Phillip Colla
Natural History Photographer, family man, runner, traveler, lifelong Californian.
Occupation: Photographer
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Cream of the Crop: 01/03/2012
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Latest postings
2013-06-19 17:37:29 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 15 +1s)
NASA's Astronomy Photo of the Day!
My recent shot of the Milky Way and Airglow (the green streaks) over Oregon's Crater Lake was selected as NASA's Astronomy Photo of the Day (APOD) for today!
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130619.html
Even more cool is that when you visit the APOD page and roll your mouse over my photo, they've annotated it with the various constellations visible in this shot!
2013-06-18 21:57:23 (4 comments, 3 reshares, 56 +1s)
Galapagos tortoise, Santa Cruz Island species
highlands of Santa Cruz island. On all my trips to the Galapagos we have been mostly pursuing underwater things, but there is a little bit of life above water in the Galapagos too! Cheers and thanks for looking!
2013-06-14 15:40:47 (8 comments, 5 reshares, 68 +1s)
Coyote Buttes Swirls
While waiting for the light to get good, I shot some compositions around the second Wave to figure out where I wanted to be at the last few moments of sunset. +Garry McCarthy in the top right gives some scale to the size of these very cool rocks in the North Coyote Buttes, part of Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness in Arizona. Landscape photographers know this particular set of rocks well. Cheers and thanks for looking!
2013-06-12 16:18:01 (12 comments, 9 reshares, 103 +1s)
Milky Way over the Watchman, Zion National Park
This is a single frame, no compositing or local adjustments, just a careful exposure and manual focus using live view along with simple global adjustments in LR4 for white balance, contrast and clarity. This image is from our speed run through Utah and Arizona last week with +Garry McCarthy . I'll be adding to my collection of astrophotography landscapes as I get through a big backlog of new images, but here are some that are already online and available for licensing: http://www.landscapeastrophotography.com/
#astrophotography #utah #zion #zionnationalpark #nps #nightscapes #nightphotography #landscapeastrophotography #plusphotoextract by +Jarek Klimek #nationalparksmonday +NationalParksMonday by +Juan Pons
2013-06-12 02:15:49 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 57 +1s)
Stars over Monument Valley
We were done shooting for the evening and had a 200 mile drive back to our hotel. +Garry McCarthy , my astro-expert travel bud, was checking his iphone aps and realized that would pass through Monument Valley right when astronomical twilight was occurring, so we ingested more coffee and made a brief stop at the overlook to make a few photos. This was shot with a manual focus 24mm f/1.4 lens to keep the exposure time as brief as possible in order to freeze the stars. Cheers, and thanks for looking!
#astrophotography #utah #monumentvalley #nightscapes #nightphotography #potd #landscapeastrophotography #starrynights
2013-06-11 00:52:47 (1 comments, 6 reshares, 85 +1s)
The Wave, North Coyote Buttes
+Garry McCarthy and I made a mad road trip, driving 1400 miles in four days and shooting some amazing nightscapes in locations both familiar and new. We'll have some top images to share in the coming days. We did visit some of the more traditional locales too, including the Wave seen here in late afternoon light with some monsoonal clouds. Cheers, and thanks for looking!
2013-06-03 23:36:48 (9 comments, 9 reshares, 65 +1s)
Road Trip!
Heading into a road trip with +Garry McCarthy and I just realized that I will be without a Canon 1-series body for the first time about 10 years. I'll be putting two Nikon D800s through their paces, hopefully avoiding the dust and dunking that can arise with images like this. We'll start the trip off with a visit to the Wave and cap the trip off with one of the finest hikes anywhere in the U.S. -- the Virgin Narrows in Zion, hitting some new spots and old familiar spots in between. The trees won't have fall foliage but +Ron Niebrugge tells me the water should be warm and relatively low which will be a nice change from hiking the Narrows in November. Cheers!
2013-05-31 22:39:24 (2 comments, 3 reshares, 40 +1s)
Adorama and Really Right Stuff both dropped off packages today -- yup, it looks like a road trip is in order. The second best pair of words (after "Toga Party") to utter: R O A D T R I P. This is a section of Buckskin Gulch not far from Wire Pass trailhead -- we may take a detour and spend a little time here, or perhaps not, don't really have any certain plans yet just a vague idea and a full SUV.
2013-05-31 22:54:03 (6 comments, 3 reshares, 7 +1s)
Shame! I guess it was just a matter of time. We've seen tire marks, footprints and now the rocks themselves are disappearing from the Racetrack.
#deathvalley #deathvalleynationalpark #racetrackplaya #scumbag #landscapephotography
2013-05-31 13:38:03 (3 comments, 2 reshares, 51 +1s)
Black Mountain near San Diego, photographed from a friend's small plane. I've had a number of photographers tell me the photo would be better if I photoshopped the wing tip out of the upper left corner. Nope, canna do dat. This was from the first time I shot a Nikon 14-24 and it was instant love, will forever be my favorite lens.
2013-05-30 15:50:50 (7 comments, 1 reshares, 63 +1s)
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Trees Under A Sky Full of Stars
Pinus longaeva, White Mountains, Inyo National Forest. Ancient Bristlecone pine trees 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 individual bristlecone pine trees are known to exceed 4000 years of age; the “Methuselah tree” in the Schulman grove was estimated to be 4838 years old in 2006.
More about these photographing these trees on my blog: http://www.landscapeastrophotography.com/ancient-bristlecone-pines-under-a-sky-full-of-stars/
Cheers and thanks for looking!
#astrophotography #california #nightscapes #nightphotography #potd #landscapeastro... more »
2013-05-26 01:46:40 (4 comments, 3 reshares, 67 +1s)
Tioga Pass nearly clear of snow, Yosemite National Park
There was not much snow left on Tioga Pass last weekend, just a few fading drifts here and there. Mammoth Peak, seen here in the distance, still had a lot of snow but that will change swiftly. Cheers!
#yosemitenationalpark #yosemitephotography #landscapephotography #potd #california #sierranevada
2013-05-25 05:08:09 (4 comments, 4 reshares, 74 +1s)
Night Sky Verto-pano, icy Tenaya Lake, Yosemite NP
Canon 5D3 & Bower 24m f/1.4, ISO 1600, 10 seconds.
#astrophotography #california #nightscapes #nightphotography #potd #landscapeastrophotography #yosemite #yosemitenationalpark #starrynights
2013-05-24 23:36:44 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 21 +1s)
Canon 5D Mark II and 24-105 Lens for Sale!
I have a Canon 5D Mark II with 24-105mm f/4 L lens looking for a new home. It comes with two genuine (not third party) batteries and a Really Right Stuff L bracket, manuals, strap, original box, etc. All of these images were shot with this camera and lens, so if you like what you see here and what to take this great camera out into the world to make your own memories, let me know. I'm asking $2450 for the package, that includes insured ground shipping in the continental United States. You can pick up at my home near San Diego in person if you wish. If I don't have it sold to G+ folks by Monday I will list it on Ebay. Cheers, and thanks for looking!
#canonusers #canonphotography #canon #forsale #canon5dmk2 #canon5dmarkii
2013-05-24 22:17:44 (6 comments, 2 reshares, 37 +1s)
Tubastrea, Galapagos, Ecuador
Shot on the beautiful reef along Isla Champion in the central Galapagos Islands, 1994, Kodachrome 25.
2013-05-24 13:55:23 (8 comments, 2 reshares, 51 +1s)
Torrey Pines by Moonlight
These are the seacliffs of Torrey Pines State Park, rising over Flat Rock and Black's Beach, illuminated by a full moon about an hour before sunrise. The lights of a waking La Jolla are visible at far right, and Del Mar at far left. An 8-frame panorama. Cheers!
#starrynights #astrophotography #california #nightscapes #nightphotography #potd #landscapeastrophotography #california #sandiego #lajolla #torreypines
2013-05-23 20:43:04 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 79 +1s)
Giza, Egypt, 1992
Cairo has grown to engulf the desert around the Great Pyramids now, not much open space around these ancient wonders anymore. Cheers!
2013-05-22 23:58:41 (7 comments, 16 reshares, 79 +1s)
Vortex, Las Animas seamount, Sea of Cortez
#underwater #underwaterphotography #underwaterphoto #mexico #bajacalifornia
2013-05-22 21:58:19 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 41 +1s)
Timeless View
Growing on a high ridge at 11,000', exposed to constant winds and bracing temperatures, an ancient bristlecone looks across the top of the White Mountains to the crest of the Sierra Nevada in the distance, stars and moon above. It is likely this old tree has had this same view since the days of Christ and the Romans, and his sire may have had a similar view back when Tut ruled Egypt. I love being among these ancient trees. Cheers and thanks for looking!
#starrynights #astrophotography #california #nightscapes #nightphotography #potd #landscapeastrophotography #bristlecone #sierranevada #california
2013-05-21 15:26:12 (2 comments, 4 reshares, 73 +1s)
Mono Lake Tufas, Milky Way
Mono Lake sees a crush of photographers at dawn and dusk but at night one can be truly alone here. Read more here: http://www.landscapeastrophotography.com/tufa-and-stars-mono-lake-at-night/ Cheers and thanks for looking!
#starrynights #astrophotography #california #nightscapes #nightphotography #potd #landscapeastrophotography #monolake
2013-05-20 01:56:59 (8 comments, 5 reshares, 89 +1s)
Milky Way over Tenaya Lake, Yosemite National Park
This is the first image I processed from a very short trip into Yosemite and the White Mountains. I shot none of the images I had planned, and ended up shooting some compositions I did not envision until just an hour or two before I made them, based on weather and how the night sky developed. This was made with the Bower 24mm f/1.4 lens on a Canon 5D3, and consists for six frames for a pretty large panorama. Cheers and thanks for looking!
#starrynights #astrophotography #california #nightscapes #nightphotography #potd #landscapeastrophotography #yosemite #yosemitenationalpark *
2013-05-17 15:45:13 (2 comments, 5 reshares, 43 +1s)
San Diego, clearing storm clouds and sunset city skyline
I've posted some of my other favorite photographs of San Diego on my blog, if you like San Diego (America's best weather!) be sure to take a gander: http://www.oceanlight.com/log/12-beautiful-photos-of-san-diego-california.html Cheers and thanks for looking!
#sandiego
2013-05-16 23:50:53 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 78 +1s)
Scripps Pier at Night
Scripps Institution of Oceanography Research Pier, operating at night, stars in the sky, old La Jolla town in the distance. More photos of La Jolla here: http://www.oceanlight.com/la_jolla_photos.html
Cheers!
#sandiego #lajolla #siopier #starrynights #astrophotography #california #nightscapes #nightphotography #potd #landscapephotography
2013-05-15 21:33:07 (4 comments, 9 reshares, 58 +1s)
Last Light on Yucca Point
Viewed from Razor Point (not far from the old Fat Man's Misery trail), Black's Beach cliffs and La Jolla in the distance, Torrey Pines S.R., San Diego.
#sandiego #lajolla #torreypines #sunset #potd #landscapephotography
2013-05-15 00:33:21 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)
Thanks +Jarek Klimek and Photoextract.com for including my penguin mother's day photo for in the Top G+ photos for May 12!
2013-05-14 15:30:46 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 29 +1s)
Torrey Pines view from Razor Point
View to La Jolla, about 20 minutes after sundown. The eroded sandstone sort of reminds me of Bryce Canyon amphitheatre in Utah. San Diego == Best. It is images like this, shot with the Nikon 14-24, that have me mulling over picking up more Nikon gear. The detail I can pull out of this image, both foreground and distance, is really superb. I am nominally a Canon shooter but I own the 14-24 for its legendary sharpness and versatility, and bought a D800 to serve as the life support for the lens. Now I'm thinking a 24-70/D800 is required to keep it company before I begin my shooting for the summer. Hmm, just got a agency check, perhaps need to blow it on more gear? Cheers!
#sandiego #lajolla #torreypines #sunset #potd #landscapephotography
2013-05-12 17:55:38 (3 comments, 6 reshares, 48 +1s)
Happy Mothers Day
Gentoo penguin with two chicks, Antarctica.
2013-05-12 04:24:59 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 48 +1s)
Kelp Fronds and Sunlight, San Clemente Island
From some years ago. I hope to reshoot this with a D800 sometime soon so I can make a 40"x60" wall hanging. Cheers!
2013-05-09 15:19:14 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 45 +1s)
Humpback whales, mother and calf, Pailolo Channel, 1994
From the archives. This from my first season working under permit with whale researcher Dan Salden in the Hawaiian Islands, almost 20 years ago. Underwater photography of whales was simple, the equipment was comparatively primitive and the emphasis was on basic science and research support. My how things have changed. Cheers!
#whale #underwaterphotography #hawaii #aloha #vintage
2013-05-09 03:19:21 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 48 +1s)
British Museum, Central Foyer, London
Wow, what a ceiling. The art, sculpture and other exhibits aren't bad either. Cheers!
2013-05-08 13:15:17 (13 comments, 4 reshares, 64 +1s)
Milky Way Galaxy, Live Oak and Rocks, Joshua Tree National Park at Night
I have spent many evenings photographing the landscape and night sky at Joshua Tree National Park. The terrain is harsh and there are few trees other than Yucca and Joshua Tree. I did find one attractive live oak nestled up against some tall boulders, and made a point of photographing it when the Milky Way galaxy was high in the sky above it. This four image panorama, shot with the Nikon D800 and Nikon 14-24 f/2.8 lens, will print up to 100″ wide and 60″ and would make a great wall mural in your home or office! Cheers and thanks for looking.
More landscape astrophotography blog images: http://www.landscapeastrophotography.com/blog/
#starrynights #nightscapes #startrails #nightphotography #potd #astrophotography #landscapephotography
2013-05-07 14:39:31 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)
Scripps Institution of Oceanography Research Pier in beautiful La Jolla, California, with the setting sun perfectly framed within the pier pilings.
This spectacular solar alignment occurs rarely, and is difficult to capture in a photograph since the weather is often overcast. This is what the perfect solar alignment through the SIO Pier pilings looks like — it is a spectacular sight! Cheers, and thanks for looking!
#sandiego #lajolla #potd #landscapephotography #photography
2013-05-05 03:24:03 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 65 +1s)
God Beams, La Jolla, this evening. San Diego is the best.
2013-05-01 03:10:15 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 32 +1s)
Newport Pier
Super bendo fisheye view, no surf, low tide. We used to jump off this pier when we were kids. Cheers!
2013-04-30 22:41:16 (8 comments, 1 reshares, 16 +1s)
The Milky Way and Stars at Night over the Fire Wave in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
The Fire Wave in Valley of Fire: an interesting striped expanse of sandstone, now commonly photographed. I wanted to make some uncommon images of the Fire Wave, so I set up my camera with an intervalometer to photograph it all night long. This image shows the Milky Way rising in the night sky with the Fire Wave in the foreground. Distant lights of Las Vegas and nearby urban communities can be seen low on the horizon but the sky above was surprising clear of light pollution. The Valley of Fire sure is a beautiful place! For some other Landscape Astrophotography blog posts: http://www.oceanlight.com/log/category/photography/astrophotography-and-night-scapes
Cheers and thanks for looking!
#starrynights #nightscapes #startrails #nightphotography #potd
2013-04-29 16:24:53 (6 comments, 5 reshares, 49 +1s)
New Work - April 2013
To skip the verbage and go straight to the new images: http://www.oceanlight.com/log/new-work-april-2013.html
I have been slowing down the release of new work on my web site. This is partly due to my desire to be more contemplative and rigorous during the editing of my images, but also I had my shoulder nearly rebuilt when three tendons were reattached during a major surgery in February. It is only in the last couple weeks that I have been able to get out again and photograph, and even now I have to hold back on what I can do. No wave photography, backpacking or scuba diving for me this year it seems, at least for 6-8 more months.
Included in this release are some favorite locations, such as La Jolla’s Torrey Pines State Reserve, Joshua Tree National Park and Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park. I have photographed them at night in order to try... more »
2013-04-28 20:07:50 (3 comments, 2 reshares, 43 +1s)
San Clemente Pier, under overcast skies an hour before sunrise.
2013-04-30 22:41:03 (11 comments, 4 reshares, 79 +1s)
Torrey Pines S.R., beach lit by full moon, can't imagine being able to get this shot including stars and virtually no noise in the old film days. Cheers!
#starrynights #nightscapes #startrails #nightphotography #potd
2013-04-25 16:42:49 (16 comments, 2 reshares, 60 +1s)
I used to photograph whales and sharks. I photograph these animals now. They are almost as dangerous as sharks, make the same splash as a whale, they travel in large pods communicating with unintelligible sounds, they eat strange food and swim faster than me. And just like sharks and whales they do not like being kept in captivity. Cheers!
2013-04-24 00:08:08 (3 comments, 5 reshares, 82 +1s)
Wedge backwash. Note the +GoPro shooter with his 3D dual-cam water housing rig. #gopro #surf #wave #potd #newportbeach
2013-04-23 00:55:52 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 51 +1s)
Stars, Clouds, Pacific Ocean, Torrey Pines Evening
Happy Earth Day! I'm gathering my new images from the last few months and will be updating my stock website with them soon. In the meantime, some other Astrophotography Landscape photos of mine can be found here: http://www.oceanlight.com/landscape_astrophotography_photos.html
#starrynights #nightscapes #startrails #nightphotography #potd
2013-04-22 18:47:29 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 26 +1s)
My Thoughts About the Lightroom 5 Beta
The Lightroom 5 Beta seems like a modest upgrade compared to previous versions. But it's still a big deal because it could radically improve your workflow: http://www.michaelfrye.com/landscape-photography-blog/2013/04/22/lightroom-5-beta/
2013-04-20 15:26:58 (11 comments, 2 reshares, 59 +1s)
Torrey Pines Sunrise
It is baby rattler season in San Diego. I chickened out yesterday morning. I got up at 3am to venture out and take some photos on the Torrey Pines mesa, but then started worrying that I would have baby rattlers snuggling up next to me as I slept on the ground (while my cameras were taking pics) so I got back in my warm bed and went back to sleep. What a wuss. This morning I didn't wimp out and the sunrise was very nice, one of those mornings that makes one glad to be alive, with foxes running about, birds chirping, waves sounding along the beach, old men playing golf at the Torrey Pines course. San Diego is the best. Here are more photos of San Diego: http://www.oceanlight.com/san_diego_photos.html Cheers and thanks for looking!
2013-04-19 19:42:39 (8 comments, 3 reshares, 78 +1s)
Elephant Arch under the Stars, Valley of Fire
A little light pollution from Sin City corrupts the right half of the sky, otherwise it was a pretty nice evening in this desert state park. Cheers!
#starrynights #nightscapes #startrails #nightphotography #potd
2013-04-16 14:59:06 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 54 +1s)
Milky Way and Arch Rock with Bower 24mm f/1.4
This particular composition I credit to +Garry McCarthy , whom I believe is the first to conceive of just this alignment. We've executed it a few times over the years, and I return to it once in a while just to see if I can make something different or better. This was made with the Bower 24mm f/1.4 lens, shot wide open. I used Live View to focus on the stars, which was easy due to the very wide aperture this lens offer. The light collecting ability of this lens is impressive! I was able to shoot the images that make up this panorama at only 13 seconds (which is on the short end for Milky Way exposures). At this exposure time, the stars really do render nicely as points with effectively no streaking. The wide aperture allowed for a lot of light from the Milky Way to be recorded. However, there is one drawback to these settings... more »
2013-04-16 15:35:00 (9 comments, 5 reshares, 77 +1s)
Milky Way and Arch Rock with Bower 24mm f/1.4
This particular composition I credit to +Garry McCarthy , whom I believe is the first to conceive of just this alignment. We've executed it a few times over the years, and I return to it once in a while just to see if I can make something different or better. This was made with the Bower 24mm f/1.4 lens, shot wide open. I used Live View to focus on the stars, which was easy due to the very wide aperture this lens offer. The light collecting ability of this lens is impressive! I was able to shoot the images that make up this panorama at only 13 seconds (which is on the short end for Milky Way exposures). At this exposure time, the stars really do render nicely as points with effectively no streaking. The wide aperture allowed for a lot of light from the Milky Way to be recorded. However, there is one drawback to these settings... more »
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