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Tear Sheets

Tidelines Calendar 2008

This year's edition of the Tidelines calendar is especially nice because one of our photos appears on the cover (duh). Can you guess where it was shot? Hint: it rhymes with "ledge" and lots of bones are broken there. Order your Tidelines calendar now so you too can time all…

adminDecember 4, 2007

Hawaii Humpback Whale Photo of the Day Wildlife

Photo of a Humpback Whale Peduncle Throw

Another example of a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) peforming a peduncle throw. In this case, rather than flicking the fluke sideways, the whale has lifted its fluke and peduncle vertically, slinging water in all directions. Notice the rake marks on the underside of the whales fluke, which are almost certainly…

adminDecember 3, 2007

Hawaii Humpback Whale Photo of the Day Wildlife

Photo of a Humpback Whale Tail Throw

Here we see a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) peforming a tail throw, also known as a peduncle throw or tail lob. While at the surface, the whale pivots around its long pectoral fins, suddenly flicking its powerful fluke and peducle out of the water while dipping its rostrum. This behaviour…

adminDecember 2, 2007

Elk National Parks Wildlife Wyoming Yellowstone

Photos of Yellowstone Elk

Ok, here is the last photo of the bull elk (Cervus candensis) that I photographed just outside Mammoth Hot Springs. Bull elk in sage brush with large rack of antlers during the fall rut (mating season). This bull elk has sparred with other bulls to establish his harem of females…

adminDecember 1, 2007

Elk National Parks Wildlife Wyoming Yellowstone

Photo of Bull Elk in Sage

Here is another look at the fine bull elk (Cervus candensis) I spent an afternoon photographing near Mammoth Hot Springs. Bull elk in sage brush with large rack of antlers during the fall rut (mating season). This bull elk has sparred with other bulls to establish his harem of females…

adminNovember 30, 2007

Elk National Parks Wildlife Wyoming Yellowstone

Bugling Elk at Mammoth Hot Springs

The bull elk (Cervus candensis) I photographed one afternoon near Mammoth Hot Springs is seen here bugling, an audible cue and a form of posturing intended for both his harem of females and nearby males, meant to establish his dominance and access rights to the females and warn other males…

adminNovember 29, 2007

Elk National Parks Wildlife Wyoming Yellowstone

Mammoth Elk Photos

After spending a few days in the Madison River area looking at the elk (Cervus candensis) herds there, I drive over to Mammoth Hot Springs. The bulls are bigger and have nicer antler racks there, so I have heard, but they need to be outside of town to get good…

adminNovember 28, 2007

National Parks Wyoming Yellowstone

Photo of a Moose in Snow

We found this moose (Alces alces) beside Soda Butte Creek, between the Lamar Valley and the Northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park. A male moose, bull moose, on snow covered field, near Cooke City. Image ID: 19680 Species: Moose, Alces alces Location: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA

adminNovember 27, 2007

National Parks Wyoming Yellowstone

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…

adminNovember 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…

adminNovember 25, 2007

California Carlsbad Photo 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…

adminNovember 22, 2007

National Parks Wyoming Yellowstone

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…

adminNovember 7, 2007

National Parks Wyoming Yellowstone

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…

adminNovember 6, 2007

National Parks Wyoming Yellowstone

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…

adminNovember 5, 2007

National Parks Stories Wyoming Yellowstone

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…

adminNovember 4, 2007

National Parks Wyoming Yellowstone

Photo of Grand Prismatic Spring in Winter

One of my favorite places in Yellowstone National Park is Midway Geyser basin. Here two of the largest geothermal features in the entire world lie just yards from one another: Grand Prismatic Spring and Excelsior Geyser. These two huge holes in the ground are filled with superheated water, direct links…

adminNovember 3, 2007

Brown Bear National Parks Wildlife Wyoming Yellowstone

Photo of a Grizzly Bear in Snow

A few days into my Yellowstone National Park trip I found the ursine suspect in a double murder case. I was not looking for bears, rather just cruising around and admiring all parts of the park, and I was lucky to stumble upon him and get off a few good…

adminNovember 2, 2007

National Parks Wyoming Yellowstone

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…

adminNovember 1, 2007

National Parks Wyoming Yellowstone

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…

adminOctober 31, 2007

National Parks Wyoming Yellowstone

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…

adminOctober 30, 2007

Brown Bear National Parks Wildlife Wyoming Yellowstone

Yellowstone Grizzly Kills Two Other Bears

Shortly before my visit to Yellowstone National Park this fall to photograph elk, I learned that not one but two female grizzly bears had been killed, presumably by other bears. Fratricide among adult grizzlies is not particularly unusual, but two killings within days of one another is strange. Since both…

adminOctober 29, 2007

Funny National Parks Wyoming Yellowstone

Poor Table Manners

Never went to finishing school: Bison. Image ID: 19610 Species: American bison, Bison bison Location: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA Because its there. A lick in time saves nine. A boog in hand is worth two in the nose.

adminOctober 28, 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.

adminOctober 24, 2007

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

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…

adminOctober 21, 2007

Great White Shark Guadalupe Island Mexico Sharks

Great White Shark Eyes The Camera

This is my favorite shot from my Shark Diver trip last week on the liveaboard boat Horizon to see great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) at Guadalupe Island. One shark in particular took to circling the boat clockwise and would pass very close to the starboard side cage. As it did…

adminSeptember 26, 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.

adminSeptember 25, 2007

Great White Shark Guadalupe Island Mexico Sharks

Photo of a Great White Shark Dorsal Fin

This is the dorsal fin of a great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) at Guadalupe Island, sticking above the water as the shark cruises at the surface. Dorsal fin of a great white shark breaks the surface as the shark swims just below. Image ID: 19493 Species: Great white shark, Carcharodon…

adminSeptember 24, 2007

Great White Shark Guadalupe Island Mexico Sharks

Great White Shark Photo

I was pretty lucky to get this photo. This is a great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) that I photographed at Guadalupe Island while I was on a Shark Diver trip last week on the liveaboard boat Horizon. This one, a medium size (e.g, 12-13') male, surprised us all. We were…

adminSeptember 23, 2007

Great White Shark Guadalupe Island Mexico Sharks

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…

adminSeptember 22, 2007

Guadalupe Island Mexico Panoramas

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…

adminSeptember 21, 2007

Great White Shark Guadalupe Island Mexico Sharks

Guadalupe White Shark Trip 2007

Just back from a quick trip to Guadalupe Island to photograph great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias). I had heard that this season has been a particularly good one for white sharks at Guadalupe, and I managed to get a few days off to get down there for a look on…

adminSeptember 20, 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…

adminSeptember 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…

adminSeptember 2, 2007

Landscape Oregon Photo of the Day

Photo of Ponytail Falls, Columbia River Gorge

My daughter and I took a hike in the Columbia River Gorge one morning to see three waterfalls. The four-mile roundtrip trail we walked was entirely within a cool, shady forest overlooking the Columbia River. The most striking of the falls was Ponytail Falls, also known as Upper Horsetail Falls…

adminSeptember 1, 2007

Landscape Oregon Photo 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…

adminAugust 31, 2007

Landscape Oregon Panoramas

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…

adminAugust 30, 2007

Landscape Panoramas Washington

Photo of North Head Lighthouse, Washington

While in Astoria recently, we took a little drive across to the Washington side of the Columbia River to see North Head Lighthouse. It was overcast, sort of pre-storm looking, perfect weather for walking around a blustery promontory high above the coast and checking out an old lighthouse. Below is…

adminAugust 29, 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…

adminAugust 28, 2007

Alaska Brown Bear Lake Clark National Parks Photo of the Day Wildlife

Photo of a Brown Bear Digging For Clams

One of the interesting behaviors of coastal brown bears (Ursus arctos) is their interest in eating razor clams. Negative low tides expose broad tide flats along the Cook Inlet coast. Brown bears are quite tuned to the timing of these low tides and will arrive at the beach shortly before…

adminAugust 27, 2007

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