San Diego

San Diego Skyline from Point Loma

We have had some mild Santa Ana winds the last few days, blowing the haze out to sea and leaving behind fantastic visibility. I went down to a few of my favorite spots around San Diego Bay to get some new photos of the San Diego city skyline, including some…

adminJanuary 10, 2009

Aerial Photography Blue Whale California San Diego

Aerial Photo of a Blue Whale

Here is another blue whale aerial photo shot from our recent flight over the Coronado Islands and Nine Mile Bank. More blue whale aerial photos. Blue whale. The sleek hydrodynamic shape of the enormous blue whale allows it to swim swiftly through the ocean, at times over one hundred miles…

adminSeptember 14, 2008

San Diego Wildflowers

Photo of California Poppy

Here are a few more photos of California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) near Del Dios, California. I got lucky with the weather, with lots of sun and blue skies the day I shot these. Now we have leaden gray skies and its supposed to be windy and cold this weekend. California…

adminMarch 14, 2008

San Diego Wildflowers

Photos of Eschscholzia californica

This field of dreams is a literal carpet of California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) on the hillsides above Lake Hodges in Del Dios, California. In October this hill was ablaze with the Witch Creek wildfire, one of the worst fires southern California has experienced. Five months later it is ablaze again…

adminMarch 13, 2008

San Diego Wildflowers

California Poppies — Bug’s Eye View

More California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) madness. These were shot with a super-turbo-customized tilt-shift-micro-bugeye lens I just received from Canon Covert Services. California poppy plants viewed from the perspective of a bug walking below the bright orange blooms. Image ID: 20539 Species: California poppy, Eschscholzia californica, Eschscholtzia californica Location: Del Dios,…

adminMarch 11, 2008

San Diego Wildflowers

Poppy Explosion

You spins the zoom ring and you takes your chances: California poppies in a blend of rich orange color, blurred by a time exposure. Image ID: 20506 Species: California poppy, Eschscholzia californica, Eschscholtzia californica Location: Del Dios, San Diego, California, USA

adminMarch 6, 2008

California San Diego Wildflowers

Photos of Poppies in San Diego

California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) have been blooming all over the place in the San Diego area, courtesy of the terrible wildfires last fall and the perfectly spaced rainfall of the last two months. Here is a hillside that was burnt in October, now coming alive with spring color. My friend…

adminMarch 5, 2008

Beautiful Views of San Diego La Jolla San Diego Seascapes

Photo of La Jolla Cove at Sunrise

Check out the deep pink skies, it was a super sunrise the morning I shot this. Probably due to smog or something. This is famous La Jolla Cove, one of the jewels of San Diego and home to good diving and snorkling, bird and whale watching, and rough-water swimming. It…

adminFebruary 4, 2008

Beautiful Views of San Diego La Jolla San Diego Seascapes

Photo of the La Jolla Cliffs at Sunrise

The La Jolla Cliffs early in the morning, under a pink sunrise. Marine Room restaurant is on the far left, and the famous caves are seen at the base of the cliffs. Check out the thousands of cormorants resting on the cliffs. They will eventually fly out to forage on…

adminFebruary 1, 2008

Beautiful Views of San Diego La Jolla San Diego

Photo of Geisel Library at Dusk

This is Geisel Library, the central library at University of California, San Diego (alma mater). Photos taken at dusk when the light emanating from the library are about equal with sunset. Since the light is balanced, a decent photograph can be achieved with just a single frame. Tomorrow I'll post…

adminJanuary 10, 2008

California San Diego Surf

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…

adminOctober 22, 2007

California Photo of the Day San Diego

Photos of Common Dolphins

Common dolphin.Image ID: 00071Species: Common dolphin, Delphinus delphisLocation: San Diego, California, USA These common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) are gathered just under the surface of the water in front of my boat. We'll motor slowly, leaning over the bow, trying to get a good picture of them without it looking like…

adminJune 27, 2007

Beautiful Views of San Diego San Diego

Del Mar Cobblestones

We used to live a few miles from Torrey Pines and Del Mar, and walked on the beach there fairly often. As they erode, the cliffs above the sand supply the beach with cobblestones. Depending on the season and recent surf energy, the beach ranges from nearly stone-free to being…

adminJune 24, 2007

California Photo of the Day San Diego

Common Dolphin Gliding

Common dolphin.Image ID: 00066Species: Common dolphin, Delphinus delphisLocation: San Diego, California, USA This is a common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), sometimes called a short-beaked saddleback dolphin, gliding under a glassy ocean just in front of the bow of my boat, with overcast skies reflecting back.

adminJune 5, 2007

Beautiful Views of San Diego San Diego

Photo of the Point Loma Lighthouse

The old Point Loma lighthouse, situated at the top of Cabrillo Monument at the end of Point Loma, puts forth a speck of light beneath a summertime sunset. Cabrillo Monument lighthouse at sunset, Point Loma. Image ID: 05511 Location: San Diego, California, USA The original Point Loma lighthouse was built…

adminMay 4, 2007

Beautiful Views of San Diego La Jolla San Diego Seascapes

Black’s Beach Sunset

Black's Beach, famous for its isolation, surf and fashion sense, assumes a sublime evening glow. Viewed from top of the Indian Trail, north of the hang glider port. A bit of Torrey Pines golf course is visible in the upper right. The beach below was one of my favorite runs…

adminMay 2, 2007

California Photo of the Day San Diego

San Diego Crew Classic 2007

Spent a few hours this morning -- a beautiful April morning once the fog burned off -- riding my bike around Mission Bay, watching the main races of this year's San Diego Crew Classic. Good to see my alma mater UCSD win the Cal Cup, those guys have brawn to…

adminApril 1, 2007

Pelicans of La Jolla San Diego Seabird

Photo of a Brown Pelican Soaring

See our Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla. This brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is soaring over the ocean, riding the morning updrafts along the cliffs of La Jolla, California. Brown pelican in flight. The wingspan of the brown pelican is over 7 feet wide. The California race of the…

adminMarch 7, 2007

California Ocean Sunfish Photo of the Day San Diego Wildlife

Photo of a Mola Mola and Diver

Here's my friend Mike Johnson photographing a large ocean sunfish (Mola mola) offshore of San Diego. Ocean sunfish and freediving photographer, open ocean.Image ID: 03491Species: Ocean sunfish, Mola molaLocation: San Diego, California, USA More ocean sunfish photos.

adminJanuary 31, 2007

Birds California San Diego

Black Skimmer, San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge

The last light of the day caught the underside of this black skimmer (Rynchops niger): Black skimmer forages by flying over shallow water with its lower mandible dipping below the surface for small fish.Image ID: 17420Species: Black skimmer, Rynchops nigerLocation: San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge, California, USA

adminSeptember 23, 2006

Birds California San Diego

Photo of a Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger), San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Don Hill recommended a few spots in San Diego for me to see fall seabirds. Inspired by Don's great shots I drove down to take a look and was pleasantly surprised by all the bird life in the bay. This black skimmer (Rynchops niger) was photographed in the San Diego…

adminSeptember 17, 2006

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

adminSeptember 16, 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.

adminJuly 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…

adminMarch 13, 2006

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…

adminNovember 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…

adminNovember 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…

adminNovember 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…

adminNovember 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…

adminNovember 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…

adminNovember 2, 2005

California San Diego Sharks Underwater Life

Photo of Blue Shark and Yellowtail

Some years ago I was freediving around an open ocean kelp paddy with Mike Johnson. We were photographing a few blue sharks that we had attracted to the paddy with a small bucket of chum. Two small yellowtail jacks were flanking one of the blue sharks, swimming closely beside it…

adminFebruary 24, 2005

California San Diego Sharks Underwater Life

Blue Shark Eye to Eye

Blue shark showing ampullae of Lorenzini, eye and small portion of nictitating membrane.Image ID: 01076Species: Blue shark, Prionace glaucaLocation: San Diego, California, USA This is a photograph of a blue shark, Prionace glauca. We bait for them offshore of San Diego, anywhere from 5 to 20 miles offshore (however far…

adminFebruary 4, 2005

California Fish Ocean Sunfish San Diego

Ocean Sunfish Floating On The Ocean Surface

Here's a photograph we licensed today for a book in Australia. Can you guess what the bright white object is? Ocean sunfish.Image ID: 02030Species: Ocean sunfish, Mola molaLocation: San Diego, California, USA It is an OCEAN SUNFISH (Mola mola), laying flat on the ocean's surface, far offshore of the San…

adminFebruary 3, 2005

San Diego Skyline from Point Loma

Aerial Photo of a Blue Whale

Photo of California Poppy

Photos of Eschscholzia californica

California Poppies — Bug’s Eye View

Poppy Explosion

Photos of Poppies in San Diego

Photo of La Jolla Cove at Sunrise

Photo of the La Jolla Cliffs at Sunrise

Photo of Geisel Library at Dusk

Santa Anas — Good News, Bad News

Photos of Common Dolphins

Del Mar Cobblestones

Common Dolphin Gliding

Photo of the Point Loma Lighthouse

Black’s Beach Sunset

San Diego Crew Classic 2007

Photo of a Brown Pelican Soaring

Photo of a Mola Mola and Diver

Black Skimmer, San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Photo of a Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger), San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge

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

Photo of a Blue Whale Fluke

Between Showers

Photo of Oceanside Pier

Photo of the Botanical Building, Balboa Park, San Diego

Photos of Birch Aquarium, La Jolla

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

San Diego Skyline Photo

Photo of the Point Loma Lighthouse, Cabrillo National Monument

Photo of Blue Shark and Yellowtail

Blue Shark Eye to Eye

Ocean Sunfish Floating On The Ocean Surface

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