Isla Rasa
At 7:30 am the Global position system on the bridge of the Sea Bird read 28 degrees 53 minutes 79 seconds North by 113 degrees 22 minutes and 61 seconds West. The navigational chart noted our position at El Alacran near the Baja Peninsula just north of Bahia Las Animas. While getting ready for the morning actives a photo lecture was presented covering topics such as using your photos to tell a story, including people in your photos, making sure the eye(s) of your subject are in sharp focus, having objects in your photo in the foreground and background to keep the viewer engaged, and using your hand as a grey card, remembering of course to open up your aperture one stop to avoid underexposure. I guess you always have a hand with you when you forget your 18 percent grey card. The guests had a myriad of land and water activities to choose from. Some went to shore to enjoy a stationary walk, went on guided tours led by naturalists, went on a photography based hike looking for the perfect compositions, or enjoyed the tranquility and solitude of kayaking in the Sea of Cortez.
Since the surface of the sea was not broken by even the slightest ripple snorkelers got even closer to the orange barrel sponges (Pseudosuberites pseudos) which kayakers gazed at in amazement. From the surface the bottom could be seen through the transparent water 40 feet below. Utilizing self contained breathing apparatus allows a glimpse into this strange but beautiful under sea realm. As I was engrossed amid scissortail damsel fish (Chromis atrilobata) I noticed this brilliant nudibranch. Nudibranch’s are members of the phylum Mollusca and are equivalent to land snails without an external shell. As a result of this many are brightly colored to warn potential predator’s that they may not taste good. However, to a photographer these saturated colors make the subject the focus of attention. Our afternoon stop was at a small island known as Isla Rasa where 500,000 sea birds migrate to nest each year. The predominate species represented are the heerman’s gulls (Larus heermanni) with a count of 265,000, followed by elegant terns (Sterna elegans) numbered at 200,000, which leaves a meager 35,000 royal terns (Sterna maxima). As shutters were firing at distances only feet from these avian subjects the light gently shimmered off of the glass like sea in the background, while Zodiacs were returning to the ship during the setting sun. After dinner we learned from Enriqueta Velarde that just recently, after analyzing 16 years of data, we have found a very high correlation between total catch and catch per unit effort and several breeding and feeding parameters of the seabirds. This data allows us to predict two fisheries parameters for the Pacific sardine, a year in advance of the end of the fishing season. By yearly monitoring, we hope this information will provide the basis for sound management of this important ecological and fishery resource.”
At 7:30 am the Global position system on the bridge of the Sea Bird read 28 degrees 53 minutes 79 seconds North by 113 degrees 22 minutes and 61 seconds West. The navigational chart noted our position at El Alacran near the Baja Peninsula just north of Bahia Las Animas. While getting ready for the morning actives a photo lecture was presented covering topics such as using your photos to tell a story, including people in your photos, making sure the eye(s) of your subject are in sharp focus, having objects in your photo in the foreground and background to keep the viewer engaged, and using your hand as a grey card, remembering of course to open up your aperture one stop to avoid underexposure. I guess you always have a hand with you when you forget your 18 percent grey card. The guests had a myriad of land and water activities to choose from. Some went to shore to enjoy a stationary walk, went on guided tours led by naturalists, went on a photography based hike looking for the perfect compositions, or enjoyed the tranquility and solitude of kayaking in the Sea of Cortez.
Since the surface of the sea was not broken by even the slightest ripple snorkelers got even closer to the orange barrel sponges (Pseudosuberites pseudos) which kayakers gazed at in amazement. From the surface the bottom could be seen through the transparent water 40 feet below. Utilizing self contained breathing apparatus allows a glimpse into this strange but beautiful under sea realm. As I was engrossed amid scissortail damsel fish (Chromis atrilobata) I noticed this brilliant nudibranch. Nudibranch’s are members of the phylum Mollusca and are equivalent to land snails without an external shell. As a result of this many are brightly colored to warn potential predator’s that they may not taste good. However, to a photographer these saturated colors make the subject the focus of attention. Our afternoon stop was at a small island known as Isla Rasa where 500,000 sea birds migrate to nest each year. The predominate species represented are the heerman’s gulls (Larus heermanni) with a count of 265,000, followed by elegant terns (Sterna elegans) numbered at 200,000, which leaves a meager 35,000 royal terns (Sterna maxima). As shutters were firing at distances only feet from these avian subjects the light gently shimmered off of the glass like sea in the background, while Zodiacs were returning to the ship during the setting sun. After dinner we learned from Enriqueta Velarde that just recently, after analyzing 16 years of data, we have found a very high correlation between total catch and catch per unit effort and several breeding and feeding parameters of the seabirds. This data allows us to predict two fisheries parameters for the Pacific sardine, a year in advance of the end of the fishing season. By yearly monitoring, we hope this information will provide the basis for sound management of this important ecological and fishery resource.”
