Monterey, California, is a cute seaside town located about an hour and a half south of San Francisco. Surrounded by world class golf courses and made famous by John Steinbeck's writing, this once industrial sardine packing town, now hosts a bustling abundance of marine life due to concentrated conservation efforts. Often moody, the rugged coastline is chock full of stunning seascapes with plenty of locations to capture that California sunset.

​

During this photo adventure, mornings will start on one of several beaches, getting sandy, and photographing the multitude of shorebirds that utilize this area of the Pacific Flyway. This photo adventure is timed with the seasonal migrations of over 20,000 birds that use this area for stopover feeding and resting during their journey. 

 

On one of the days, we will take a cruise looking for whales, dolphins, and other marine life at sea. We will have three to four hours out on the Bay. Most days the stars of the cruise are the humpbacks that are here almost year round. Behaviors we hope to see include lunge feeding, breaching, tail or chin slaps.

​

On the other full day of the tour, we will cruise along one of the estuary sloughs, home to many sea otters, various species of birds, and a large population of harbor seals. This is a prime location to observe female otters with pups and we frequently see familial interactions between the otters on this part of the tour.

 

Afternoons will be geared towards sea otters, seals, and sea lions. As a group we will discuss what we want to focus on as sunset arrives, wildlife or landscapes, and we will end the day once the light has gone.

​

During down time between wildlife action and locations, we will discuss topics such as wildlife and seascape shooting techniques, post processing, and any other similar topics you might have questions about. 

​

Related articles: The Wild Side of Monterey, CA

                                   Spring 2022 Wild Monterey Photo Adventure

Related images: Wild Monterey Collection

​

​

*Boat based tours contingent upon weather conditions.