July Photo Contest

SUMMARY: I got another ribbon from my photo club!

Most months, my photo club has a digital photo competition and the photos are displayed on a large screen so it's easier for all of us (and the judge) to see them. A few times a year, though, they do a print competition for those who prefer the print media.

I decided to try printing and entering one of my photos. Gah! Hate trying to figure out how to make something that looks nice on the screen then look nice when printed! But I wrestled with it for a couple of hours a couple of weeks ago and then another couple of hours more this week, finally printed it, entered it into tonight's competition, and it won Best In Class in the Nature class!

It definitely looks better up close than in an 8x10 print from across the room. I posted it first in this post, but edited differently. Here's my version as printed.

Sea Otter Eating A Clam

Elkhorn Slough

SUMMARY: Other things to do without dogs.

A couple of weekends ago, I joined a photography meet-up group for a chartered trip on Elkhorn Slough. The slough is quite shallow; we chartered a flat-bottomed tourboat whose skipper is not only well-versed in the wildlife but is himself a photographer, so he knew what made good photos and where to move the boat for the best lighting.

Elkhorn: Hey, did you know that there is a dog sport called "shed dog"? Basically, you teach your dog to find antlers. More info here.

Slough: Pronounced "sloo" (like "through"). A stream distributary, secondary delta channel without trees, marshy area, pond, or swamp--depending on what part of the country or world you're in.

Elkhorn Slough: "7-mile-long (11 km) tidal slough and estuary on Monterey Bay in Monterey County, California. Elkhorn Slough harbors the largest tract of tidal salt marsh in California outside of San Francisco Bay and provides much-needed habitat for hundreds of species of plants and animals, including more than 340 species of birds. More than 5,000 acres of the Elkhorn Slough area are preserved. The slough's wildlife and habitats are protected primarily by two marine protected areas, the Elkhorn Slough State Marine Reserve (SMR) and Elkhorn Slough State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA). The combined areas cover 1.57 square miles (4.1 km2)." (Wikipedia)

Our expectations--to see some nifty birds, some sea lions, and maybe an otter or two-- Particularly an OTTER or two!-- from right close up.

I rented meself some serious glass--a 50-500mm lens--for the trip--quite inexpensive compared to the top-of-the-line long telephotos and with a much greater range than any others. They warned up front that it's not a crystal-clear prime lens, but that the weight couldn't be beat compared to the more expensive glass. With camera, "only" around 5 lbs. (groan, still a bit weighty).

50mm length

500mm length

I hoped that would be enough to get some excellent close-ups of birds and maybe even OTTERS! I took over 700 photos; about half were tossable right up front. Here are a few that turned out ok. There are more that I like, too, but this is a flavor.

Our "Safari" boat:

The skipper, out on the Slough:

We started at the Moss Landing Harbor, which is home port for many sailboats, fishing boats, and, er, well, those black-painted schooners--

There are other ways to get around the slough-- motorboat (we didn't see many of these):

--and kayak (we saw many of these in all brilliant colors of the rainbow):

We all prepared for the trip in our own ways.

(I did some playing around with fun filters on some of the photos afterwards--like that last one above of the meet-up organizer and his sister, and this slightly stylized one of a seagull flying overhead with some nice backlighting.)

And did we see BIRDS? Yes, we did!

Western Grebe:

Western Grebe--love the bright red eye and yellow beak.

Brandt's cormorant with bright-blue mating-season throat.

Another Brandt's cormorant on its nest.

Great Blue Heron.

Cormorant gathering in his flock.

Surf Scoter giving us a wary eye.

Pigeon Guillemot with his bright-red legs.

Brown Pelicans flying high overhead--

--and winging by just inches from the water, never quite touching it:

Eared Grebe. This guy is really small compared to all the others and never came very close. This is wayyyy cropped in.

Caspian Terns darting overhead, with their distinctive red beaks:

And did we see SEA LIONS? Oh, yes, we did!

They were not particular about sharing their personal space.

Is this enough sea lions for ya?

And did we see HARBOR SEALS?

Oh yes we did!

It's the Burt Reynolds of Harbor Seals:

They also assemble along the shallows and on shore, but are not nearly as chummy as the sea lions.

And did we see OTTERS?

Oh boy, did we! But getting a really cute photo of that iconic face was really hard. I tried, though.

Must wash hands before dinner.

This guy obligingly kept diving and coming up with various food items, which he ate alongside our boat, over and over. Here he's disassembling a clam.

They might look cute, but theys gots sharp pointy toothers!

HOLY MARINE MAMMAL, Is THIS enough otters for ya? I had never SEEN so many otters-- I've probably never seen this many, total, in my life, in the wild before, and here they all were, just hangin' out in the shallows, grooming and napping and watching the occasional tourist.

Presidents' Weekend Monday

SUMMARY: Big Sur and Monterey.

UPDATE: Tuesday Feb 22, 10:30 a.m. See below.

Set the alarm *again* (merely 7:00 this time) so that my seester and her husband could pick me up at 8. We drove down the Coast Highway (Hwy 1), loving the scenery, stopping to briefly explore various places, geocaching as we went; had lunch at a restaurant they like (Nepenthe) wayyy down the coast, then turned and beat feet back north, had hot fudge sundaes at Ghirardelli's on Cannery Row, then home again.

I am really really sore from yesterday's hike. Must. Get. In. Uphill. Shape.

Some brief highlights from the day:

We skimmed through the old Fort Ord, passing its decrepit buildings, trying to find our way to--

--the [relatively] new Fort Ord Dunes State Park. We got out, read all the signs, looked at the view and the ice-plant-covered dunes, and then continued south.

What better scenery could one imagine for geocaching in?

There wasn't yet a profusion of flowers, but small samples of what is to come could be found almost everywhere we stopped, like this Indian Paintbrush.

The Big Sur coast speaks for itself.

I mean, really, how many geocachers get this kind of view?

I mean, I really do, I really mean, how awesome is this for a geocaching background?

UPDATE: Really needed to show the Point Sur Lighthouse. It's no longer manned but still shines and its location on a dramatic outcropping of lava is amazing.

We even found one at Cooper's Cabin--the oldest remaining building on the Big Sur coast, UPDATE: (at Andrew Molera State Park) near Pacific Grove.

There, to our surprise and delight, we also found Monarchs fluttering everywhere! As one young kid explained to us with enthusiasm, these butterflies are trying to make babies.

The only California poppies we saw in bloom:

Is this the most amazing setting for a restaurant that you've ever seen? We sat at the table in the right bottom corner.

We had a tasty and filling lunch, browsed in their intriguing gift shop, drove an hour back up the coast , drove past Pebble Beach to Asilomar to round out our geocaches for the day to 10, then continued to Monterey and Cannery Row where we just HAD to visit Ghirardelli's for the usual.

Strolling back among the hotels and shops, we spotted this guy out in the water among the kelp--and of course I had left my 400mm lens in the car, so this is a very cropped in, crappy photo, but he is recognizable: California Sea Otter.

Then home again by sometime after dinnertime, and then work work work on photos, give up on finishing tonight, and post these three summaries. At some point in the future, there will be more photos from all the trips!