On a good day the panorama at San Clemente is stunning: kelp in all directions reaching from seafloor to surface, summer…

Phil CollaJune 12, 2005

California Natural World Ocean Sunfish Stories Underwater Life Wildlife

The Kelp Forest :: Part IV

Further to the south, Santa Barbara and Catalina Island kelp forests offer somewhat less profuse animal life but warmer and clearer waters. While I don't dive these two islands often anymore, I do dive kelp originating from these islands throughout the summer: drift kelp. I was introduced to the notion…

Phil CollaJune 11, 2005

California Natural World San Clemente Island Stories Underwater Life

The Kelp Forest :: Part III

Central and Northern California kelp forests are bathed by cold, nutrient-laden currents. The waters here are generally not clear but are rich with animal life. Invertebrate displays on the rocks below the kelp forest are some of the most profuse and interesting in the world and it is common to…

Phil CollaJune 10, 2005

California Natural World San Clemente Island Stories Underwater Life

The Kelp Forest :: Part II

It is my spirited opinion, one that I enjoy defending over a beer after a long day on the water, that diving amidst giant kelp is the most magnificent diving in the world. I am fortunate enough to have had some amazing experiences underwater -- watching swarms of hammerheads soar…

Phil CollaJune 9, 2005

California Natural World San Clemente Island Stories Underwater Life

The Kelp Forest :: Part I

My first experience with seaweed was as a kid combing the shores of Newport Beach where I grew up. After storms my brother and I would find clumps of the brown stuff pushed up the beach. We would pick through them to pop the small bubbles attached to the leaves.…

Phil CollaJune 8, 2005

San Clemente Island Underwater Life

Seagrass in Motion

One morning while diving at San Clemente Island I was struck by the lackluster light. It was cloudy and dark and I had yet to find any exciting subjects to shoot. I was spacing out in the shallows watching the kelp fishes meander among the weeds when I started fiddling…

Phil CollaJune 2, 2005

California Landscape National Parks Sierra Nevada Yosemite

Photos of Yosemite Falls in Spring

Falling 2425 feet (730m) in three sections, Yosemite Falls is the tallest waterfall in North America and the fifth tallest in the world. During winter, a cone of frozen mist forms at the base of Lower Yosemite Falls. A strenuous hike takes visitors from the valley floor to the precipice…

Phil CollaMay 26, 2005

Landscape National Parks Sierra Nevada Yosemite

Photo of Vernal Falls, Yosemite National Park

Spring is the time to visit Vernal Falls and the famous Mist Trail in Yosemite National Park. Vernal Falls is at peak flow in late May and June, the weather is usually pleasant and the dogwoods are in bloom on the valley floor. We try to make a springtime visit…

Phil CollaMay 23, 2005

Cactus California Desert The American Southwest Wildflowers

Red Barrel Cactus Photos, Anza Borrego Desert State Park

Thanks to John Dougherty for kindly helping us to correctly identify a number of flowering plants from recent visits to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. One of our favorite subjects was the Red Barrel Cactus (Ferocactus cylindraceus) which were just beginning to show their blooms. Barrel cactus, brittlebush and wildflowers color…

Phil CollaMarch 18, 2005

California Desert The American Southwest Wildflowers

Canyon Sunrise, Anza Borrego Desert State Park

Anza Borrego Desert State Park is currently experiencing an epic, once-in-a-lifetime bloom of desert wildflowers, bushes and cacti. The sand verbena and desert primrose flowers that had covered the valley floor so spectacularly in places in February seem to be receding or largely gone, replaced with poppies and lupine. However,…

Phil CollaMarch 16, 2005

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