Whale watching with the Laguna Sea Dwellers and the Ocean Institute

On Saturday, I met up with the Laguna Sea Dwellers to go whale watching with the Ocean Institute out of Dana Point. They were a very nice and welcoming group, even though I wasn't a member of the dive club. We were on the Sea Explorer, a well equipped boat for whale watching. On our way out, we stopped to play with a small pod of bottlenose dolphins (tursiops truncatus). A few came right under the boat:



and another leaped out of the water, coming back to land with a large splash (click on the image for larger versions):


Next, we found a large pod of Risso's dolphins (grampus griseus), which are the largest dolphins found off of California. As they age, they acquire more and more scars, so the oldest dolphins are almost white. This pod was relatively young, with many baby dolphins.



Our time with the large pod of Risso's was cut shut, when the captain heard that a gray whale was spotted closer to shore. We caught up with a small armada of other boats that were following a single gray whale (eschrichtius robustus). The first sight you see is the brief surfacing and spout of moist air as the whale exhales:



This whale was about 30 ft long. The whale breaths about 3 times before going for a deep dive and typically stays under between 5 and 6 minutes. On the last breath before the deep dive, its fluke would sometimes come out of the water, in order to give a big push downward.



During this time period, the various boats would jockey for position, trying to predict where the whale would surface next, yet keeping a distance in order to not disturb it's migration south. As the 5 minute mark approached, everyone on the boat would start scanning the horizon to spot the first breath. After about 5 diving/surfacings, it was time to head back to the docks.



Location of the Ocean Institute at Dana Point Harbor:

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More photos are up at:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Beaches/20100130-Whale-watching-cruise/

Scott

Sunrise at Batiquitos Lagoon

I got up early this morning and caught the sunrise before heading north for a whale watching excursion. I've had this spot stuck in my head for sunrise/sunset for a couple of weeks and today was the day to try it out. Unfortunately, the clouds lit up to the west of where I was shooting, rather than to the east. With my back to the freeway, I tried to capture the silhouettes of the trees and hills, with the thin layer of fog over the water.

Here's a map of where I was standing (green arrow):

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Scott

Sunset at the Oceanside Harbor Jetty

We had a nice range of cloud types covering the sky today. Near the end of the day, it was looking a bit hazy, but I took a chance that the sun would pop through the clouds for sunset. I wanted to try a new spot and had some time to explore, so I headed down to Oceanside, past the pier to the harbor.

It turns out there's some nice restaurants and large parking lots along the beach and adjacent to the harbor. The only down side is that parking is a minimum of $5 at the beach. On the other hand, they have overnight parking/camping for $10/night.

Fortunately, there was a break in the clouds near the horizon, so the sun lit up the underside of the clouds nicely. To get this shot, I ventured out on the jetty, past the groups of people fishing and climbed down, closer to the water's edge. After the sun had set, I timed the shot to get a wave crashing against the jetty.


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Scott

Cuyamaca Mountains

On Sunday morning, I got up early and took a drive past Julian to Lake Cuyamaca. I had heard that large crowds were turned away from the Sunrise Highway to Mt. Laguna the day before, so I planned on arriving early and hiking to the Green Valley Falls.



I stopped for a sunrise photo in San Pasqual Valley, seeing the fog transposed against the clear sky and realizing I wasn't going to make it to the mountains before the sun was up.

When I drove past Julian, I could see snow blanketing the surrounding mountainsides. I stopped for a few pictures at Inspiration Point (on the 79), meeting a nice couple that lived near Julian. Continuing along the 79, I found Sunrise Highway was still closed. At the Lake Cuyamaca store, the park office that sells parking permits didn't open until 10 am, including the Chambers Park. As a result, I was either going to have to shoot at the lake later in the day or skip Lake Cuyamaca altogether. I continued south on the 79, heading for Green Valley Falls campground.

I almost got stuck in a small turnout packed with snow. I got to try out all the features of my 4x4 and finally managed to get out by going forward, further into the snow. In California, I don't get much practice driving in deep snow.



I finally arrived at the Green Valley Campground, only to find out they were closed for the winter, due to California's budget cuts. It also meant there was no parking near the Green Valley Falls. I drove back to the nearest parking area, about 3/4 of a mile away and decided to hike a connecting trail back to the closed campground.



The deserted Green Valley Falls campground was eerie and after slipping on ice on the roadway, I decided I needed to be more careful. I finally found the trail to the Green Valley falls on the opposite end of the campground, where it was just a short 1/2 mile hike down a hill. There were about 3 different levels of falls. I spent the most time at the upper falls, crouched precariously on a smooth rock in the middle of the river. My boots were damp and muddy and the water was icy cold. I then hiked down river to the next two sets of falls, stopping to take pictures as I went.

When I arrived back at the parking area, it was wall to wall packed with cars. Large crowds were playing in the snow in the open area near the parking. Cars were also bumper to bumper heading north towards Lake Cuyamaca, the closed Sunrise Highway and my way home. I decided to head south towards the 8 freeway and take the long way home.

Here's a map of where the parking area and Green Valley Falls are located:

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More photos are up at:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Places/20100124-Cuyamaca/

Scott

Storm day 5 - La Jolla Cove

This wave is another reason for why we're not diving (again) this weekend. This photo was taken at La Jolla Cove.

On my way down to La Jolla on Friday, I was rear ended on the freeway. Fortunately, it was nothing serious, but not a nice way to start a Friday. After calling my insurance and all of the other little details, I was on my way again.

The storm was nearing its end on Friday, so the rain was intermittent. However, each time I'd find a place to park and get out to take pictures, within 10 minutes it would start pouring again. Also, the waves were not crashing as cleanly against the shore as I had hoped. At the Childrens Pool wall, the wave energy was mostly lost by the time it hit the wall.

A few more pictures are up at:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Beaches/20100122-Storm-in-La-Jolla/

Scott

Storm day 4 - Oceanside Pier in the morning

With predictions of 20-25 foot surf, I headed down to the Oceanside Pier. A fortunate break in the rain and wind allowed me to get out onto the pier with my camera. Unfortunately, the waves were not as large as I'd hoped. They didn't seem much bigger than 10-15 ft, similar to last week's large surf.



Even though they weren't giant, there were some nicely formed waves breaking alongside the pier.

After about 45 minutes of shooting waves and surfers, the wind suddenly picked up. One of the other photographers on the pier commented that 'this surf session is over'. Within a couple of minutes, the rain started to come down hard and the surfers caught the next waves in.



More pictures of the waves plus a few surfers at:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Beaches/20090121-Oceanside-Storm/

Storm day 2 - Seal Beach Pier

On the second day (Tuesday) of the big storm that hit California, I decided to head down to the Seal Beach Pier for sunset after the main band of rain had passed. Earlier that day, a tornado struck about 2 miles from the pier, flipping an SUV and tossing some boats in the marina.



The clouds opened up for the sunset and were mostly gathered against Mt. Wilson to the east. A large number of people gathered at the beach to check out the storm surge and wind.



I would not enjoy being out on the oil rig or one of the other cargo ships in the Long Beach harbor. The waves were pounding from the south west, into an area that is usually protected from the westward wind and waves.


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More photos at:
http://underpressurephoto.com/Beaches/Storm-Seal-Beach-Pier/

Scott