The littoral zone is both physically and spiritually where the sea meets the land and the sky meets the sea. It is the glory and prize at the end of a rainbow. I spent quite a while trying to capture the image of Figure1. My Canon is not super fast. There is a noticeable delay between pressing the shutter and when the shutter actually opens. So it becomes a matter of guessing and anticipation. I tried to capture the “rainbow” in the sea foam, trying to time it just right. Here a low seagull accentuates the background, fuzzed out by billions of spray droplets.

Canon T2i with EF 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM lens at 100 mm, 1/4000 th sec at f/7.1, ISO 800, Aperture Priority AE mode.

Staying on the subject of birds. Figure 1is another photograph from La Jolla Cove. This fellow is a Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus). Terns are glorious birds, beautiful and elegant in flight. The Royal tern stands out for its distinctive head plumage. The crest shown in the photograph is however, the off-season head dress, when the birds lose most of the crest feathers and sport a white spot, resembling so many of my once long-haired contemporaries, who in the day sported elegant long hair and now are reduced to bald head with straggly ponytail.

Canon T2i with EF 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM lens at 210 mm, 1/3200 th sec at f/7.1, ISO 800, Aperture Priority AE mode.

March 19th and spring is definitely in the air; so TC and I went on a sort of owl pilgrimage. The association of the owl as the sacred is a common theme in human mythology and spirituality. We have the little owl (Athene noctua) that accompanies Athena in Greek and her counterpart Minerva in Roman culture. This owl is the symbol of knowledge and wisdom. – “the wise old owl” Many cultures believe that people become owls after death. Among Australian Aborigines, owls are the spirits of women and as a result are sacred. Similarly, to the Kwakiutl people of Vancouver and Discovery Islands in the Pacific Northwest, owls were the souls of the departed and if people and if the owl was killed, that person would also die.

So each spring TC and I go in search of Great Horned (Bubo virginianus) owls at Habitat in Belmont, Massachusetts. Figure 1 shows the male surveying and protecting his kingdom. This old pair has been breeding for at least thirteen years and have successfully produced owlets again. They are never easy to photograph, always positioned very high in a pine tree or in a well camouflaged nest. We saw the nest but neither the female or her owlets. They are such magnificent birds.

Canon T2i with EF 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM lens at 320 mm, 1/400 th sec at f/7.1, ISO 800, Aperture Priority AE mode.

Pelicans seem so unwieldy, almost a mechanical contrivance. Among the other denizens of the La Jolla oceanside cliffs are the Brandt’s cormorants (Urile penicillatus). It is a curious point that they segregate on the cliffs for the most part. There is a pelican section and a cormorant section, with only moderate overlap.

This was breeding season and the birds were quick to display their gorgeous and dramatic, iridescent throats. The one in Figure 1 is defending its nest and that nest to those of us who cannot fly, except in mind, was precariously perched above a wild and furious Pacific Ocean.

Canon T2i with EF 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM lens at 180 mm, 1/250 th sec at f/7.1, ISO 800, Aperture Priority AE mode.

So going from huge California Pelicans to more sublime and diminutive California hummingbirds, I came across the little beauty of Figure 1, a rufus hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) under a tree at La Jolla cove. For a New Englander always in search of ruby throats, California is a hummingbird paradise. Indeed, we were delighted for the whole month by “Hubert” and Anna’s Hummingbird, who lived in a tree in our garden. Under trees are, on the other hand, dangerous places for David, who has a tendency to bang his head on overhanging limbs that are obscured by the rim of his cap. TC is ever on me for this and I try very hard. But …

So much appeals to me about the image. First, are the subtle iridescent colors of the bird especially the greens on top of its head. Second, is the green slate background that complements these green feathers. Third, is the bokeh, always a plus! And fourth, are the delicate lichens on the branches, which complements the rufus feathers on the bird.

Canon T2i with EF 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM lens at 250 mm, 1/125 th sec at f/7.1, ISO 800, Aperture Priority AE mode.

The Jurassic Park movie series, one of my favorites, has made the kind of image of Figure 1 both iconic and memetic – a pelican in flight. It invokes the sense that life on Earth is resilient and defiant – that “life finds a way!” I think that part of the appeal of La Jolla Cove is not just the very abundant wildlife but also the persistently dramatic backgrounds. Here my goal was to capture this pelican sharply, a key word here, in fight against the waves, surf, and foam. The resemblance to the pterodactyls of prehistoric times is unavoidable. You can clearly imagine, these great soaring birds, in retrospect clumsy of construction, riding the air current and thermals of another time and place.

“If there is one thing the history of evolution has taught us it’s that life will not be contained. Life breaks free, it expands to new territories and crashes through barriers, painfully, maybe even dangerously, …”

Jurassic Park

Canon T2i with EF 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM lens at 180mm, 1/4000 th sec at f/7.1, ISO 800, Aperture Priority AE mode.

La Jolla Cove is also a wonderful place to see California Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis). Between the pelicans and the sea lions it’s a nature photographer’s paradise. Figure 1 is an image of one pelican an adult with gorgeous coloration and, dare I say it, demeanor. Here they are largely indifferent to humans and let us get really close especially if you have a large telephoto lens. Between the huge size of the bird and his closeness, I was able to get this image at 100 mm.

Canon T2i with EF 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM lens at 100mm, 1/1600 th sec at f/7.1, ISO 800, Aperture Priority AE mode.

Figure 1 is a photograph that I took at the San Diego zoo of a polar bear. For me it is a great exception. I don’t like to photograph at zoos. First, because it feels like a cheat, and second because I am ambivalent about zoos. The San Diego Zoo is a world leader in conservation of species and for the polar bear, whose habitat we are melting rapidly, this is essential. And also I have always, since I was a child, loved polar bears. The San Diego Zoo of 2023 is truly a far cry from the NYC Central Park Zoo of 1960. Back in those days there was always an aspect of gawking at the animals, which seemed subject to an attitude that “man has dominion over the animals.” Maybe that is it. I am pretty sure from documentaries that I’ve seen, that this polar bear, indeed any polar bear would eat me for lunch without giving it a second thought. One of my favorite Gary Larson cartoons comes from 1980 and shows two polar bears eating an igloo. One says to the other:

“Oh hey! I just love these things!… Crunchy on the outside and a chewy center!”.

Canon T2i with EF 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM lens at 340mm, 1/2500 th sec at f/7.1, ISO 800, Aperture Priority AE mode.

No animal is more majestic than the elephant. His dried, battle scarred, and wrinkled skin evokes a sense of knowledge and wisdom. And certainly, what they know and what they remember can raise a sense of shame and perhaps guilt in us. In taking Figure 1 at the San Diego Zoo, I focused on its eyelashes, which could certainly be the envy of so many would be models. Their primary function is to protect the eyes from dust and insects, but here they represent one more connection with humans.

“The question is, are we happy to suppose that our grandchildren may never be able to see an elephant except in a picture book?”

David Attenborough

Canon T2i with EF 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM lens at 275mm, 1/800 th sec at f/7.1, ISO 800, Aperture Priority AE mode.