Monthly Archives: August 2007

Pycnopodia helianthoides (AKA Sunflower Star or Sun Starfish) is a nasty customer. This is the T. Rex of the starfish, and can travel a blistering 40 inches per minute to boot. When you get one of these in a trap, it is imperative to remove them right away, or they will clamp down on whatever … Continue reading »

Taking pictures in low light settings is challenging for me, but at least the moon stays still. Here are a few shots that I took from the past couple of nights: This picture was taken yesterday with the D-50. The moon still looks really full on this shot from today, taken on my DMC-TZ3.

My sister wanted to bring a surfboard up from Orange County so she could learn how to surf, but she has changed her mind. I’m going to see if they’ve closed the beach over at Lover’s Point as well. Here’s a link to the article: Shark attacks surfer in Monterey Bay *BONUS* – MBA has … Continue reading »

The Yellowtails are the coolest fish in the Kelp Forest Exhibit. Not only are they my favorite sashimi fish and great fighting on the rod, but they’re also fun to watch under water. They cruise around like a pack of attack submarines, and the bait fish try to keep as far away from them as … Continue reading »

We spotted an object floating in the water, and went to investigate: From this distance, it is hard to make out. It was about the size of a small garbage can lid. A naturalist once saw something very similar to this in the kelp forest and got very excited. “White Shark!” was the call heard … Continue reading »

I love my Nikon D-50, but ever since I traded in my trusty old battle-scarred QV-R40, I’ve really noticed how handy a pocket-sized camera is. I’ve been waiting to find one that I really liked, and finally settled on the Panasonic DMC-TZ3. Aside from having a Leica lens that boasts 10x optical zoom and virtually … Continue reading »

A tiny sea urchin rests between closed fingers. This is a shot of a polychaete worm and the same urchin. The blurs in the background are (rotating clockwise from the upper top) a shrimp, an isopod, a melibe, a limpet, and some other creatures. In the foreground, there are the urchin, polychaete worm, and a … Continue reading »

Peace and quiet have once again departed from the harbor, with the return of the California Sea Lions. Adding to the cacophony, the Sea Otters have been shrieking like banshees lately. To top it off, the gulls consistently wake me up in the morning with their vocalizations, and follow me to work with their squabbles. … Continue reading »

If you’re wondering how I’ve been spending my summer, I think pictures would best illustrate what I’ve been doing four out of five days during the week: The Derek M. Baylis is designed to be a research vessel, and a lot of thought went into its design to maximize workspace and to make it a … Continue reading »

Some of the most accessible public canvasses in the world reside under one bridge or another, even in Monterey. Unfortunately, graffiti in the US is dominated by taggers who lack skill and so desperately feel the need to be noticed. Will the wild popularity of manga and anime in the States result in a shift … Continue reading »