All Posts By

Phil Colla

CaliforniaMontereyWildlife

Sea Otter Photos

Check out our selection of sea otter stock photos. The sea otter (Enhydra lutris) is found along the coasts of the northeastern Pacific ocean. Sea otters are marine mammals. Adult sea otters weigh about 30 to 100 lb. Sea otters are the largest species in the weasel family, but are…
November 20, 2008
CaliforniaCarlsbadSurf

Indian Summer, or, Why We Live Here

Hit the water this morning at 7am. Full sun, deep blue sky, not a cloud, mild warm offshore breezes, glassy sea, small but fun waves. Went for a walk with my daughter at Moonlight Beach at sunset tonight, deep orange-red sky, not a cloud, mild warm offshore breezes, glassy sea,…
November 16, 2008
CaliforniaCarlsbadSurf

Ponto Surf, 11-15-2008

Fun surf at Ponto this morning. Nice offshore wind, shoulder high sets once in a while. It got crowded about 8am, and the high tide softened the waves up so I got out by 9am and off to a soccer game. Wave breaking in early morning sunlight.Image ID: 21779Location: Ponto,…
November 15, 2008
CaliforniaMontereyWildlife

Not Impressed

We came to Monterey packing some serious photo schwag to photograph the otters. Between Jon and I, we had two 50Ds and at least one each of 5D, 1DIIN, 1DsII, 300/2.8, 400/DO and 500/4 lenses, plus a nice medium format film rig. This sea otter (Enhydra lutris) was nevertheless quite…
November 5, 2008
CaliforniaMontereyUnderwater Life

Sea Nettles

When I visit Monterey I always make a stop by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Always. My kids love it, and I can get a better look at some of the undersea life by visiting the aquarium than if I went to the hassle of actually diving. (I used to dive…
November 4, 2008
CaliforniaMonterey

Great Egret Fishing, Cannery Row

A great egret (Ardea alba) stands on a floating patch of kelp, picking fish out of the water that are unfortunate enough to swim too close. Monterey's famous Cannery Row stands in the background. Great egret catches a fish while standing on floating kelp in front of Cannery Row buildings,…
November 3, 2008
CaliforniaMontereyWildlife

Otter Paparazzi

Here is one of the cuter sea otters (Enhydra lutris) I managed to photograph in Monterey recently. After shooting one afternoon's worth of otters, both Jon and I decided that it was not worth spending time taking pictures of the dark-faced otters -- their deep brown fur made it tough…
November 2, 2008
CaliforniaMontereyWildlife

Rough Sex Redux

I was recently up in Monterey to join Jon Cornforth trying to photograph sea otters (Enhydra lutris). We saw a few. In this photo, Casanova (the male sea otter on the left) is holding his lady friend (the female, inverted on the right, apparently not enjoying it) by HER NOSE…
October 30, 2008
Guadalupe IslandMexico

Guadalupe 2008: Day’s End

Sunset comes at the end of a day of shark diving at Guadalupe Island.  What lurks below?  This is the dark water that gave the island one of its nicknames: "Monster Island". Dark water, clouds at days end, cliffs, sunset. Image ID: 21382 Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California,…
October 12, 2008
Guadalupe IslandMexico

Guadalupe 2008: Approaching the Island

Last week I made another trip to Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe) on my favorite boat, M/V Horizon, captained by Greg Grivetto. The trip was conducted in collaboration with Patric Douglas and SharkDiver.com. Of all the boats and captains working at Guadalupe Island, the Horizon and Captain Greg have to have…
October 2, 2008
Skip's Trips

Cassis, France

Another of Skip's nighttime views of southern France, this time of Cassis. To see more of Skip and Bonnie's photographs from Provence, click here.
September 23, 2008
Skip's Trips

Aigue Mortes, France

Today is the first of three guest entries from our good friend Skip Stubbs, who just returned from an extended trip to Paris and Provence. Here is a nighttime view of Aigue Mortes. To see more of Skip's shots from Provence, click here.
September 22, 2008
ElkNational ParksWildlifeWyomingYellowstone

Elk Photos

It's the time of year when the bugling of rutting elk echoes around Yellowstone National Park. Here is our collection of elk photos (Cervus candensis), all from Yellowstone National Park, most taken in the fall during the elk rut but a few in summer as the elk antlers are still…
September 1, 2008
CaliforniaGeoBlog

Map of Catalina Island Dive Sites and Locations

In the course of geotagging some old photos from Catalina Island, I realized it was simple to display the popular Catalina Island dive locations in Google Earth, Google Maps and Live Search Maps. So here they are. The map below is a small version of the Google Earth display, click…
August 24, 2008
CanadaVancouver

Totem Pole, British Columbia

We saw many totem poles in British Columbia. There are First People (Native American) communities throughout British Columbia, and the totem is one of their most visible and well-known cultural and artistic products. I should have taken a few more photos of them while we were there! Totem pole.Image ID:…
August 11, 2008
CaliforniaSierra Nevada

Photo of Mono Lake

A few photos from Mono Lake showing its famous tufa towers rising above its alkaline waters. The tufa towers are clustered in "groves" in several places around the lake. We checked out the South Grove. While we were walking around the edge of Mono Lake, we had low dense clouds…
August 10, 2008
CanadaVancouver

Capilano Suspension Bridge, Vancouver

The Capilano Suspension Bridge is just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia. It's a fun outing, especially for kids. Be advised, however, that you should arrive early if you wish to walk the bridges and through the forested sides of Capilano Gorge in peace. For once the tour buses arrive --…
August 9, 2008
Canada

Lost Lake, Whistler, British Columbia

Whistler is plugged with mountain bike trails, like a huge web running through the woods. I made a few outings to Lost Lake and the trails around there, running one morning and biking with my kids the next. We would often see shadowy figures moving deep in the forest on…
August 8, 2008
Canada

Ilanaaq on Whistler Mountain, British Columbia

While in Whistler, we saw a few unusual stone structures. One was at the top of the gondola station, near the patio overlooking Whistler Village. The other was larger and situated on a clearing on the summit of Whistler Mountain. After asking around, we learned that these were statues of…
August 7, 2008
Canada

Green Lake Panorama, Whistler, British Columbia

The weather we experienced in Whistler in July was spectacular. Warm, sunny, with hardly a cloud in the sky. However, that lack of clouds made for some truly uninspiring landscape photography. I only found one image from our stay in Whistler that I was very happy with, and that is…
August 6, 2008
CanadaVancouver

Granville Island Public Market, Vancouver

While in Vancouver we spent a few days on Granville Island. The collection of shops, marinas, parks and pubs there makes walking around the small island really enjoyable, and the views across to downtown Vancouver are great. We particularly liked the Granville Island Public Market, a conglomeration of grocers, fruit…
August 3, 2008
Canada

British Columbia Parliament Buildings, Victoria, Vancouver Island

Facing Victoria's famous and scenic Inner Harbour are the British Columbia Parliament Buildings. Built in 1893, the buildings are home to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The British Columbia Parliament Buildings are located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and serve as the seat of the Legislative Assembly of British…
August 1, 2008
CanadaPanoramas

Big Trees Trail on Meares Island

We had a few hours in Tofino one afternoon. Our choice was to go kayaking or take a boat ride over to Meares Island to walk the Big Trees Trail. We choose the latter. Arriving on the narrow shoreline after a 10-minute skiff ride, our boat driver told us he'd…
July 31, 2008
Canada

Rainforest in Pacific Rim National Park

One wet foggy morning while in Tofino (come to think of it, most mornings seem to be wet and foggy in Tofino) we rolled a short way down the road into Pacific Rim National Park and took a nice hike, more of a walk really, on the Rainforest Trail. The…
July 29, 2008
CanadaVancouver

Vancouver at Night

This is downtown Vancouver at night -- the Yaletown district -- viewed from Granville Island. After dinner my younger daughter and I took a stroll along the boardwalk in front of our hotel. The walk was now empty of tourists (all of whom had retired to the Granville Island brewery)…
July 28, 2008
CanadaGeoBlog

British Columbia Photos on Google Earth

We returned from our British Columbia trip last weekend. We spent time in Whistler, Tofino, Victoria and Vancouver and managed to do a lot of biking, ziplining, hiking, flying, eating and beachcombing. During the past week I've reviewed all the photos we shot and edited down to a selection of…
July 27, 2008