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Galapagos Baby Seal

Galapagos, EC

upload_date

Oct, 2019

Views

424

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+65

Awards

Contest Finalist in One Is Beautiful Photo Contest

Peer Award

+14

Absolute Masterpiece

Top Choice

Magnificent Capture

All Star

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Top 10 rank

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Top 30 rank week 2

Top 30 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

The photo was taken on the north-central coast of the Isle of Santiago among the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. This part of the island is lined with wind and water worn lava fields standing up to the currents and waves of the ocean's waters.

Time

Along the equator, the sun consistantly rises and sets at 6am and 6pm all the year round. I was a part of a small group on the Coral I cruising yacht, so timing was restricted to the group's schedule. We off-loaded the yacht around 8am. After a hike to this area and other things to see, I took this shot a few minutes after 9:30a.

Lighting

The photo was taken with only natural lighting. The Galapagos Islands have laws on the use of flash or external lighting. It was easier to reposition myself to get the best lighting within the desired framing of the subject.

Equipment

This trip was one of those examples of why back-up equipment, even though it is added weight, is important when traveling. On day one my Canon 5D had a shutter issue. This shot was taken with the full-frame Canon 6D using the Canon 70-200, 2.8, IS, III. The settings were 150mm, 4.0, at 320. The Galapagos Islands have strict laws regarding extra camera gear for the protection of the environment and wildlife. If you want to do some planned professional shooting with extra gear, do your research well in advance to get the permits required.

Inspiration

I was walking on the rugged lava coast enjoying the view and the wildlife. I came to a relatively level area where I noticed two mother seals and three baby seals. The two mother seals were exhausted and resting with minimal movement. Two of the baby seals had enough membrane on them to indicate they were born within the past one and a half hours. Flies clear any membrane off the babies. This third baby was about three to five hours old. Its mother had rested enough to return to the sea for nourishment. The baby had been moving about and crying, then came to a rest on this raised island of lava within a small pool of water. The baby pulled in its tail and fins and whimpered until it fell asleep. What more inspiration is needed? With the direction of lighting, I was not going to get a mirror reflection, but I could work out a silhouette reflection in the water.

Editing

Post-processing on this photo was relatively simple. The tail and fin area was shaded due to the direction of the sunlight and needed lightened and brought out just a touch.

In my camera bag

I love prime lenses, but when I travel I pack three Canon L zoom lenses: the standard 24-105mm, the long 100-400mm, and the wide 16-35mm. These allow me many options for a variety of photography types of shooting.

Feedback

If traveling to the Galapagos Islands research the photography rules. Upon arrival, have a discussion with your guide and a naturalist of the area about what kind of shots you would like to capture and sunlight options. I learned, at the end of my trip, that the guide would have taken me by dingy to get shots at sunrise and sunset as long as we did not need to be moving at that time. I was reminded the lesson which I had learned and forgotten: when with a group (small or large) ask questions of opportunity and options at the very beginning of an adventure.

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Galapagos Baby Seal

Behind The Lens

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