San Diego

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

Astrophotography and Night Scapes Beautiful Views of San Diego San Diego

Blue Moon over San Diego City Skyline

San Diego City Skyline at Sunset with a Rare Blue Moon Tonight I was fortunate to photograph a rare "blue moon" rising at sunset over San Diego's beautiful city skyline. This view is from Harbor Island looking across San Diego Bay toward the downtown waterfront. Tonight's full moon is indeed…

Phil CollaAugust 20, 2013

Beautiful Views of San Diego California Landscape San Diego

Torrey Pines State Reserve Panoramic Photo, Sunrise, San Diego

Panorama Picture of Torrey Pines State Reserve at Dawn, San Diego I know Broken Hill and Torrey Pines State Reserve very well, having run on the trails here at all times of day, throughout the year, since about 1986. There is a certain time of year when both the morning…

Phil CollaJune 22, 2013

Beautiful Views of San Diego San Diego

12 Beautiful Photos of San Diego, California

12 Beautiful Photographs of San Diego, California. America's Finest City, indeed. San Diego is a photographer's paradise, with fantastic weather year-round, gorgeous beaches, nearby mountains, the Pacific Ocean on our doorstep, and an attractive city skyline to boot. Here are some of my favorite photos of San Diego. If you…

Phil CollaMay 17, 2013

Beautiful Views of San Diego La Jolla San Diego Seascapes

Scripps Pier Sunset Perfect Solar Alignment, La Jolla, San Diego, California

SIO Pier Sunset with Sun Framed Within the Pier Pilings Occasionally the setting sun will be perfectly framed within the pilings the Scripps Institution of Oceanography research pier. This is what the perfect solar alignment through the SIO Pier pilings looks like -- it is a spectacular sight! Contact me…

Phil CollaMay 6, 2013

Beautiful Views of San Diego San Diego

San Diego Downtown Skyline, Waterfront and Embarcadero, Sunrise

The San Diego Embarcadero and City Skyline at Dawn America's Finest City! It sure is, and here's another view showing why San Diego is such a lovely place to live. This is the Embarcadero area of the San Diego City Skyline, including the Manchester Grand Hyatt and San Diego Marriott…

Phil CollaApril 19, 2013

Aerial Photography Beautiful Views of San Diego San Diego

Coronado Aerial Photos

Aerial photographs of Coronado, California, including Coronado Island, the Hotel del Coronado, and the San Diego Coronado Bay Bridge. These five Coronado Aerial Photographs are just a selection. If you like them, please be sure to see also my full collection of Coronado Aerial Photos and a gallery of San…

Phil CollaFebruary 12, 2013

Astrophotography and Night Scapes Beautiful Views of San Diego San Diego

Night Star Trails over the Downtown San Diego City Skyline

San Diego City Skyline Night Photograph with Star Trails I met friend and photographer Garry McCarthy at 0-dark-30 yesterday morning, with the goal of photographing the downtown San Diego city skyline with star trails circling above. Exceptionally clear skies are required for this sort of photograph since any moisture or…

Phil CollaJanuary 6, 2013

Beautiful Views of San Diego San Diego

Broken Hill, Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego

Dawn breaks over the mesa at Torrey Pines State Reserve, overlooking the Pacific Ocean with La Jolla in the distance. This sandstone formation is known as "Broken Hill" and presides above one of the most spectacular vistas in the San Diego area. I was alone here at dawn with nary…

Phil CollaJanuary 4, 2013

Beautiful Views of San Diego San Diego

San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina Panorama

This is a panoramic photo of the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina viewed from North Embarcadero Park along San Diego Bay's beautiful waterfront. The Marriott Hotel is the pair of curved glass-covered buildings rising directly ahead. Between and below them is Roy's Restaurant. The Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel is…

Phil CollaJune 9, 2012

San Diego

Stock Photos of Coronado, San Diego, California

Stock photos of Coronado, San Diego, California My recent San Diego Magazine cover photo of the San Diego Coronado Bridge has generated some potential new clients for me over the past few days. I've assembled a gallery of Coronado Island photos for them to consider for related publishing projects. We'll…

Phil CollaJanuary 29, 2012

Beautiful Views of San Diego San Diego

San Diego Magazine Cover Photo: Coronado Bay Bridge and Downtown

The February 2012 cover of San Diego Magazine is my aerial photo of the San Diego Coronado Bay Bridge, with the bay and downtown in the background. The boat wake shaped like a heart ("heart" = "reasons to love San Diego", get it?) was the work of the cover illustrator.…

Phil CollaJanuary 27, 2012

Beautiful Views of San Diego San Diego

Leucadia Sunset

Sunset over the Ocean, Leucadia, California This photo was made a few minutes after the sun went down, in Leucadia, California, an eclectic beach community in north San Diego county that is home to great surf, great taco shops and nouveau riche homes teetering on the edge of crumbling sea…

Phil CollaJanuary 18, 2012

Beautiful Views of San Diego San Diego

Hotel Del Coronado with Christmas Lights, San Diego

Christmas Holiday Lights at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, California. During the holidays I joined my photographer friend Garry McCarthy at sunset to photograph the Hotel Del Coronado on beautiful Coronado Island in San Diego. During the holidays "The Del" puts on quite a holiday show, with a…

Phil CollaJanuary 17, 2012

Beautiful Views of San Diego San Diego

Imperial Beach Pier

The Imperial Beach Pier is an old, charismatic wooden pier reaching out in the lovely Pacific from that funky and most-southerly city in California: Imperial Beach. The Imperial Beach Pier, of "I.B. Pier", was most recently built in 1989. It is 1491' long and 24' wide and situated in water…

Phil CollaJanuary 16, 2012

Beautiful Views of San Diego San Diego

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego

Photos of Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego When I went down to Point Loma to photograph downtown San Diego and Mount Laguna, I spent a while visiting beautiful and solemn Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. I was struck by the sheer number of tombstones covering the grassy rolling…

Phil CollaMarch 30, 2011

Beautiful Views of San Diego San Diego

Downtown San Diego and Snow-Covered Mount Laguna

Mount Laguna, covered in snow, rises over the downtown San Diego City Skyline In Southern California we have the ability to go skiing or sledding in the morning and surfing in the afternoon! A couple times when I was growing up I was able to ditch school and go mid-week…

Phil CollaMarch 29, 2011

Beautiful Views of San Diego La Jolla San Diego

Photos of Scripps Pier, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Photos of Scripps Pier, La Jolla Below is the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Research Pier, the pier that supports the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. The original wooden Scripps Pier was built in 1915 and was replaced by the modern cement pier in 1988. On the hill…

Phil CollaFebruary 7, 2011

Beautiful Views of San Diego La Jolla San Diego

La Jolla Photos

La Jolla Photos I have been having fun recently making new photographs of one of my favorite cities in California: La Jolla. I spent about 10 years living in La Jolla, first in undergrad and graduate school at UCSD then a while longer before moving to North County (Del Mar,…

Phil CollaJanuary 19, 2011

California Photography San Diego Time Lapse Video

Timelapse Movie of Oceanside Pier at Sunset

Timelapse video of dusk and sunset at the Oceanside Pier, California, as tourists play on the beach and surf fish. Shot with a still camera, my lucky flipflops, and a pack of Altoids. Finished on our new iMac. Gotta love coastal Southern California.

Phil CollaMarch 5, 2010

Aerial Photography California San Diego

San Diego Pictures

My San Diego pictures are now organized into a gallery of photos of San Diego on this website. San Diego Coronado Bridge, known locally as the Coronado Bridge, links San Diego with Coronado, California. The bridge was completed in 1969 and was a toll bridge until 2002. It is 2.1…

Phil CollaJuly 30, 2009

California San Diego

Tijuana River Pollution, San Diego

The Tijuana River Valley, which skirts the U.S. - Mexico border, has a huge pollution problem. The Tijuana River, which passes through Tijuana before crossing into the United States, collects huge amounts of trash and debris with each winter's storms. The plastic bottles, cans, tires, garbage bags, clothes, and sewage…

Phil CollaFebruary 27, 2009

Beautiful Views of San Diego California San Diego

Downtown San Diego and USS Midway

One more photo of San Diego, then on to other things. Seen here are the high rise office buildings along the waterfront of downtown San Diego, lit with warm sunset light. Dominating the foreground is the USS Midway, a US Navy aircraft carrier that is now permanently docked in San…

Phil CollaFebruary 14, 2009

Beautiful Views of San Diego California San Diego

Coast Highway 101

The Coast Highway, also known as Highway 101 or Coast Blvd, is one of the gems of San Diego County. It takes on somewhat different names as it passes through the beachside communities of La Jolla, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Encinitas and Carlsbad. It passes spectacular ocean views, funky cafes…

Phil CollaFebruary 13, 2009

Beautiful Views of San Diego California San Diego

San Diego Convention Center

We made several loops over downtown as the sun dropped to the horizon, eventually passing by the San Diego Covention Center. It is really a big facility and looks quite different from the air than when I have seen it from the entrance near the Gaslamp District. Just a few…

Phil CollaFebruary 12, 2009

Beautiful Views of San Diego San Diego

Petco Park and Downtown San Diego

Here is a view of Petco Park and downtown San Diego with San Diego Bay in the background. Downtown San Diego and Petco Park, viewed from the southeast. Image ID: 22300 Location: San Diego, California, USA See more of our San Diego Photos.

Phil CollaFebruary 10, 2009

Beautiful Views of San Diego California San Diego

Coronado Bridge, San Diego

One of the most striking sights during our flight over San Diego was the San Diego - Coronado Bridge. Arching high over San Diego Bay, the Coronado Bridge connects San Diego with the "island" community of Coronado and North Island Naval Air Station. Coronado is not truly an island as…

Phil CollaFebruary 9, 2009

Aerial Photography California San Diego

Hotel del Coronado, San Diego

An aerial photo of the Hotel del Coronado, known affectionately as the Hotel Del. It was once the largest hotel in the world, and is one of the country's few remaining wooden Victorian beach resorts. It sits on the beach on Coronado Island, seen here with downtown San Diego in…

Phil CollaFebruary 7, 2009

Beautiful Views of San Diego California San Diego

Old Point Loma Lighthouse, San Diego

The original Point Loma lighthouse was built in 1855 and operated until 1891. It was one of the original 8 lighthouses built on the West Coast and was designed in the Cape Cod style common to all of them at the time. East Coast lighthouses were then built on promontories…

Phil CollaFebruary 6, 2009

Aerial Photography California San 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…

Phil CollaFebruary 5, 2009

Aerial Photography California San Diego

Ocean Beach Pier, San Diego

Here is a view of the Ocean Beach Pier ("OB Pier") with Sunset Cliffs and Point Loma, and even one of the Coronado Islands in the distance. Ocean Beach Pier, also known as the OB Pier or Ocean Beach Municipal Pier, is the longest concrete pier on the West Coast…

Phil CollaFebruary 3, 2009

Beautiful Views of San Diego Panoramas San Diego

Torrey Pines State Beach

A panorama of the view from Flat Rock at sunset, viewed with your back to the sun facing the tall sandstone seacliffs that tower over Torrey Pines State Beach. This was shot from the place where yesterday's Oranjeboom couple was standing. This panoramic photo is a composite of 10 separate…

Phil CollaFebruary 1, 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

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

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