pamlukeman

Staring baby seal

Canon EOS 20D

settings

Aperture 56/10 ISO 400 Shutter 1/500 Focal Length 400/1

upload_date

Sep, 2016

Views

352

Likes

+50

Awards

Zenith Award

Fall Award 2020

Absolute Masterpiece

+22

Superb Composition

+16

Top Choice

+16

Peer Award

Outstanding Creativity

Magnificent Capture

Superior Skill

All Star

Top Ranks

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Behind The Lens

Location

On a boat trip out into Kenmare Bay, a seal and sea eagle wildlife tourist speciality, we got extremely close to a whole load of seals. There were some pups, and this one was particularly curious. The captain of the boat made this trip once, sometimes twice a day, and was very cautious of not alarming the colony. He have a wonderful commentary all the way around the 3 hour trip, and pointed out other wildlife, of which he was very knowledgable. Thank you, Seafari Kenmare. I'll be back again in the future.

Time

Mid afternoon

Lighting

Natural daylight, no flash, as I didn't want to startle the seals

Equipment

Canon is my camera of choice. For a trip like this I usually take 2 camera bodies, an EOS7D and EOS1DS MkIII. Attached lenses are Canon 400mm f/5.6L to the EOS7D and Canon 28-70mm f/2.8L on the EOS1DS MkIII. I may change the lens on the EOS1DS MkIII to my Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L with a 1.4X converter, which is better in low light. Obviously on a boat a tripod is useless! All stored in a Lowepro reporter bag for safety and protection from weather and other people on the trip.

Inspiration

Love wildlife photos, and really wanted to take advantage of this trip

Editing

Just a bit of cropping to get a centred image.

In my camera bag

Depends on where I'm going, how far I have to carry the equipment, but normally EOS7D with 18-135mm attached as the bare minimum. When out for a proper shoot, I choose the full frame EOS1DS MkIII and my pro lenses 28-70mm f/2.8L, 70-200mm f/2.8L along with 1.4X converter. A couple of filters too, polariser, ND grad and warm-up, all screw onto the lens. If I'm purely going for wildlife, then I'll take my 400mm f/5.6L hoping to get good light, as shooting with high ISO compromises the clarity of the shot.

Feedback

Getting in close is brilliant, but you have to respect that these are wild animals, and don't disturb them. Choose a method of access suitable for where you're going, in this case the captain of the boat is renowned as a local advocate of making Kenmare Bay a marine reserve.

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pamlukeman

pamlukeman

Staring baby seal

Behind The Lens

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