We spent two nights in Monterey, California, between our stopover in San Francisco and our visit to Yosemite in October. One of the highlights of this resort town is the huge aquarium, complete with an entire wing dedicated to a large collection of jellyfish.
Jellies weren’t the only thing though – they also have a huge deep sea exhibit, a “petting zoo” full of starfish and rays, penguins, and a giant open sea exhibit full of tuna, sharks, and sea turtles. We spent a total of over 4 hours there – an excellent way to use up a spare day in the itinerary.
click for larger.
It was also an excellent way to give the new camera (a Canon 5d MkIII) a proper workout – many of these photos were shot handheld at ISO 12800 or even higher, and the performance has turned out to be absolutely stunning. Its one area where the MkIII really does completely outshine the MkII.
4 comments
Sara says:
Nov 15, 2012
Wonderful shots! We were there not long ago.
Cheri Collins says:
Nov 15, 2012
Great photos! But next time, plan to give the MBA 4 days instead of just 4 hours! It’s not a way to fill the time, it’s a destination.
Marianne says:
Nov 17, 2012
Great shots of these exhibits. I’m a volunteer at the aquarium and a beginning photographer. The Canon 5D Mark III is on my wish list. Thanks for posting these pics.
thomas says:
Nov 17, 2012
thanks for stopping by and thanks for the comment. i really did enjoy the day there; was a great experience and the staff there were fantastic as well. i didn’t even know about the place until we arrived in monterey; we’re very glad we stopped off.