May 2010

Wisdom

Sun and Water Beget the Summer Girl

Ferris wheel and fair rides at sunset, blurring due to long exposure. Image ID: 20872 Location: Del Mar Fair, California, USA I am readying gear for a bit of diving, so I had to drag the camera out of deep storage and call upon one of my two favorite fitness…

Phil CollaMay 23, 2010

Death Valley National Parks Time Lapse Video

Milky Way Time Lapse Movie

This is a time lapse video of the Milky Way rising in the south east sky, viewed from Death Valley. The Milky Way is our own galaxy, a thick spinning disc of stars with arms that thin as they spiral outward. Our Sun is located in one of the arms.…

Phil CollaMay 18, 2010

Antarctica Southern Ocean Video

Pack Ice at the Edge of the Weddell Sea

Photos of the Weddell Sea, approaching the Antarctic Peninsula. "The Weddell Sea is, according to the testimony of all who have sailed through its berg-filled waters, the most treacherous and dismal region on earth." -- from The White Continent by Thomas R. Henry (1950). This morning finds us on the…

Phil CollaMay 12, 2010

Elephant Seal Penguin South Orkney Islands Southern Ocean

Shingle Cove, Coronation Island, South Orkneys

Photos of Shingle Cove, Coronation Island, South Orkney Islands Midway through our crossing from South Georgia Island to Antarctica we pass the South Orkney Islands, a small group of islands that lie almost exactly between South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula, making them a natural place to pause during our…

Phil CollaMay 11, 2010

South Orkney Islands Southern Ocean

Coronation Island, South Orkney Islands

Photos of the Coronation Island, South Orkney Islands We arrive at Coronation Island, the largest of the South Orkney Islands, around dawn. This is our first opportunity to really see some impressive icebergs at close range. While we are here to visit Shingle Cove, the approach to the island on…

Phil CollaMay 8, 2010

Antarctica South Georgia Island Southern Ocean

Scotia Sea, En Route to South Orkney Islands

Photos of the Scotia Sea, en route to the South Orkney Islands Soon after ending our land visit at Cooper Bay, we leave South Georgia Island in our wake and begin sailing southwest towards the Antarctic Peninsula and the Weddell Sea. I am somewhat melancholy. South Georgia Island is fantastic,…

Phil CollaMay 7, 2010

Penguin South Georgia Island Southern Ocean

Cooper Bay, South Georgia Island

Photos of Cooper Bay and Macaroni Penguins, South Georgia Island This morning we are again presented with difficult weather. Our plans had originally been to visit Gold Harbor or St. Andrews Bay, two of the most notable and popular locations on South Georgia Island, but these locations are exposed to…

Phil CollaMay 4, 2010

Sharks

Hammerhead Shark Cover Photo, Physiological and Biochemical Zoology

The latest issue of Physiological and Biochemical Zoology uses a hammerhead shark photo of mine on the cover to accompany the article Temporal Resolution and Spectral Sensitivity of the Visual System of Three Coastal Shark Species from Different Light Environments (McComb, Frank, Hueter and Kajiura). This is at least the…

Phil CollaMay 3, 2010