January 2009

Beautiful Views of San Diego California San Diego

Flat Rock, Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve

A couple more photos of Torrey Pines today and tomorrow, then on to other things. One of the main trails in Torrey Pines State Reserve leads down to the beach, to a flat rock that is surprisingly named "Flat Rock." As we flew over Flat Rock a couple was enjoying…

Phil CollaJanuary 31, 2009

Beautiful Views of San Diego La Jolla San Diego

Children’s Pool, La Jolla

Children's Pool, also known as Casa Cove, is a pretty contentious place these days. The Children's Pool is a simple pocket cove protected by a manmade seawall. It has a fine sand beach, calm waters and fairly good snorkeling. And harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) are often found on the beach,…

Phil CollaJanuary 30, 2009

Beautiful Views of San Diego California San Diego

Torrey Pines Golf Course

I used to play Torrey Pines Golf Course on Friday afternoons with some buddies when I was a student at UCSD. We played both north and south courses, whichever had an earlier slot available when we got there. Each semester we would plan our class schedules so that we would…

Phil CollaJanuary 28, 2009

Beautiful Views of San Diego California San Diego

Torrey Pines State Reserve

Torrey Pines State Reserve is a special place for me. When I was a kid, we drove down from Newport Beach to hike the winding dirt trails from the mesa to the beach, squeezing through the notorious and now-closed "Fat Man's Misery" (a politically-incorrectly-named narrow trail which discriminates against the…

Phil CollaJanuary 27, 2009

Aerial Photography California GeoBlog Photography San Diego

Aerial Photos of San Diego

Here are a couple of new aerial photos from our recently updated collection of San Diego Photos. New Point Loma Lighthouse, situated on the tip of Point Loma Peninsula, marks the entrance to San Diego Bay. The lighthouse rises 70' and was built in 1891 to replace the "old" Point…

Phil CollaJanuary 26, 2009

Photography

Marine Mammal Commission 2007 Annual Report to Congress

Each year, the Marine Mammal Commission prepares its annual report to the United States Congress. For the 2007 edition of the report, which is the most recent, all of the photos on the front and back cover are mine. When the report was presented at a special Joint Session of…

Phil CollaJanuary 14, 2009

Beautiful Views of San Diego Carlsbad

Batiquitos Lagoon Sunset

Tracy and I went for a walk along Batiquitos Lagoon near our home in Carlsbad. This is the sunset we saw. Sunset reflected in the still waters of Batiquitos Lagoon. Image ID: 22284 Location: Batiquitos Lagoon, Carlsbad, California, USA

Phil CollaJanuary 13, 2009

Beautiful Views of San Diego Panoramas San Diego

San Diego Waterfront from Coronado Island

Here is the last shot of the San Diego city skyline, over San Diego Bay, taken about an hour after the first one and the middle one, viewed from Coronado Island: San Diego city skyline at night, showing the buildings of downtown San Diego reflected in the still waters of…

Phil CollaJanuary 12, 2009

Beautiful Views of San Diego Panoramas San Diego

San Diego City Lights from Harbor Island

Here is another shot of the San Diego city skyline, over San Diego Bay, viewed a little while after the first one and from a different vantage point on Harbor Island. There just a bit of after-sunset color left in the sky. San Diego city skyline at sunset, showing the…

Phil CollaJanuary 11, 2009

Beautiful Views of San Diego 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…

Phil CollaJanuary 10, 2009

Arizona Landscape Panoramas The American Southwest The Wave

Panorama of the Wave, North Coyote Buttes

The Wave, that much-photographed geological oddity on the border between Arizona and Utah. I spent some time there on my last visit trying to shoot appealing panoramas, but was not entirely satisfied, it is a tough landscape to capture that way. This was one of panorama photos I was happy…

Phil CollaJanuary 8, 2009

California Morro Bay Panoramas

Morro Bay Panorama

I got up early one morning while we were in Morro Bay to photograph the view from Morro Bay State Park, around the bay and north to Morro Rock. There was a slight offshore breeze and the air was cold and dry giving clear views in every direction. My father-in-law's…

Phil CollaJanuary 7, 2009

Rose Atoll

Rose Atoll Marine National Monument

President Bush today created Rose Atoll Marine National Monument, along with two other enormous marine national monuments in the Pacific Ocean. With the stroke of a pen, President Bush has protected more marine habitat by far (measured in square miles) that any person in history. This is particularly exciting for…

Phil CollaJanuary 6, 2009

California

Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa

If you are a third grader in California, chances are that you are doing your Mission Project this year, and my third grade daughter is no exception. Each student is assigned one of the California missions upon which to report. My daughter reported on Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa…

Phil CollaJanuary 4, 2009

California

Snow on San Jacinto

Mount San Jacinto had a lot of snow over the Christmas holiday, the result of a couple of really cold storms passing through recently. Here San Jacinto is seen with some of the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm wind turbines (windmills) at its base. Wind turbines, rise above the flat…

Phil CollaJanuary 3, 2009

California

Wind Turbines and Mount San Gorgonio

While out in the desert for the holiday, I made a early morning drive to see San Jacinto covered by recent snow. I stopped at my favorite promontory to get a few shots of the wind turbines (wind mills). The wind was really howling through the San Gorgonio Pass this…

Phil CollaJanuary 2, 2009

California Morro Bay

Earth Shadow

Have you ever seen those layers of blue, purple and pink along the horizon just before sunrise? The darker sky, lowest on the horizon, is actually the shadow of the Earth cast upon the atmosphere, while the lighter sky above is the atmosphere as it is lit by the sun.…

Phil CollaJanuary 1, 2009

Flat Rock, Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve

Children’s Pool, La Jolla

Torrey Pines Golf Course

Torrey Pines State Reserve

Aerial Photos of San Diego

Marine Mammal Commission 2007 Annual Report to Congress

Batiquitos Lagoon Sunset

San Diego Waterfront from Coronado Island

San Diego City Lights from Harbor Island

San Diego Skyline from Point Loma

Panorama of the Wave, North Coyote Buttes

Morro Bay Panorama

Rose Atoll Marine National Monument

Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa

Snow on San Jacinto

Wind Turbines and Mount San Gorgonio

Earth Shadow

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