Another Day at the Wharf, and a Pelican!

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I don't know if I've mentioned it, but a good friend has asked me to show her a bit about photography. This means that instead of going out and shooting with Terry, I'll be going with her a couple of times a week.

I know I've already posted pictures of the wharf at Santa Cruz, but the day was rainy and overcast, so I figured this was the safest bet for a beginning photographer. Of course, I had to take a few shots also, so here we go.

This guy was having a fit,
squawking and screaming at everyone.
Great, cheap entertainment.

I'm still working on closeups
of birds' faces.
They really do fascinate me.

I like mirror images.

The sea lions were out today,
but much quieter than usual.
Maybe it's the weather.

This is cropped from a larger shot.
Then I played with it a bit,
softening it here,
lightening up a little there.
I like the final effect.

A moment later, we spied a large pelican.

This isn't quite in focus,
but I liked the pose
and the background.

Next, he took off,
then roosted for a bit on a rooftop.

Then he was off again.
These next threes shots
were taken in sequence.

The way he flies
reminds me of the herons
at Bosque del Apache.

My favorite shot of the day,
(feel free to click to enlarge).
To me, this looks like
some kind of painful ballet pose.

And like ballet,
almost unbelievable,
but quite beautiful.

The afternoon was getting on,
so we decided to have
some of the best clam chowder
known to man.

Then we came out to this.
Nice clouds, but no color to the sunset.

Tomorrow,
the Thanksgiving mini vacation
is over
and it's back to
rooting through the house.