Elephant Seal. Piedras Blancas, California. July 21, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Elephant seal on the beach at Piedras Blancas, California.
keywords: wildlife; mammal; acquatic; elephant seal; marine; sand; beach; california; usa; piedras blancas; highway; one; coast; shoreline; ocean; nature; stock; animal
Two Gulls in a Row. Pacific Coast, California. March 1, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Two gulls follow one another along the edge of a bluff along the California Pacific coast, flying past my position at eye-level.
I made a series of photographs of birds from this spot – the images that have been appearing recently included. To get these I followed a strategy that can work well in some places along the California coast: spend a few minutes figuring out the “line” that the birds follow along the end of the coastal cliffs, apparently looking for updrafts. Then set up close to or under one of these invisible paths, sit quietly, and photograph like mad as the birds fly by.
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Two Gulls in Formation, Blue Sky. Pacific Ocean Coastline, California. March 1, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Photographed along the California coast north of Santa Cruz on the first of March. I found a spot at the top of a coastal cliff where the birds flying along the coast came almost directly overhead.
keywords: two, gulls, sea, seagulls, blue, sky, ocean, sea, birds, shore, coast, coastline, california, usa, pacific, ocean, wildlife, animals, nature, stock, shoreline
Gull in Flight, Blue Sky. Pacific Coast, California. March 1, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
On the first day of March I went out for some “target practice” – trying to track gulls in flight from a bluff above the Pacific Ocean north of Santa Cruz, California.
I was using a new zoom that provides a 400mm focal length at the long end. Although I’m not primarily a wildlife photographer – not that I don’t give it a try from time to time – I have to say that trying to photograph gulls as they pass by in flight is a real challenge, and renews my appreciation for the skills of those who do specialize in “birds in flight” (or “BIF,” as they refer to it) photography.
gull, sea, gull, seagull, bird, shorebird, seabird, pacific, ocean, coast, california, usa, wildlife, nature, animal, bif, flight, fly, flying, shore, seashore, stock