All Posts By

Phil Colla

Aerial PhotographyCaliforniaSan Diego

Crystal Pier, San Diego

Crystal Pier, a combination hotel and pier in the Pacific Beach community of San Diego, extends 872 feet out into the Pacific Ocean. A few dozen cottages sit on the pier near its base. It was built in 1925. Seen beyond Crystal Pier in this aerial photo are Mission Bay…
February 5, 2009
Pelicans of La JollaSeabird

Open Wide

When I first viewed the shots from the day this was taken, I nearly tossed this one. "Sick and ugly" I thought. However, Skip said he thought it was the best shot of that day. I still think it is rather hard on the eyes, but I'll hold on to…
February 4, 2009
CanadaPanoramas

Cathedral Grove, Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island is covered with trees (at least those parts that have not been logged out yet). One particularly notable grove is Cathedral Grove, part of MacMillan Provincial Park. In Cathedral Grove enormous Douglas fir and Western hemlock trees are found, not yet taken by the logging industry and recently…
February 2, 2009
CaliforniaMorro BayPanoramas

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…
January 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…
January 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…
January 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…
January 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…
January 2, 2009
CaliforniaMorro 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.…
January 1, 2009
Best Photographs of the Year

Best Photos of 2008

Best Photos of 2008 In 2008, my photographic pursuits took me (and often, Tracy and the girls as well) all over San Diego, the central coast and deserts of California, Canada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, up in a plane and south of the border. Here are the photos from 2008…
December 31, 2008
California

I Love L.A.

After the warmth of the desert (grandparents #1 and #2, aunts and uncles #1-4, cousins #1-3), the snow-covered trees and mountains (grandparents #3 and #4), and the spectacular views and empty roads of the central coast (grandparent #5), our whirlwind holiday roadtrip to all our relatives took us to ...…
December 30, 2008
BirdsBosque del ApacheNew Mexico

Golden Crane, Bosque del Apache

Here is another sandhill crane (Grus canadensis), backlit by a reflected gold sunset, wading through one of the crane pools at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. A sandhill crane, standing in still waters with rich gold sunset light reflected around it. Image ID: 21805 Species: Sandhill crane, Grus canadensis…
December 21, 2008
CaliforniaPelicans of La JollaSeabird

La Jolla Pelicans

I went down to La Jolla last week to check out the brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus). There is a fence blocking access to the cliffs now, which is unfortunate and a real shame. When I was going to UCSD (many years ago) we would leap into the ocean from…
December 20, 2008
BirdsBosque del ApacheNew Mexico

Blastoff, Bosque del Apache

Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is famous for its early morning "blast off", a stunning event in which thousands of snow geese (Chen caerulescens) take to the skies. It does not happen every morning, nor does it happen at the same time on those mornings on which it takes…
December 18, 2008
BirdsBosque del ApacheNew Mexico

Sandhill Cranes, Bosque del Apache

Each evening while we were at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge we positioned ourselves at one of the two northern "crane pools", the ones located on the west side of the road as one approaches the main entrance to the refuge. For 30-40 minutes before and after sunset, sandhill…
December 15, 2008
Bosque del ApacheNew Mexico

Coyote, Bosque del Apache

One afternoon, after arriving at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, we planned to make a circuit of the Farm Loop in late afternoon before finishing at the crane pools. While transiting the center of the refuge we came upon this coyote (Canis latrans), surveying some marsh area from near…
December 14, 2008