December 2013

Best Photographs of the Year

Natural History Photography – Best Images of 2013

My Best Natural History Photos of 2013 Once again the end of the year is upon us and I look back at my photographic works of the preceding 12 months. I did not produce as many new images as in years past but I did manage to create some notable…

Phil CollaDecember 31, 2013

Mexico Sea of Cortez

Aerial Photos of Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, Mexico

We celebrated the Christmas holiday in Cabo San Lucas. I had hoped to perhaps make a few good images of pristine, lonely, white-sand beaches, the ones I recall from my last visit to Cabo San Lucas in 1985. Alas, resort development has taken over the coastline. So I hired an…

Phil CollaDecember 29, 2013

Beautiful Views of San Diego La Jolla Seascapes

Spectacular Sunrise in La Jolla

We've had some great sunrises and sunsets lately, thanks to weather patterns in Southern California that provide high clouds and open horizons to let the light reach the undersides of the clouds just at the edge of each day. A few days ago I was photographing the full moon over…

Phil CollaDecember 19, 2013

Astrophotography and Night Scapes Beautiful Views of San Diego Seascapes

Moonlight Waves

I once shot photographs of waves by the light of phytoplankton during a major red tide event. That worked out pretty well, although it was pushing the cameras to the limits of what they could record. However, this time I'm not sure what I was thinking: I got up at…

Phil CollaDecember 18, 2013

Astrophotography and Night Scapes California Seascapes

Starlight and Moonlight on Little Corona, Newport Beach

When I was a kid growing up in Newport Beach, we would often visit Little Corona beach and see tons of black abalone. They would be clinging to the rocks, and empty ab shells would be hidden in the all the tidepools and pockets of water. The abalone are long…

Phil CollaDecember 17, 2013

Astrophotography and Night Scapes California Seascapes

Moonlight on Seal Rock, Laguna Beach, California

Seal Rock, a short distance offshore of Crescent Bay in Laguna Beach, is typically covered with many cormorants and at least a few California sea lions. I've made a number of dives at Seal Rock but had never made any effort to photograph it topside. Garry McCarthy and I did…

Phil CollaDecember 16, 2013

Astrophotography and Night Scapes California Seascapes

Big Corona Beach at Night, Corona Del Mar State Beach, Newport Beach

When I grew up in Newport Beach, I spent a lot of time at "Big Corona", aka, Corona Del Mar State Beach. Because this is a great place to take the kids, bodyboard and kick back in the sun, this beach gets crowded. Yachts sail by in and out of…

Phil CollaDecember 15, 2013

Beautiful Views of San Diego Panoramas San Diego

San Diego Awakens, Sunrise over the San Diego City Skyline

This was the scene that greeted my camera on a recently cold winter morning, as dawn crept in from the east and the nighttime lights of downtown San Diego gave way to morning. Cheers and thanks for looking! Sunrise over the San Diego City Skyline Image ID: 28858 Location: San…

Phil CollaDecember 14, 2013

Tear Sheets

Scuba Diver (Korea) Pictorial

Scuba Diver Korea is one beautiful diving magazine! The print quality is excellent and each thick issue is as heavy as a brick. I was recently introduced to Scuba Diver Korea by Kevin Lee. Kevin, a top marine photographer who has photographed underwater on all seven continents, kindly introduced me…

Phil CollaDecember 13, 2013

General

A Look Back at the Natural History Photography Blog

1000 blog posts and 9 blog years and 17 website years later... I am a natural history photographer with a bias towards the ocean and marine-related subjects. I have one marketing channel: my own hand-coded, self-designed web site. In 1997 it was one of the first entirely database-driven, keyword-searchable stock…

Phil CollaDecember 12, 2013

Astrophotography and Night Scapes Beautiful Views of San Diego La Jolla Seascapes

La Jolla Cove at Dawn, La Jolla, California

One of my favorite times to photograph in La Jolla is when night is just transitioning to dawn. Sunrise is till 45 minutes or an hour away. In December it can be chilly at this hour, but it is also quiet and, usually, still. The only people I see are…

Phil CollaDecember 11, 2013

Beautiful Views of San Diego San Diego

Encinitas Sign over Coast Highway 101, Encinitas, California

California has many funky beach towns, and Encinitas is one of my favorites. Swami's, Moonlight, Stone Steps, D Street. My kids are lucky to spend their summers on the beach in Encinitas. In the middle of town, a vintage-looking ENCINITAS sign arches over the Coast Highway 101, a landmark in…

Phil CollaDecember 10, 2013

Astrophotography and Night Scapes

VLBA Radio Telescope at Night under the Milky Way Galaxy, Owens Valley, California

The Owens Valley is home to a variety of radio telescopes. This particular radio telescope, photographed with the Milky Way galaxy rising above it in the night sky, is part of the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), a system of ten widely spaced radio telescopes that make certain forms of…

Phil CollaDecember 9, 2013

Beautiful Views of San Diego Panoramas San Diego

Panorama of San Diego City Skyline at Dawn, Storm Clouds and City Lights

I arrived very early one morning at one of my favorite spots from which to photograph America's Finest City, only to find the sky engulfed with thick storm clouds. However, as my eyes adjusted to the dark and I could see the pastel colors that spread outward from the city…

Phil CollaDecember 8, 2013

Beautiful Views of San Diego La Jolla Seascapes

Hospital Point Sunrise, Reef and Waves, La Jolla

Pre-dawn color is splashed across the clouds as small waves break over Hospital Point's distinctive sandstone reefs. A very long exposure makes the water look silky and blurred as it breaks over the rocks and flows back out to sea. Cheers and thanks for looking! Sunrise Clouds and Surf, Hospital…

Phil CollaDecember 7, 2013

Astrophotography and Night Scapes Sierra Nevada

Sky Rock Petroglyph with the Milky Way Rising over the Sierra Nevada

The Milky Way Galaxy rises in the night sky over the Sierra Nevada, with the Sky Rock Petroglyph panel in the foreground. I'm sure the original creator of this remarkable set of petroglyphs -- considered by some to be the finest petroglyph panel in the world -- had even darker…

Phil CollaDecember 6, 2013

Beautiful Views of San Diego San Diego

Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel at Sunrise, Embarcadero Marina, San Diego

The blue pre-dawn sky, with just a hint of the color that is to come with sunrise, serves as a backdrop for the distinctive towers of the Manchester Grand Hyatt hotel, overlooking the yachts in their slips along San Diego's Embarcadero marina. Cheers and thanks for looking! Manchester Grand Hyatt…

Phil CollaDecember 5, 2013

Beautiful Views of San Diego San Diego

Sunrise over San Diego Marriott Marina

Dawn breaks over the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina, as viewed from the San Diego Embarcadero Marine Park. Cheers and thanks for looking! San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina, and Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel (left) viewed from the San Diego Embarcadero Marine Park, sunrise Image ID: 28819 Location: San…

Phil CollaDecember 4, 2013

Beautiful Views of San Diego San Diego

Botanical Building and Lily Pond Reflection, Balboa Park, San Diego

The Botanical Building in San Diego's Balboa Park, 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 CollaDecember 3, 2013

Beautiful Views of San Diego La Jolla Seascapes Surf

Surfer and Beautiful Sunrise on Hospital Point Beach, La Jolla

Each winter I try to add fresh and appealing images to my San Diego and La Jolla portfolios. I spent Thanksgiving morning on the rocks at Hospital Point. It was truly a sunrise for which to be thankful. I made two fine photographs which will look great printed at 24"…

Phil CollaDecember 2, 2013

Natural History Photography – Best Images of 2013

Aerial Photos of Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, Mexico

Spectacular Sunrise in La Jolla

Moonlight Waves

Starlight and Moonlight on Little Corona, Newport Beach

Moonlight on Seal Rock, Laguna Beach, California

Big Corona Beach at Night, Corona Del Mar State Beach, Newport Beach

San Diego Awakens, Sunrise over the San Diego City Skyline

Scuba Diver (Korea) Pictorial

A Look Back at the Natural History Photography Blog

La Jolla Cove at Dawn, La Jolla, California

Encinitas Sign over Coast Highway 101, Encinitas, California

VLBA Radio Telescope at Night under the Milky Way Galaxy, Owens Valley, California

Panorama of San Diego City Skyline at Dawn, Storm Clouds and City Lights

Hospital Point Sunrise, Reef and Waves, La Jolla

Sky Rock Petroglyph with the Milky Way Rising over the Sierra Nevada

Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel at Sunrise, Embarcadero Marina, San Diego

Sunrise over San Diego Marriott Marina

Botanical Building and Lily Pond Reflection, Balboa Park, San Diego

Surfer and Beautiful Sunrise on Hospital Point Beach, La Jolla

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