La Jolla, San Diego, California
California Brown Pelican bathed in early morning light, La Jolla cliffs, Southern California. Nikon D700 with Sigma 150-500mm @ 290mm, 1/1250 sec, f/7.1 ISO 1250 in Manual mode with Auto ISO at zero compensation, handheld.
After a couple of days in the field with this lens it looks like it will be my favorite lens for flight at the La Jolla cliffs. This is my first time photographing flight here with a Sigma 150-500 and due to it's small size and light weight it makes photography much easier and flexible than a fixed focal length 500 or larger and heavier 200-400 zoom.
Southern California this time of the year means tons of tame California Brown Pelicans, Double-crested cormorants and Brandt's cormorants in breeding plumage, Peregrine falcons flying over head with prey, and whales, seals, and dolphins just offshore. I spent the last couple of days photographing in La Jolla in San Diego and some of the opportunities were very very good. If you have never been here you really should make some time to try it. Winter time in Southern California is the best time time of the year, the weather is beautiful, the crowds are down, and in Jan-Feb the birds are all in amazing breeding colors. The photography can be epic and staying in the area is reasonable. If you would like to attend a workshop here sometime, I will be leading a photo tour to this area in 2013, more details coming soon but let me know if you would like more information.
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