Why Can't I Sear?

I had been having a bunch of scallops lately when dining out, so I decided perhaps I should try to cook some on my own. I got these beautiful big scallops at Assi. I looked up a bunch of recipes, but it really seemed like just plain ol searing them with a little salt and pepper was the way to go. Well, it didn't go so well. As you can see, there's no sear. But damn it if I didn't try. I followed all the rules: keep the scallops dry, have an extremely hot pan, a little bit of oil, don't touch them when you put them on the pan. But did I get sear? Hell no. But it was still good nonetheless. But it would have been better with sear.
The pasta and the asparagus turned out nice too. The asparagus I just grilled with olive oil and salt and pepper. The linguine I tossed with garlic and shallots and olive oil. But next time, I'll get my sear!