Category Archives: California

Pelicans at La Jolla, part 2: active birds

February 1, 2012Beach, California, Photography, San Diego CountyMarc Perkins

Last week I headed to La Jolla with Greg to photograph pelicans. In my previous post I shared my highlights from the day, but most of those shots were of calm, sedate birds. There was also a lot of action and anatomy on display:

This California brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) is photographed on a rock standing in front the ocean. The pelican is seen from the side standing on one leg. It's right leg (easily visible) has been pulled up and is arched up against its body, while the other stands on the rock. It's wings are open and back, and it looks like its doing yoga or some martial arts move (a'la Karate Kid). (Marc C. Perkins) — California brown pelican: yoga bird.

Who knew that pelicans did yoga?

And, if you remember my Cat anatomy: the third eyelid post, you’ll probably appreciate this picture:

This California brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) is photographed sitting on a peaked rock in front of the ocean. The third eyelid of the pelican (palpebra tertia or nictitating membrane) is in the middle of a blink, half-covering the eye. (Marc C. Perkins) — California brown pelican: The third eyelid.

In that image the third eyelid (palpebra tertia or nictitating membrane) of the pelican is in the middle of a blink, half-covering the eye (click on the image to see it somewhat larger). In birds the third eyelid is under more conscious control of the animal, and is often visible (and is reportedly used to protect the eyes of marine birds while diving, for instance).

And who could resist a bird just about to jump in the air and fly:

This California brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) is photographed standing on a rock in front of the ocean, just about to take off. The pelican's feet are splayed out on the rock, and it's hunched forward with its wings arched out, ready to leap into the air and start flying. (Marc C. Perkins) — California brown pelican: about to fly. A frame taken less than a second later shows the bird in the air.

One of the distinguishing features of pelicans is their large bill pouch (gular sac) that they use to capture and carry food in. While grooming themselves they will sometimes move their bills in such a way that they invert their gular sac (so the inside is visible), as in this image:

This California brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) is inverting its bill pouch (gular sac) on a rock in front of the ocean. (Marc C. Perkins) — California brown pelican: inverted bill pouch.

Oddly, in some of my images of inverted gular sacs (see, for instance, this image) there appears to be some type of gland or organ at the base of it. I have no idea what it is.

For a last photo of pelicans, who can resist a picture of a photographer taking a picture of a pelican?

A California brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) standing on a rock with a photographer blurred out of focus in the foreground, both of which are standing in front of a peaceful blue ocean. The photographer is Greg Russell of Alpenglow Images (http://www.alpenglowimagesphotography.com/). (Marc C. Perkins) — California brown pelican and a photographer (Greg Russell).

Oh, and I was also asked by e-mail whether my pelican images were heavily cropped. Most of these images are essentially full-frame captures, with just a bit of rotation or cosmetic trimming; they should easily be able to print up to 16×24″ or even possibly 20×30″. The location Greg took me to was just amazing; we could literally get just a few yards from the birds.

I’d appreciate any and all comments on these pictures.

More pictures

To see more pictures from the day, head to my Birds: Pelicans and gulls gallery

Getting There

La Jolla Cove Cliffs: This location doesn’t have an official name as far as I can tell, but it’s accessed from a small parking lot on the right side of Coast Blvd. in La Jolla (San Diego, CA), just after Coast Blvd. branches off from Prospect Place. The best I can do for you is give you GPS coordinates: N32.84936 W117.27038. Parking at the location is highly limited (and has a 2-hour max during the day), but it’s a short walk from other parking areas in La Jolla and the lot was virtually empty when I got there half an hour before sunrise on a weekday. The cliffs are accessed from a stairway that descends from the parking lot; be careful to stay well back from the edge, as the cliffs are steep and venturing too far forward will scare the birds away and prevent them from landing.

Pelicans at La Jolla, part 1: the highlights

January 30, 2012Beach, California, Photography, San Diego CountyMarc Perkins

Last week I headed to La Jolla with Greg to spend a day photographing birds, seals, and lighthouses. The day started with the two of us sitting on cliffs above the Pacific Ocean watching California brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) wake up in the soft pre-sunrise light.

This long exposure image taken before dawn on a calm morning at La Jolla Cove shows hundreds of nesting pelicans sitting on the coastal cliffs above the ocean. Palm trees and the ocean define the horizon. (Marc C. Perkins) — Nesting pelicans on coastal cliffs before sunrise.

There are few better ways to start a day.

Soon after that picture was taken, the pelicans began to fly over to the cliffs Greg and I had set up on (illusion warning: we weren’t alone — a half dozen or so other photographers were also there, including the awesomely skilled and friendly Maxis Gamez). Greg and I stayed there for around three hours, and in that time dozens of pelicans flew up and landed only a few yards from us. They didn’t seem to mind our presence, and just sat their grooming themselves, resting, and doing other birdy things.

Here are my highlights from the day:

This California brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) is photographed sitting on a rock in front of the ocean. This closeup shows only a portion of the bird, focusing on the beak with its The beak, bill pouch (gular sac), and eye are all sharply in focus, and visible clearly above the folded-up body. (Marc C. Perkins) — California brown pelican: Closeup.

California brown pelican: Proud.

California brown pelican: Profile and water drop.

I don’t typically do bird photography, but if there are more places like the La Jolla cliffs I could see myself doing lots more.

I’d appreciate any and all comments on these pictures. This was functionally my first bird photography shoot, and I’d love to improve.

More pictures

To see more pictures from the day, head to my Birds: Pelicans and gulls gallery (and wait for my next few blog posts).

Getting There

Silly Sunday: The Legend of Sleepy La Jolla

January 29, 2012Beach, California, Photography, San Diego County, SillyMarc Perkins

A few days ago I was out at La Jolla with Greg taking pictures of California Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus), when I suddenly realized that I was on the set of a new movie. There were big cameras all around me, and in front of me was the star!

The movie was a remake of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow set in La Jolla, but instead of the headless horseman, it starred this fine creature:

This bird is starring in a remade of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", called "The Legend of Sleepy La Jolla". Instead of the headless horseman, the movie features a headless pelican. (Marc C. Perkins) — The Headless Pelican: star of The Legend of Sleepy La Jolla

I’ll post some more serious pelican pictures shortly, but thought I’d share this fun one first 🙂

Hope your weekend is going well!

Poinsettia flowers part three: the female parts. Stigmas, styles, and ovaries ahoy!

January 20, 2012Biology, California, PhotographymacroMarc Perkins

A closeup of a poinsettia flower cluster from directly above it. Many people confuse the bracts (red leaves) with the petals of flowers; they're quite different. This macro shot shows a number of bracts (colored leaves associated with a flower) surrounding the flowers (green, red, and yellow structures) and extending out of the frame. The flowers themselves are called cyanthia; the green tissue surrounding each flower is an involucre, a cluster of bracts (leaves) fused into a cup-shaped structure that contains multiple male flowers and one female flower within it. Emerging from the involucre you can see red filaments supporting yellow anthers on the male flowers; a single female flower should be emerging from the center of each flower. The bright yellow, liquid-filled structures attached to the involucre are nectar glands filled with yummy sweet nectar to attract pollinators; on less-developed flowers they look like little light-green lips. (Marc C. Perkins) — A closeup of a poinsettia flower cluster from directly above.

[This is the third in a series of three posts. The first post is: Poinsettias up close: where are the flowers? and the second post is: Poinsettia flower closeups take two: getting even closer]

In my previous two posts on poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) flowers I showed that the flowers are much smaller than most folks think (the large red structures are bracts, not petals) and was able to get some closeups of the inflorescences illustrating their anatomy.

In case you’ve forgotten, the inflorescences of poinsettias are not your typical boring flower: multiple male flowers and a single female flower are surrounded by a sphere of fused bracts called an involucre, out of which the flowers emerge. The involucres often have nectar glands on them, which look like two green or yellow lips.

A closeup of a poinsettia flower cluster from the side. Many people confuse the bracts (red leaves) with the actual flowers; they're quite different. This macro shot shows multiple pseudanthia (flowering structures) surrounded by a sea of red bracts (colored leaves associated with a flower). The flowers themselves are called cyanthia; the green tissue surrounding each flower is an involucre, a cluster of bracts (leaves) fused into a cup-shaped structure that contains multiple male flowers and one female flower within it. Emerging from the involucre you can see red filaments supporting yellow anthers on the male flowers, and you can even see some of the pollen grains. Also emerging from each involucre you can see a number of dark-purple structures supported by short stalks (that are about a tenth of the height of the filaments; I'm not sure what these are). The bright yellow, liquid-filled structures attached to the involucre are nectar glands filled with nectar to attract pollinators. (Marc C. Perkins) — A closeup of a poinsettia flower cluster from the side. The involucre are the large green structures tipped with red, with male flowers emerging from them.

Frustratingly, when I took that first set of pictures I couldn’t find any female flowers on the plants I had. I’ve since learned that this is because the female flowers only develop and extend out of the involucre after the male flowers have matured and produced their pollen (reducing the likelihood of self pollination). So, I waited, and yesterday finally got a chance to photograph the female flowers up close.

Here’s what a female flower looks like coming out of the involucre:

A single female poinsettia flower with stigma, style, and ovary can be seen emerging from its involucre (cluster of bracts fused together). The involucre also has a nectar gland emerging from it (that look like two lips). The entire inflorescence (involcure and female flower) is called a cyanthium. The red leaves surrounding the inflorescences (mostly out of focus, except for the one next to the female flower) are bracts. The scale bar is 5mm long. (Marc C. Perkins) — A single female poinsettia flower with stigma, style, and ovary can be seen emerging from its involucre. The scale bar is 5mm long.

There you can see the divided stigma (where pollen need to be deposited if they are to fertilize the flower’s eggs), the swollen ovary just barely protruding from the involucre, and the style connecting those two.

For more context, we can see that the maturing female flower is next to cyanthia filled with withered male flowers:

A single female poinsettia flower with stigma, style, and ovary can be seen emerging from its involucre (cluster of bracts fused together) on the right half of this image; the involucre also has a nectar gland emerging from it (that look like two yellow-green lips). The entire inflorescence (involcure and female flower) is called a cyanthium. On the left of the image a number of withered male flowers and their nectar glands can be seen emerging from shriveled involucres. The red leaves surrounding the inflorescences (mostly out of focus) are bracts. (Marc C. Perkins) — A single female poinsettia flower with stigma, style, and ovary can be seen emerging from its involucre on the right half of this image; on the left a number of withered male flowers and their nectar glands can be seen emerging from shriveled involucres.

Those withered male flowers were actually quite delicate, and likely only remained on the plant because it was kept indoors and shielded from most disturbances. I delicately put a ruler into the scene to get a scale bar after the shoot, and in doing so knocked off most of the male flowers.

In the image above the female flower is just poking out a little bit. Looking around on the plant I found one that had extended far out of the involucre, supported by a large stalk (pedicel) that was longer than the stigma and style put together:

A single female poinsettia flower with stigma, style, and enlarged ovary can be seen emerging from its involucre (cluster of bracts fused together) on a thick pedicel (stalk) that's almost as long as the flower itself. Also emerging from the involucre are a number of withered male flowers (stamen and anthers both visible) that still have yellow pollen on them. The involucre has a nectar gland emerging from it (that look like two yellow lips). The involucre also has small saucer shaped structures emerging from it; I'm not sure what they are (they're more easily visible in my other poinsettia pictures). The entire inflorescence (involcure, male flowers, and female flower) is called a cyanthium. The cyanthium is growing up from a stem's branching point, where a bract is emerging. The red leaves surrounding the inflorescences (mostly out of focus) are bracts. The scale bar (at the bottom) is 5mm long. (Marc C. Perkins) — A single female poinsettia flower emerging from its involucre (along with some withered male flowers) on a thick pedicel. The scale bar (at the bottom) is 5mm long.

And that, my kind readers, is what poinsettia flowers look like in a single image: one female flower and multiple male flowers emerging from an involucre that has a nectar gland on it and is surrounded by bright red bracts.

Thanks for reading!

More pictures

To see more of my poinsettia pictures, head to my Poinsettia Gallery.

New Year’s Eve at Huntington State Beach

December 31, 2011Beach, Bicycling, California, Orange County, PhotographyMarc Perkins

This afternoon I went for an end-of-the-year sunset bicycle ride along the Santa Ana River Trail and Huntington State Beach. I was mildly hoping for a last gorgeous sunset over the water, but dense fog rolled in well before sunset. The fog made it even more fun, though, as what few people there were largely headed home, leaving the beach to myself and a few other dedicated folks to enjoy a solitary and atmospheric end of the last day of the year.

A fire pit on the sand at Huntington State Beach in Huntington Beach, CA on a foggy New Year's Eve. The beach was nearly empty for this gorgeous foggy sunset. It reads "Caution hot ashes". (Marc C. Perkins) — A fire pit on the sand at Huntington State Beach on a foggy New Year's Eve.

Huntington Beach is lined with hundreds of giant concrete fire pits, which on summer evenings are often surrounded by people having beach parties. It was a cold day today (in the mid 60’s!), so there were only a brave few out to enjoy New Year’s Eve with a beach fire:

A group of adults celebrates New Year's Eve 2011 by having a beach party complete with raging fire in a fire pit at Huntington State Beach in Huntington Beach, CA. The fog made the beach feel wonderfully isolated. (Marc C. Perkins) — Room to spare.

While black and white suits the feel of the evening well, the fire made me have to process at least one in color; the warmth of the fire just draws your eye in (as it drew me in while I was there – it looked so wonderfully warm):

Before I headed home on a beautiful foggy dusk bike ride, I couldn’t help but take a picture of this amazing nesting set of fire pits:

A row of fire pits on the sandy beach appear as though they're a nesting set of matryoshka dolls (Russian nesting dolls). Seen at Huntington State Beach in Huntington Beach, CA on a foggy New Year's eve. They read "Caution hot ashes" (Marc C. Perkins) — Matryoshka beach fire pits.

And, to show how foggy it was, here’s a picture of the Pacific Coast Highway bridge that crosses the Santa Ana “River” at the southern end of the beach:

The Santa Ana "River" runs underneath Pacific Coast Highway to get to the ocean on a foggy New Year's Eve. The "river" runs in a man-made channel from the mountains east of Los Angeles all the way through multiple counties to the ocean; for most of that distance there's a trail (the Santa Ana River Trail), which is where this picture was taken from. (Marc C. Perkins) — Bridge over foggy waters.

Happy New Year!

Getting There

Huntington State Beach: The beach is a state park, and runs for miles along the coast of southern Huntington Beach. It is accessible from multiple points along Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1) anywhere between Beach Blvd. to the north and Brookhurst St. to the south. There’s plenty of parking for cars right on the beach (unless you’re going on July 4th or at another peak time), though parking requires paying an entry fee to the park. I love visiting the beach in the winter, as the giant beach is largely empty, leading to a great feeling of solitude (especially when it’s foggy!). There’s a paved trail that runs the length of the beach, which is frequently used for bicycling, jogging, or roller blading.

My 11 favorite pictures of 2011

December 30, 2011Beach, Blogging, California, OCC, Orange County, People, Pets, PhotographyMarc Perkins

It’s the end of the year, and that means that it’s time to make “best of 2011” lists. This blog will be no exception.

This year was a year of exploration for me, thanks mainly to my good friend Greg (of Alpenglow Images; he just posted his own top 12 of 2011), who inspired me to push my boundaries photographically, as well as to start sharing my photography online. But it’s far too easy to ramble on in posts like this. So, here are my 11 favorite images from 2011 (with many thanks to Michael Russell and Mike Cavaroc for inspiring this with their own posts earlier this week).

First, my top three:

The Future, from my Agave and Aloe series (1 | 2).

Foggy Morning Sunshine, from my Crystal Cove State Park series (1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6).

Listening Cat is Happy to Hear About Your Problems – 2 (aka: Kira relaxing), from my cat galleries (1 | 2).

And now for the rest:

Metallic Beach, from my Inspiration Point and Corona Del Mar gallery; taken at Inspiration Point in Newport Beach, CA.

A Light in the Dark (aka: Nauset Light at dusk), from an unpublished gallery. Taken in Eastham, MA shortly after Christmas 2010.

Mohammed, from my 24 Faces of Occupy Irvine series.

Unimpressed Cat is Unimpressed, from my cat galleries (1 | 2).

Nobska Light: Classic Americana, from an unpublished gallery. Taken in Woods Hole, MA.

Poinsettia Inflorescence Extreme Closeup, from my poinsettia series (1 | 2). Taken at Orange Coast College’s Ornamental Horticulture Department.

Agave Inflorescence at the Beach 2, from my Little Corona Agave post. Taken in Corona Del Mar (Newport Beach), CA.

Vertical Arch Rock and Clouds, from my Little Corona long exposure series (1 | 2). Taken at Robert E Badham Marine Life Refuge in Corona Del Mar (Newport Beach), CA.

Those are my top 11 pictures of the year!

As an encore I’m going to include one more image. While this didn’t make the cut artistically, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and thus seems to belong here.

Two Rattlesnakes Mating, from my Crystal Cove State Park series (1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6). Taken in Crystal Cove State Park, CA.

Poinsettia flower closeups take two: getting even closer

December 8, 2011Biology, California, OCC, Orange County, Photographymacro, plantMarc Perkins

[This is the second in a series of three posts; the first post is: Poinsettias up close: where are the flowers? and the third is Poinsettia flowers part three: the female parts.]

Earlier this week I posted about finding the flowers in poinsettias (spoiler: the petals aren’t the big red structures!). After writing that post, though, I realized it was missing a good closeup of the flower clusters themselves. So, yesterday afternoon I took a quick break from my end-of-the-semester piles of grading and headed back to Orange Coast College’s Ornamental Horticulture Department to get a few more pictures.

The flowers of poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) are actually cyanthia: flowering structures composed of many individual male or female flowers surrounded by modified leaves. Here’s what they look like:

To see that image larger, follow this link to see it as a large, high-resolution image.

That picture shows multiple cyanthia (flower clusters) at the end of a stem surrounded by a sea of red bracts (colored leaves associated with a flower). Each green ball tipped with red is an involucre, a cluster of bracts (leaves) fused into a cup-shaped structure that contains multiple male flowers and one female flower within it.

Let’s look at the involucres and their flowers even closer:

To see that image in all its glory, follow this link to see it as a large, high-resolution image.

Emerging from each involucre you can see red filaments supporting yellow anthers that are dusty with individual pollen grains. The filaments are emerging from the multiple male flowers growing within each involucre. Also emerging from each involucre you can see a number of dark-purple structures supported by short stalks; ~~I believe these may be the stigmas and styles of the flowers~~ (though this species is supposed to have only a single female flower per involucre with a stigma divided into three sections, so I’m not certain what those dark-purple structures are).

[edited 1/20/2012: the dark purple structures are indeed not the female flowers, as I write about in this post. I’m not at all sure what these small structures are. Anyone have any ideas?]

The bright yellow, liquid-filled structures attached to the involucre are nectar glands filled with nectar (to attract pollinators). A few individual pollen grains are stuck to the surface of the left-most nectar gland.

I’ll leave you with a crop of that last image showing two cyanthia in more detail

A sample of the detail visibile in my "Poinsettia inflorescence extreme closeup". To see the full image or purchase a copy, go to that image. That picture is a closeup of a poinsettia flower cluster from the side. Many people confuse the bracts (red leaves) with the actual flowers; they're quite different. This macro shot shows multiple pseudanthia surrounded by a sea of red bracts (colored leaves associated with a flower; mostly out of focus in this picture). The flowers themselves are called cyanthia; the green tissue surrounding each flower is an involucre, a cluster of bracts (leaves) fused into a cup-shaped structure that contains multiple male flowers and supposedly one female flower within it, though I see multiple stigma in each involucre. Emerging from the involucre you can see red filaments supporting yellow anthers on the male flowers, and you can even see some of the pollen grains. Also emerging from each involucre you can see a number of dark-purple stigmas supported by short styles (that are about a tenth of the height of the filaments). The bright yellow, liquid-filled structures attached to the involucre are nectar glands filled with nectar to attract pollinators. (Marc C. Perkins) — Two cyanthia of a poinsettia flower cluster, with anthers and associated structures easily visible. This is a sample of the detail visibile in the image posted above.

And, if you want your own poinsettias to admire, head to Orange Coast College this Friday: they’re having their annual poinsettia sale, which is open to the public. See my first post in this series for more information.

More pictures

To see more of my poinsettia pictures, head to my Poinsettia Gallery.

Poinsettias up close: where are the flowers?

December 4, 2011Biology, California, OCC, Orange County, Photographymacro, plantMarc Perkins

[This is the first in a series of three posts; the second post is: Poinsettia flower closeups take two: getting even closer and the third is Poinsettia flowers part three: the female parts.]

Orange Coast College’s Ornamental Horticulture Department is just plain awesome. The department’s landscaped gardens are easily the most beautiful spot on campus, they teach a wide array of neat classes (landscape design, plant propagation, cacti and succulents, etc.), and they’ve got the nicest faculty and staff around.

To help fund their department, and provide a lab opportunity for their plant propagation class, every fall the department rears thousands of poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) in their greenhouses for sale to the public. This year’s sale is this Friday (December 9), and their greenhouses are currently full of beautiful poinsettias.

I just had to take a look at the plants last week:

A small portion of one of five greenhouses in Orange Coast College's Horticulture Department that are filled with poinsettias being grown for their annual 2011 poinsettia sale. This image focuses on a single ice punch poinsettia, highlighting how the red and white leaves are nothing more than bracts - colored leaves grown near a flower. The actual flowers are the green, red, and yellow structures at the top of the plant (end of the stem). (Marc C. Perkins) — A small portion of one of five greenhouses in Orange Coast College's Horticulture Department that are filled with poinsettias being grown for their annual 2011 poinsettia sale. The plants in the foreground are the "Ice Punch" variety.

Many people think that the big red (or red and white, in the picture above) structures are the flower petals of poinsettias; they’re not. The big red structures are bracts: specialized leaves associated with a flower that are typically brightly colored (usually to help attract pollinators to inconspicuous flowers). The actual flowers of the plant are located at the ends of the stems, and are significantly smaller and less noticeable. Look closely at the picture above, though, and you’ll see little green, red, and yellow clusters at the top of the plant; those are the flowers.

A closeup of a poinsettia flower cluster from the side. Many people confuse the bracts (red and white leaves on this "Ice Punch" poinsettia) with the petals of flowers; they're quite different. This macro shot shows a number of bracts (colored leaves associated with a flower) surrounding the flowers (green, red, and yellow structures) and extending out of the frame. The flowers themselves are called cyanthia; the green tissue surrounding each flower is an involucre, a cluster of bracts (leaves) fused into a cup-shaped structure that contains multiple male flowers and one female flower within it. Emerging from the involucre you can see red filaments supporting yellow anthers on the male flowers; a single female flower should be emerging from the center of each flower. The bright yellow structures attached to the involucre are nectar glands filled with yummy sweet nectar to attract pollinators; on less-developed flowers they look like little light-green lips. (Marc C. Perkins) — A closeup of an Ice Punch poinsettia flower cluster from the side.

In the picture above we can see that the true flowers of the poinsettia are not the brightly colored leaves, but instead are these small green and red structures. The yellow things that look like lips are nectar glands, and the green balls with red filaments are the flowers (which are more appropriately termed pseudanthia or inflorescences, since they’re actually multiple flowers in a single structure). Let’s look at them closer:

This macro shot shows a number of red bracts surrounding the flowers and extending out of the frame. The green balls tipped with red are individual inflorescences called cyanthia, which are composed of multiple flowers surrounded by modified leaves¹. The green tissue surrounding each inflorescence is an involucre, a cluster of bracts (modified leaves) fused into a cup-shaped structure that contains multiple male flowers and one female flower within it.

Emerging from each involucre are red filaments supporting yellow anthers that are being grown by the male flowers (the anthers produce and release pollen). A single female flower should be emerging from the center of each involucre, but isn’t easily visible in the picture.

The yellow liquid-filled structures attached to each involucre are nectar glands filled with nectar to attract pollinators. On less-developed inflorescences the nectar glands look like little light-green lips.

If you’re in the Orange County area and want your own poinsettias to observe the flowers of, head to OCC this Friday and pick some up for yourself! You’ll get a cool botanical specimen, and will be supporting a great program in the process. Oh yeah, and you’ll have a nice pretty plant for the holiday season.

[This is the first in a series of three posts; the second post is: Poinsettia flower closeups take two: getting even closer and the third is Poinsettia flowers part three: the female parts.]

¹ Yes, the plant works hard to hide its flowers. First there are dozens of large colorful bracts, and then smaller green ones. Sheesh!

Continue reading →

Black Friday Protest by Occupy Orange County at South Coast Plaza

November 25, 2011California, Orange County, People, PhotographyMarc Perkins

Today is Black Friday, and that means that most stores are having big sales to try to draw in customers. The Occupy Orange County Irvine and Santa Ana groups both decided to hold a protest march at South Coast Plaza, a large high-end mall in Costa Mesa. Since many stores were opening their doors at midnight this year, the march started at around 10:30pm in front of the Best Buy, and continued until after 1:30 am.

The lines were, predictably, very long:

The line for Old Navy's Black Friday sales at midnight. (Marc C. Perkins) — The line for the Old Navy at South Coast Plaza Metro Pointe at midnight extends out onto the sidewalk of Bear street.

The Best Buy line was gigantic, and the dozen or so Occupy Orange County protestors who were there walked up and down the line, chanting and handing out fliers.

Occupy Orange County protestors hand out fliers to people lined up at the Best Buy at South Coast Plaza at 1:25 am on the morning of Black Friday. Emahn is the man in the black suit jacket and jeans in front, while Joese is in the brown jacket and white pants further along the line. (Marc C. Perkins) — Occupy Orange County protestors hand out fliers to people lined up at the Best Buy at South Coast Plaza at 1:25 am on the morning of Black Friday. Emahn is the man in the black suit jacket and jeans in front, while Joese is in the brown jacket and white pants further along the line.

Most of the protestors who weren’t handing out fliers were tied together by a rope:

About a dozen Occupy Orange County protestors were in front of the Best Buy in South Coast Plaza early in the morning on Black Friday. The protesters were tied together by rope, being led by a single protestor dressed in a suit (as a banker), symbolizing how the 1% lead the 99%. (Marc C. Perkins) — About a dozen Occupy Orange County protestors were in front of the Best Buy in South Coast Plaza at 12:30am on Black Friday. Here the protestors stand tied together with rope in a line holding the "Occupy Orange County in Unity with Occupy Wall Street sign".

The rope was a part of a human art project by Occupy Orange County, Irvine. At the front of the rope line was Web, dressed in a suit and holding the end, happily leading the rest of the protestors. The goal was to illustrate how the 1% lead the 99%.

"Web" (Andrew) leads the Occupy Orange County, Irvine Black Friday march at South Coast Plaza. This picture was taken in front of the Best Buy. Web is dressed in a suit, and is posing to try ot appear like a falsely-simling banker. The other Occupy Irvine protesters were tied together by rope, which Web was holding the end of, symbolizing how the 1% lead the 99%. (Marc C. Perkins) — Web (Andrew) leads the Occupy Orange County, Irvine Black Friday march at South Coast Plaza. Web is dressed in a suit, and is posing like a smiling banker who is holding the end of the rope that ties the 99% to him.

Continue reading Black Friday Protest by Occupy Orange County at South Coast Plaza →

Thanksgiving eve at Little Corona Del Mar Beach

November 24, 2011Beach, California, Orange County, PhotographyMarc Perkins

Wednesday marked my last day of work before Thanksgiving break. Shortly after finishing my final lecture, Michelle and I enjoyed a late lunch out and then zipped down to Little Corona Beach for the sunset. I just happened to have my full set of camera gear with me, so I was able to snap a ~~few~~ large number of frames.

I’ve previously posted about my long exposure work at Little Corona, and yesterday I continued in the same style. But this time instead of either a crystal clear sky or a marine layer, I had patchy clouds to work with:

Sunset at Little Corona, focusing on the arch rock visible just off shore, with the rocky intertidal in the foreground and clouds drifting overhead. This is a long exposure shot, so the ocean's water looks silky smooth. (Marc C. Perkins) — Clouds over the intertidal at sunset.

The arch rock was particularly photogenic, especially with soft clouds washing overhead:

A vertical view of the arch rock offshore at Little Corona after sunset, in black and white using a long exposure to make the ocean water silky smooth. I love the soft curves of the clouds drifting overhead. (Marc C. Perkins) — Vertical arch rock and clouds in black and white.

The arch rock at Little Corona seen on a cloudy evening just after sunset. I love the soft dusk lighting illumindating the diffuse clouds overhead. The image is a long exposure, so the ocean's waves have morphed into a silky smooth misty layer. (Marc C. Perkins) — Arch rock and soft clouds in black and white.

And while the sunset wasn’t spectacularly colorful, the gorgeous deep blue of dusk was out in full force at the end of the evening:

The sun sets over a cloudy Catalina Island, as seen from Little Corona. This picture was taken after sunset, so stars have started to appear (note the one in the mid-left of the sky), and the sun is leaving just a hint or orange and yellow in an otherwise deep blue sky. (Marc C. Perkins) — The sun sets over a cloud-shrouded Catalina Island, as seen from Little Corona Beach. A single star (planet?) is visible on the left side of the sky.

Visiting Little Corona was a great way to start our Thanksgiving. I hope you and yours have a most excellent day, and a great start to the holiday season.

More pictures

To see more pictures from my long exposure work at Little Corona, head to my Little Corona Beach Gallery. Here’s a thumbnail of one more from the last night:

Getting There

Little Corona Beach (Robert E Badham Marine Life Refuge): Located at the intersection of Poppy Ave. and Ocean Blvd. in Corona Del Mar (Newport Beach), CA. From Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1) turn onto Poppy Ave, and park on the street once you get to Ocean Blvd (a few blocks from PCH). Street parking may be difficult to find at peak times, but was easy to get on weekday evenings. From the street you’ll walk down a moderately steep paved ramp to the beach, just at the intersection of Ocean and Poppy. The park is open from 6am – 10pm.

More pictures

Getting There

Share this:

More pictures

Getting There

Share this:

Share this:

More pictures

Share this:

Getting There

Share this:

Share this:

More pictures

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

More pictures

Share this: