Negative low tide, magnificent sunset, and a fellow WordPress blogger
I know of two fellow WordPress bloggers here in San Diego County:
2 Rivers Photos and Enchanted Seashells. I let both of them know that there was a negative low tide at 5:25 p.m. yesterday. I have found in my 19 years here in San Diego that negative low tides for some reason often bring great sunsets. Yesterday did not disappoint in either respect, although only Bashar (2 Rivers Photos) was able to join Jim and me at the La Jolla Cove.
A negative low tide is when the water level is below the average low tide. That can sometimes make it difficult to determine whether or not the negative low tide will be one worth going to see, so I usually choose the lowest of the negative low tides for the year; check your local tide table for your area. Yesterday’s negative low tide was well worth seeing.
Jim and I left San Diego State University at 4:40, hoping that rush hour traffic north to La Jolla would not be bad. Not only was traffic great, but we got a parking spot in La Jolla right at La Jolla Cove. That has never happened before. Omen of a great time.
I set about taking pictures of underwater things that were no longer under water:
The beach I was standing on is normally under about ten feet of water and that big rock in the first picture usually has just its top exposed — the section with all the pelican poop on it. Speaking of pelicans, they were being photogenic:
In the following panorama of the La Jolla Cove (done using five separate pictures and the Photomerge function in Photoshop CS6), you can see Bashar on the seawall with his tripod (click on the picture for a bigger image):
Bashar had arrived before us and refused to wait, going off on his own to take pictures. I was so sad and depressed (not really; just had to dig Bashar a little ☺☺☺☺☺). Jim and I eventually caught up with Bashar and I snuck a picture while he wasn’t looking:
We headed over to the tidepools but I think the tidepool wildlife had headed south for the winter.
Although we saw very little tidepool wildlife, the seals and sea lions were enjoying the exposed rocks and seaweed, as well as the setting sun:
Many birds were enjoying finding bits of food in the tidepools:
And the sunset was one of the most spectacular I’ve ever seen. Here are eleven as a sample of the 110 sunset pictures I took yesterday:
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Posted on October 18, 2012, in Mother & Father Nature, Out & About, Photos and tagged bird pictures, egret pictures, la jolla cove pictures, la jolla sunset pictures, pelican pictures, san diego sunset pictures, sea lion pictures, seagull pictures, seal pictures. Bookmark the permalink. 65 Comments.
Are you going to post some of these on UHH?
Probably not. I don’t post too much on UHH, preferring to simply read and help out where I can. I actually find too much negativity at UHH, and since I can’t control the negative comments to my posts there, I usually don’t post. Here at WordPress I can control the negativity.
Amazing Beauty !!!!!!!!!! The last 4 – wow wow wow wow
but i snapped a few pics 
and will upload and post tomorrow ….
the sunset was amazing in Toronto tonight as well ! Omg – i saw my first double rainbow
I am definitely Not a Good photog ! lol
Your work is stunning really ! same reddish purple sky – here – Gorgeous Gorgeous !!!!
Have a Good Night
You are sooooooooo Talented !
Cat
Uh-oh. My head just grew to ten times its normal size………….lol
Thanks for your kind words.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don’t think You are that Type of human being
ego in check kinda person = you 
seriously Gorgeous ……..
serious talent !
Night
Hi, way to go to rub it in with more incredible otherwordly photos! Yes, I’m here in San Diego,Carlsbad, but I was/am still stuck helping the capt remodel the bathroom. No joy, no joy, but thank you for bringing the beauty to all of us!
Lovely photos! I just came back from the northern California coast and the sunsets were amazing.
Your photos are absolutely amazing, Russell. What a gorgeous place.
Brilliant Ray, thankyou.
be good to yourself
David
All I can say is wow!
Amazing photos as usual! I especially enjoyed the seal pictures. So cute! Thanks for sharing.
wow what wonderful sunset photos! i’ve never heard of a negative low tide, but now i do! thanks for the info and sharing the beautiful sunset colors
All are quite amazing, Ray. Love the bird in the reflection pool and the face on that seal!
even Zoey, the cool cat, seems excited by these photos:)
Great way to end my day….
Thank you so much for sharing your amazing photographs.
RR
I am in awe of your photos. I love sunsets, low tides, birds and now seals + seal ions. I have not been feeling well and just before closing for the day, I took one more look here on wordpress and I am glad I did. Beautiful, terrific, amazing, magnificent…I could keep going, but as you said earlier in comments, you don’t want your head to get too big. I don’t see anything negative with any of these photos. If you get a negative comment…send them to me and I will give them what I have…a cold. Have a great night. thank you for sharing
lol
Hope you get well soon.
TY
110. Really? You stopped at 110? Exquisite, stunningly beautiful, Russell. Thanks!
I had to take some time off for myself, just to stare at what was going on before my eyes.
Ahh, yes, I can appreciate that!
Oh Wowie Zowie Zoey…… I would have loved seeing this and capturing the images….how blessed you are to capture this awesome incredible picture of the world we live in….can I say it again INCREDIBLE photos…love the amazing images that are usually under water….love the wildlife, seals and pelicans and just all the animals and life….and then the sunset….oh my gosh….wow!!! Beautiful and incredible….I know that Zoey was shooting the pictures with you and she is amazing:) Thank you so much for sharing this:) How awesome it would be to see something like this….truly it would be so cool.
AWESOME pics!
I wish I could comment on every single photo… but that would make your post too long…
The bird photos are out of this world… specially the pelican…
the mammals or seals… wonderful and the sunsets oh my gosh… I wish that I could have been there to capture one or two of those…
Just one question.. a negative tide is that the same as a neap tide????
This is one of the best posts I’ve seen in a long time… magnificent photography….
No, a negative low tide and a neap tide are not the same.
To illustrate, let’s say that on a normal day the water level of high tide is eight feet above the average water level, and the water level of low tide is two feet below the average water level. That’s a daily range of ten feet. With a neap tide, which happens twice a month, the range is decreased significantly so that the high tide is, say, two feet above the average water level and the low tide is one foot below the average water level, a range of just three feet. These are the best times to go shore fishing because the water level is fairly consistent.
With a negative low tide, let’s assign “sea level” a value of 0. A high tide comes in and “sea level” rises eight feet. A low tide comes in and “sea level” falls eight feet. The average low tide, then, is eight feet below the average “sea level” of 0. A negative low tide, then, would be any low tide that is more than eight feet below average “sea level.”
It’s not an easy subject, which probably explains why I didn’t go into oceanography in college……..lol
Thanks friend got a better idea about it now… I have never heard it used in South Africa, and was wondering why… every now and then we do get abnormal lows and high tides… they are just not called negative… thank you.. I would not have done well at oceanography either but enjoy the nuances of nature…
Another great post. Your lovely photos bring back so many memories. I also enjoy the historical and other info you provide. It’s a good life here in North Carolina. But man your blog reminds me of how much I miss California. It’s beautiful torture visiting your blog.
I just read where Romney is pulling all of his resources out of North Carolina because he has the state won. I wish Obama would pull all of his resources out of California and take them to Nevada and Colorado.
From what I can tell, North Carolina doesn’t look good based on what I see and hear personally, and also the polls.
However, Obama’s voter registration drive was really strong here, and I read they deny giving up on NC. I agree Nevada and Colorado look better right now. If he can hold his ground in key states in the midwest and east like Michigan, Ohio, Penn, and Wisconsin, he would only need one other state to get above 270. Either Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, or Colorado would do nicely.
We’re getting very few national advertisements here in San Diego. Absolutely none from Romney and maybe one a day from Obama. I’d love to see the ad war in Ohio, Iowa, and Colorado. I suspect that Romney’s making a big push in Wisconsin, too. How ironic it would be if R&R lost Massachusetts and Wisconsin.
Wow, what wonderful pics… the birds,the rocks, the gorgeous animals, and then the sunsets – a feast for the eyes, and more, – a feast for the soul – for those who have one – . thank you
Re Romney and N Carolina… I signed a petition recently to try to stop bear baiting in S Carolina – they must the last Western people to do it in the world now that WSPC has got it stopped Rumania…. the mind boggles
Those sunset photos are stunning! It looks like a fascinating place to wander about and watch wildlife, the stunning sunset is a bonus!
Magnificent indeed!
I’ve been saying ‘wow’ for the last five minutes! Those sunsets are beyond belief, almost eerily so. Sensational photos
So amazingly beautiful Thanks for sharing your pics.
Wonderful set of photos Russel. Thanks for sharing. (I never knew there were such things as negative tides)
What a glorious day, Russel! Loved all the shots, all of them!
OMG the sunset!! Love the sea lions! Looks like this was well worth the trip!
Thanks for the mention Russel… it was great hanging out with you & Jim and hopefully we’ll be able to do it a lot more in the future.
Fantastic job on the sunsets, they look exactly how I remember them
All I can say is WOW!
Saying I like this is an understatement. Thank you, what a gift you made to us all!
Wow! Absolutely amazing sunset! The other photos were also very good, but the sunset – just stunning!
beautiful images!! loved them all!!
Great photos!
Russell all these pictures are just outstanding!!! Hugs
these are stunning!
Amazing sunsets and I love the photo with the seaweed on the rocks.
Camped on your site for a little while and watched the sun set. Very nice and peaceful; and the light reflections were lovely. Thanks for inviting me along.
I love San Diego and definitely want to go catch more picture of sunsets and low tides for sure. Never knew SD could be so good for photography…
I only started discovering it back in 2009, and I have a lot more to discover!
*Jaw drop moment of the night* WOWOWOWOW Love the sunsets! Got better and better with each photo!
Great colors on the sunset – awesome shots!
Hello Russel,
Beautiful photos. I have given a link to this post on my Facebook page.
Thanks for the Facebook exposure!
Wow you had a great photo day! HAHA! they are all amazing!
STUNNING STUNNING BEAUTIFUL sunsets.
I enjoyed your tale up to the end, with all those photos. I really enjoyed this, Russell
How lovely it would be to actually KNOW other bloggers in your town, & to go off photographing like that – total enjoyment.
I thought the sealions were dead! And yes, the pelicans were very photogenic. How sweet…
The sunsets though… stunning.
I’m glad you explained negative low tide too, as I didn’t understand.
Cheers – stunning!
Spectacular!
Great pictures, Ray. They remind me that I haven’t had a decent vacation in over three years, but with a good feeling. By the way, once again, thank you for your kindness stopping by at Colltales. Every time you do that, new bloggers ‘discover’ my site and that’s enough for me to be forever indebted to you for that. Hopefully, you take something out of it, when you come to visit it. Come back and ‘camp’ around again pretty soon. All the best. Wesley
Stunning shots Ray, thank you for sharing…
Love the photos—all of them. I did some shooting myself at LaJolla Cove many years ago and captured the sea lions, but now I can see it is also a fabulous place to shoot a sunset. Thanks so much for explaining about the negative low tide. Another tool in the arsenal
Looks like a fabulous day! You captured it beautifully!
Just beautiful!
Great photos! Picturing animals is always difficult. These are sooo good. And the sunsets are beautiful.
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