I had a request this morning for a bubble ring photo. Bubble rings are cool. Dolphins are the best at making them (seriously), having had eons to hone their skills. However, if you are a blowhard and willing to spend some time upsidedown underwater learning this amazing skill, you too…
Phil CollaDecember 22, 2006
Heaving tube-lets in South Carlsbad this morning: Carlsbad morning shorebreak, heaving little 6 tube.Image ID: 17901 Carlsbad morning shorebreak, heaving little 6 tube.Image ID: 17902
Phil CollaDecember 19, 2006
Surfline picked up my shot of Carson Smith getting barreled at Ponto for their latest slide show about the swell that hit last week. Carson Smith, Ponto, South Carlsbad, morning surf.Image ID: 17828Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA
Phil CollaDecember 18, 2006
Another nice morning in North County, surf was still strong and fun. Thanks to the surfers who let me poach some shots on their waves. Cardiff, morning surf.Image ID: 17884Location: Cardiff by the Sea, California, USA Cardiff, morning surf.Image ID: 17883Location: Cardiff by the Sea, California, USA Mike Thomas, Cardiff,…
Phil CollaDecember 14, 2006
Another nice morning in Carlsbad. Full sun, ocean was not too cold, glassy and calm, and a few big bottlenose dolphins swimming in the lineup. However, the water was full of sand from the lagoon so it looks sort of dingy in the photos, and there was a longshore current…
Phil CollaDecember 13, 2006
Can God create a wave so big that even He couldn't surf it? Ponto, South Carlsbad, morning surf.Image ID: 17833Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA Waxing philosophical today.
Phil CollaDecember 11, 2006
Got out this morning for a three hour session in some fun surf, first time in the water in about a month. A solid NW swell, light offshore winds, full sun, water not too cold, occasional freight train barrels -- empty. All the surfers were packed at the jetties so…
Phil CollaDecember 9, 2006
BBC Wildlife is the finest wildlife magazine in the UK and Europe, and one in which I have enjoyed seeing my images occasionally appear. The November 2006 issue has a nice article about blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus), authored by Anna McKibbin, leading with a two-page spread of a shot I…
Phil CollaNovember 29, 2006
My good friend and diving partner Skip Stubbs, just returned from another great dive trip, this one dedicated to bluewater freediving offshore of Magdalena Bay (Baja California), in search of marlin, mahi mahi and other pelagics alongside Terry Maas, Derek Stavenger, Bob Jackson, Mike McGettigan and Nils Larsen. While Skip…
Phil CollaNovember 19, 2006
This guy was shooting a large format film rig in the same patch of turning aspens (Populus tremuloides) I was in, near North Lake, Bishop Creek Canyon, California in September: A photographer is surrounded by changing aspen trees, turning fall colors, near North Lake in the Eastern Sierra, Bishop Creek…
Phil CollaNovember 15, 2006
This Caribbean reef shark (Carcharhinus perezi) was shot late afternoon on a seamount in the Northern Bahamas. There were so many reef sharks it was crazy. They smelled the small bait box that I was sitting on and were quite bold, bouncing off my shoulders, tank, my head and arms…
Phil CollaNovember 14, 2006
In the late 80s and 90s we used to leave the docks really early on summer mornings, motor 10-20 miles offshore in our little boats, far enough to get into really blue and bottemless water, drop a bucket of chum in the water, and make bets on when the blue…
Phil CollaNovember 11, 2006
Surfline picked up a shot of mine for today's ROCKTOBER slideshow, check this page out. Breaking wave, Ponto, South Carlsbad.Image ID: 17679Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA
Phil CollaNovember 2, 2006
This just in from my good friend and diving partner Skip Stubbs, who has just returned from another of his excellent dive expeditions, this time in Mexico's wonderful Sea of Cortez and Cabo Pulmo. For the past 7 years I have organized October diving trips to the Sea of Cortez…
Phil CollaOctober 30, 2006
This just in from my good friend and diving partner Skip Stubbs, who has just returned from another of his excellent dive expeditions, this time visiting Mexico's wonderful Sea of Cortez and Cabo Pulmo Since 2001 we have also visited Cabo Pulmo national marine park, on the east cape of…
Phil CollaOctober 29, 2006
Smaller and less consistent than the past few days but also less crowded. Click here for the shots I decided to keep from this morning. Below are a couple of the guys who took pity on me and passed by so I could get a few snaps. Ponto, South Carlsbad,…
Phil CollaOctober 24, 2006
Another nice day on the water. Click here for the shots I decided to keep from this morning. And below are a couple of larger ones. Tony Gatti, Ponto, South Carlsbad, morning surf.Image ID: 17777Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA Tony Gatti, Ponto, South Carlsbad, morning surf.Image ID: 17780Location: Ponto, Carlsbad,…
Phil CollaOctober 23, 2006
Fun day! I got out for an hour or so this morning. Beautiful light, offshores, size and on the weekend to boot. Click here for the shots I decided to keep from this morning . Ponto, South Carlsbad, morning surf.Image ID: 17717Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA Ponto, South Carlsbad, morning…
Phil CollaOctober 22, 2006
Solitude. I had a long stretch of the waves south of the jetties all to myself. It was beautiful this morning, until the tide rose and the waves lost their form. Click here to see more from this morning. Breaking wave, Ponto, South Carlsbad.Image ID: 17679Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA
Phil CollaOctober 20, 2006
Sunny, no wind, warm, nice October conditions this morning. Click here to see more from this morning.
Phil CollaOctober 19, 2006
It was overcast this morning, a storm is coming in says the weatherman. After dropping the kids off at school I got about an hour of fun and exercise in the water before a breeze arose and junked up the waves. Plus I had to get to work. Click here…
Phil CollaOctober 13, 2006
Darwin's Arch is a spectacular natural rock arch that rises above the ocean offshore of Darwin Island in the Galapagos Archipelago. (Typical of most islands in the Galapagos, Darwin Island has a second name that often appears on nautical charts: Culpepper Island.) Darwins Arch, a dramatic 50-foot tall natural lava…
Phil CollaOctober 12, 2006
Aspendell, in the Bishop Creek Canyon, cradles tiny Cardinal Pond. Cardinal Pond is well protected from wind, so its mirror-like surface reflects the turning aspen trees that surround it beautifully. Aspen trees reflected in Cardinal Pond, Aspendel, Bishop Creek Canyon.Image ID: 17504Species: Aspen, Populus tremuloidesLocation: Bishop Creek Canyon, Sierra Nevada…
Phil CollaOctober 11, 2006
Some Thoughts on Visiting Brooks Camp, Katmai National Park, Alaska to See Coastal Brown Bears (Ursus arctos) Coastal brown bear (Ursus arctos), near the bridge, Brooks Camp, Katmai National Park, Alaska Brooks Camp is located in the heart of Katmai National Park, Alaska. Long famous for its world-class fishing, spectacular…
Phil CollaOctober 10, 2006
We checked out the web logs for the first time in a while. OceanLight.com is receiving about 200,000 visitors and 300,000 visits a month, not counting crawlers (e.g., Google, Yahoo, MSN), that's over two million visitors each year. It is increasing each month (probably in sync with the increase in…
Phil CollaOctober 9, 2006
Ancient Bristlecone pine trees (Pinus longaeva) live in a relatively restricted area of eastern California, Nevada and Utah, typically at altitudes above 9500'. The ancient bristlecone pine tree is considered to be the world's oldest species of tree (and indeed the world's oldest sexually reproducing, nonclonal lifeform). A number of…
Phil CollaOctober 8, 2006
North Lake lies at the end of the road in the North Fork of Bishop Creek Canyon. This photo was taken around 8 in the morning, just as the sun illuminated the entire far side of the lake and moments before the wind kicked up and ruined the mirror reflection.…
Phil CollaOctober 7, 2006
These changing aspen trees (Populus tremuloides) were seen in Bishop Creek Canyon. Aspen trees turn yellow and orange in early October, South Fork of Bishop Creek Canyon.Image ID: 17503Species: Aspen, Populus tremuloidesLocation: Bishop Creek Canyon, Sierra Nevada Mountains, California, USA Aspen trees display Eastern Sierra fall colors, Lake Sabrina, Bishop…
Phil CollaOctober 6, 2006
The south fork of the Bishop Creek Canyon holds vast, thick groves of aspen trees (Populus tremuloides). Since aspen groves are clones, they all leaf out together in spring. In fall they change color simultaneously, resulting in fantastic expanses of canyonsides covered in rich hues of yellow and orange, as…
Phil CollaOctober 5, 2006
I found incredible displays of turning aspens along this dirt road near North Lake in the Bishop Creek Canyon photos. I was stoked to find that I had this road largely to myself for several hours one morning, under bright sun, blue skies and brilliant trees, before two photography workshop…
Phil CollaOctober 4, 2006
The small community of Aspendell is tucked in the Bishop Creek Canyon near the road to Lake Sabrina. The canyonsides around Aspendell are carpeted in groves of quaking aspens (Populus tremuloides) which glow yellow and orange in autumn. This is a view from the road just above Aspendell, looking toward…
Phil CollaOctober 3, 2006
Lake Sabrina in the Bishop Creek Canyon is surrounded by groves of quaking aspens (Populus tremuloides), which are nicely reflected in the lake in the early morning before any breezes has arisen. Aspen trees display Eastern Sierra fall colors, Lake Sabrina, Bishop Creek Canyon.Image ID: 17497Species: Aspen, Populus tremuloidesLocation: Bishop…
Phil CollaOctober 2, 2006
For a few years I have been interested in witnessing the famous fall colors of the Eastern Sierra, but never had the time to drive up Highway 395 and take a look. I finally managed to squeeze 36 hours out of my schedule recently and get up to Bishop, and…
Phil CollaSeptember 30, 2006
I met my friend Eric at Seaside Reef. It was overcast and illustrated why its called the "green room". See more surf photos.
Phil CollaSeptember 26, 2006
When I was a kid, my family would drive down from Newport Beach to spend a week or two each summer camping at South Carlsbad State Beach with two other families. This was going on 30+ years ago. (Now you know how old I am; everyone looks like a grom…
Phil CollaSeptember 25, 2006
**As of August 2012, I am using Delmar Housing Projects for my Canon 5D Mark III. The lens I prefer to use is the 16-35 f/2.8 II. The first couple sessions with this rig: first and second.** More surf photos. My approach to photography is not particularly rigorous or diligent.…
Phil CollaSeptember 24, 2006
The last light of the day caught the underside of this black skimmer (Rynchops niger): Black skimmer forages by flying over shallow water with its lower mandible dipping below the surface for small fish.Image ID: 17420Species: Black skimmer, Rynchops nigerLocation: San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge, California, USA
Phil CollaSeptember 23, 2006
This lone hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) was photographed at Darwin's Arch, Darwin Island, Galapagos Archipelago, Ecuador: Scalloped hammerhead shark, black and white / grainy.Image ID: 16265Species: Scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewiniLocation: Darwin Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Phil CollaSeptember 22, 2006
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