Traveling along the coast of California, searching for marine life, I wasn’t expecting to be photographing horses, but a field of these beautiful animals on the property of the Hearst Castle near San Simeon was a bonus that couldn’t be passed up.

A little north of San Simeon, CA, is the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal rookery where thousands of elephant seals come to rest, molt, breed and give birth.  The rookery is protected and has an observation area which is open year round for viewing these very interesting marine mammals.  This time of year, many are in the molting stage and catching up on some long overdue rest.

Young males are here, getting in sparring practice which they will need as adults when they contest for mates.

Photographing along the coast of California is a joy.  There are so many amazingly beautiful landscapes and each scene can change so dramatically depending on weather and lighting conditions.  Above, this view at the edge of Garapata State Park was under thick, heavy overcast conditions contributing to a sense of calm and mystery. While the scene below from Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur, was photographed on a brighter day, illuminating the rush of the water across the sandy beach.

During my recent trip to the California coast, I was able to spend several hours watching sea otters.  The one pictured above was at the Moss Landing State Park in the Monterey area.  A fair number of otters gather there throughout the day and it is great viewing.  Their day seems to be about 25% eating and 75% grooming. This otter was in eating mode and made repeated dives for clams but if you eat too many you might wind up like this……

I just returned from an incredible workshop along the central California coast which offered gorgeous landscapes and amazing wildlife.  I had never been to this part of the country before and I was unaware that this area offers some of the most beautiful scenery the U.S. has to offer.  The coastal cliffs are bursting in colorful blooms and the waters of the Pacific have a wide variety of shades of blue providing a spectacular feast for the eyes.  The days were long and the photography plentiful.  I have several thousand images to look through and will be posting more in the near future.

Thought I would take advantage of the early morning to head to Great Falls Park in Virginia before the heat of the day sets in. It was great being the first car through the entrance gate (but not the first photographer in the park!).

Hope you enjoy these scenes from this Sunday morning….

 One of my images from a recent workshop (www.jenniferkingphoto.com) in Italy of the town of Manarola was selected by EarthShots.org as today’s ‘Photo of the Day’.  A very nice honor.