Wind, Waves,Flowers and Birds etc.

Way back on the twenty eighth of April I was going to go to the coast early in the morning. When I got up the wind was blowing and I went back to bed. Later on the wind seemed to settle down and I decided to head out to the coast. When I got there the wind was blowing like crazy. Of course by then it was the middle of the day and the lighting wasn't very nice either. I headed up north to the Ten Mile Marine Reserve and found some flowers to photograph. I would click the shutter between gusts of the wind. I also found a couple of sleeping Harbor Seals. It's great when you can photograph them without disturbing their behavior or sleep. They look like big bratwurst sausages! I headed south to one of the beaches after that and I photographed some Black Oystercatchers and some gulls. Later on I went back up north photographed the waves. There were some really big ones coming in too. Their power is most humbling. Anyone swept off the rocks where I was at would stand little chance of survival so I kept well back from the surf zone. Enjoy the images and have a blessed day, chris All images created with a Canon 7D and a variety of lenses. #TeamCanon

Harbor Seals of La Jolla

No journey to San Diego would be complete without a visit to the Harbor Seal colony at Casa Beach also known as Children's Pool or Children's Beach in La Jolla. No matter what name you call it the Harbor Seal viewing opportunities are just superb. It's beauty doesn't come without controversy. Legal problems abound between the City of San Diego and other Federal and State Organizations as well as recreational groups and environmental groups as well. Many groups want the seals there and others want them removed stating that they limit recreational pursuits and make the water unsafe due to high levels of bacteria from seal excrement. it's a very complex issue. In the meantime I'll just enjoy watching the seals. God's love and blessings to all, chris

Harbor Seals on the North Coast

As I was editing images this morning the fog kept drifting by my windows through the trees reminding me of my adventure to the Mendocino Coast yesterday. After my breakfast in Fort Bragg I had noseyed up the coast towards the "Fingers". Along the way I stopped off at the Pacific Star Winery where I planned on buying a bottle of wine for one of my good neighbors. For some reason there wasn't anyone in the tasting room. Beautiful place by the way. I lingered there for a few minutes and know one showed up so I left as I was on a mission to do some photography. When I got to the "Fingers" it was foggy with the sun trying to break through. Looking down I could see the fingers of rock reaching out into the Pacific explaining how the area got its name. The ocean was really calm, perfect conditions to do some seal photography. After hiking down the trail to the rocks I immediately spotted a group of harbor seals spy hop fishing. In calmer water seals have adopted a very unique way of looking for fish. The float upright in a spy hop position and tip their heads backwards into the water.This allows them to still breathe while looking downward into the water for fish. After they spot a fish they roll over and dive after it. I carefully made way down closer to the waters edge making sure not to disturb the seals. Once I was close enough I found a comfortable spot and sat down and waited. Several seals came by to check me out. They are quite curious and would stare at me from the water for awhile and then go back to fishing. Meanwhile off shore on their haul out rock the rest of the Harbor Seals snoozed. Once in awhile one would lift up its head to make sure everything was right with the world.There was a little bickering between some seals over spots but otherwise it was really calm. Towards the end of my stay some small waves began coming in. One dark seal had chosen a low spot and it started getting wet. It seemed really unhappy and finally it gave up and went back into the water. Some of the other seals dealt with the incoming water by lifting up their heads and tails to try and keep them warm and dry. By then I had been sitting on the rocks for over an hour and my rear end was getting a bit sore. Next time I need to remember to bring a pad to sit on. Climbing up the hill back to my pick up I stopped and photographed a bumblebee on a thistle. You never know what you will find to photograph when you are out in nature. Speaking of which there is still one more installment of this trip left to cover. God's love and blessings to all, chris Note: Harbor Seals in the United States are protected under the Marine Mammal Act and may not be harrassed or approached under a 100 feet. Please use common sense and good judgement around a seal colony.

An Albion Paddle

Today I took my Ultimate Watercraft Kayak for a long paddle up the Albion River on the North Coast of California. I went with my friend Joe and his wife Susie. We caught the incoming tide just perfectly and went as far as we could up river. On the return trip we timed it just right and hit the out going tide for the trip down river. To top it off the onshore wind didn't kick up at all. You can't ask for much better than that.

As we floated and paddled along we spotted a lot of seals. I got really close to a Cormorant and a Pacific Loon. The best sighting of the day was when Joe spied a Bald eagle up in a snag. I even got some sparrow images. The weather was perfect for a great day on the river.

God's love and blessings to all,

chris

Note: All of my kayak photography is done with a Native Watercraft Ultimate 14.5 Kayak. I use a custom made camera mount that I made specially to fit the kayak. Details on how to build the mount can be found here.

http://diyphotocheapodepot.blogspot.com/2011/04/kayak-camera-support.html

Native Watercraft's site is here.

http://nativewatercraft.com/boat.cfm?id=7