Sea lions on floating dock 2 of 4 19Sept2009. 2009 25th Anniversary Coastal Cleanup Field Trip to the Morro Bay, CA Sandspit.

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Sea lions on floating dock 2 of 4 19Sept2009. Photos from the 19 Sept. 2009 25th Anniversary Coastal Cleanup Field Trip to the Morro Bay, CA Sandspit.
www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/sets/72157622408067704/
Here is what the call said: "Help make the Morro Bay Sandspit beautiful, clean and safe for people and wildlife by lending a hand to remove trash which has accumulated over the past year. Meet at the Harbor Patrol Office in Morro Bay, CA at 9:00am. Volunteers will be transported over to the spit by the Harbor Patrol or Coast Guard, with return transport pick-up around 11:30 for a noon arrival at the Harbor Patrol office. (Volunteers should be prepared to hop off the bow in shallow water and may get a little bit wet). Volunteers will be furnished with all of the necessary instructions and materials at the site. Everyone should bring a day pack with something to drink, a snack, sunscreen, sweatshirt and a camera. Cleaning up the spit involves walking about a mile amidst beautiful scenery. If you've never visited, this is your chance. But RSVP soon! Spaces are limited. Email Annie Gillespie annieg [at} mbnep d o t orgor Shari Sullivan at ssullivan [at} mbnep d o t org to reserve a space." Education and Outreach Coordinator, Morro Bay National Estuary Program, 601 Embarcadero, Suite 11, Morro Bay, CA 93442. This event was part of the www.oceanconservancy.org/ International Coastal Cleanup project of the Ocean Conservancy, which, in partnership with organizations and individuals across the globe, Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup engages people to remove trash and debris from the world's beaches and waterways, identify the sources of debris, and change the behaviors that cause marine debris in the first place. At last year's Cleanup, nearly 400,000 volunteers collected more than 6.8 million pounds of trash in 100 countries and 42 US states, while in San Luis Obispo County, 1,290 volunteers removed 4,611 pounds of debris from local coastline. See also www.ecoslo.org/ for the intermediary cooperating organization for San Luis Obispo (SLO) County.
Photos by Michael "Mike" L. Baird, mike [at} mikebaird d o t com, flickr.bairdphotos.com, Nikon P6000 with built-in GPS which writes exact location information in image EXIF, shot in RAW format and optimized in Lightroom.

There were about 15 volunteers plus the two NEP leaders Shari and Annie. Dave of the Morro Bay, CA Harbor Patrol took the center-area team that I was assigned to, out to the sandspit and back in one of their blue boats. We were led by Annie Gillespie of NEP with seven volunteers (Mike Baird, B. K. Richard, Jim Thomas, Betty Elizabeth McElhill, Elka, Madelyn, James)
Image by mikebaird

Sea Otters (Enhydra lutris) (Mom with pup) at Target Rock near Morro Rock in Morro Bay, CA 08 August 2009

Free Wallpapers Sea Otters (Enhydra lutris) (Mom with pup) at Target Rock near Morro Rock in Morro Bay, CA 08 August 2009.

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Sea Otters (Enhydra lutris) (Mom is the white face on the left, with the pup behind her, on the right, whose head, by the way, is larger than Mom's) at Target Rock near Morro Rock in Morro Bay, CA 08 August 2009. Photo by Michael "Mike" L. Baird, mike at mikebaird d o t com, flickr.bairdphotos.com, Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 handheld on an overcast day.

Note to Love Between A Mother and Son (Pool) - Otters are Moms too :)

Technote: 200mm was not nearly enough glass to get in close. Handheld was inexcusable if trying to get a decent image. This was just a fun snapshot as I was walking by with my 70-200 f/2.8 general purpose lens.
Image by mikebaird

Sea Otter Mother with Pup Beside Morro Bay CA 14 Dec 2009

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Sea Otter Mother with Pup Beside Morro Bay CA 14 Dec 2009. Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris) (marine mammal) Mothers with Pups are seen near Target Rock in the Morro Bay, CA harbor entrance near Morro Rock, 14 Dec 2009. Photo by Michael "Mike" L. Baird, mike [at} mikebaird d o t com, flickr.bairdphotos.com; Canon 1D Mark III, Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens (no circular polarizer), handheld, braced on breakwater rocks, taken from just 2-3 feet above water level.

16 Dec 2009 Creative Commons intended use - The Central Coast Natural History Association (CCNHA), related to the Morro Bay Museum of Natural History, sells postcards as fund-raisers, and regularly uses my nature photos... this otter and pup has been selected for a new postcard.

Tech note: +2/3rds overexposed to bring out detail in dark fur.
It is hard to beat auto exposure mode (vs. aperture- or shutter-priority) to get a good compromise balance between a fast enough shutter speed to avoid motion blur, and enough depth-of-field (DOF) for a good documentation image (as I'm not going for the artistic shallow DOF w/ strong bokah, portrait-style model shot here). This shot was taken as late in the day as possible, and just minutes before Morro Rock shadowed the scene, at which point in time natural-light photography became hopeless. I need to learn to bring off-camera flash to this location to fully exploit the opportunity.

Twenty Habits of Highly Effective Photographers - by Mike Baird.
1. Shoot every day. Not only will you be exposed to more opportunities, but you will soon be able to make camera and lens setting adjustments without even looking, and without delay.
2. Process your images the day you shoot them, so that you can learn better from your mistakes.
3. Save only a few images per day, and write down in the description field a technical or artistic note about why that image worked for you.
4. Make early or late light your friend.
5. Use a tripod when it will yield a sharper image - tack sharp is your goal.
6. Get closer for more impact when shooting most subjects.
7. Get low, and if you are shooting anything with eyes, be at the subject's eye level.
8. Experiment with both landscape and portrait modes.
9. Always study and use the light - "make" a photo, don't just take it.
10. Compose in thirds for most scenes.
11. Focus on an eye if it's in the scene. If there are two eyes, focus on the one closest to you.
12. Make the background just as important as your subject.
13. Use fill flash in the daytime when shooting people's faces.
14. Use a circular polarizer around water.
15. Always have a camera with you.
16. Share your photos and techniques online - Flickr is effective.
17. Use burst mode and take a lot of candidate images, especially with live subjects.
18. Always shoot in RAW format to preserve the most information.
19. Invest in high quality bodies, tripods, and lenses when you can if you find photography to be worth your passion.
20. Make a list of some of your most important habits and post it here.
Michael "Mike" L. Baird Flickr.bairdphotos.com Mike [at} mikebaird d o t com

16 Dec 2009 Creative Commons intended use - The Central Coast Natural History Association (CCNHA), related to the Morro Bay Museum of Natural History, sells postcards as fund-raisers, and regularly uses my nature photos... here is a typical request. From: Dorian Farrow [mailto:dfccnha [at} gmail d ot com]; Sent: Wednesday, December 16, 2009 1:05 PM; To: Baird, Michael; Subject: Otter and "child" new photo. Hi Mike, This is a wonderful new photo. Can we ask for your kind permission to reproduce this as a postcard? Thanks! Dorian Farrow, General Manager, Central Coast Natural History Association; 1320 Van Beurden Drive, Suite 202 Los Osos, CA 93402 Phone: 805-528-1397 Fax: 805-528-1459
Image by mikebaird