Since I started underwater photography several years ago, I have sought to make images of sea lions in the Baja California peninsula. Somehow, I felt that taking pictures of such curious and playful beings would be an incredible and challenging experience. Fortunately, and despite the very special circumstances that we are experiencing, I had the opportunity to travel to that beautiful corner of Mexico and enjoy spending great moments in the company of these marine mammals.
The California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) is undoubtedly one of the most emblematic species of the Baja California Peninsula. Sea lions are pinnipeds, this means that they are carnivorous mammals adapted to living in water, with an elongated body and short fin-shaped limbs. In addition, they belong to the Otaridae family, that is, they have small visible ears and are able to walk with their limbs. This is the main difference from the seal family.
The sexual dimorphism is notorious, since the males weigh between 300 and 380 kg and reach about 2.4 meters in length, while the females barely reach 80 to 120 kg and between 1.8 and 2 meters. Adult males have a pronounced sagittal crest.
It has a hydrodynamic body, with a layer of fat under the skin, to provide warmth and buoyancy. The mantle is chocolate brown. Its large eyes help compensate for low light levels in the underwater environment, while its whiskers increase its sense of touch. Their nostrils close automatically once they touch the water. Their long front fins rotate outward for better movement on land, and propel them forward in the water, where they stay as long as possible.
It feeds on fish and mollusks. They are very sociable and can be found in large groups, on cliffs and costs. Males are territorial and have harems of about fifteen females each. They usually mate between May and June and the females have one pup that is born in land or water at 12 months of gestation. The males emit great sounds to mark the territory, resulting in their name.
Being underwater with these creatures is an experience that takes you back to childhood and leaves your heart full of joy. These guys play with starfishes, nibble on your camera or regulator hoses, roll past you at supersonic speed, or stop inches from your face and look at you as if to say “are you going to play with us?” Before you know it, your dive time is up, and you cannot wait to get back in the water with them.
Having done many dives in the company of these friendly beings, I have had the opportunity to learn various lessons and tips to achieve the desired photo.
– High speed. Because of sea lion’s fast and rapid movements underwater, a fast shutter speed is required. When you shoot with strobes, you will set the speed at the maximum synchronize speed possible, typically around 1/250th of a second. If you shoot in ambient light, you can bump the speed up.
– Aperture. Closing down the aperture with these quick moving subjects will help keep them in focus. A Good starting point can be f.8 and will close it down if required; this in turn means some sacrifice with having to shoot a higher ISO.
Sea lions usually play near the surface. Most days are bright and sunny here in Baja California, which gives you plenty of ambient light to work with. And if the sea lions are closer than around 2 meters, adding some low amounts of artificial light helps bring out the detail in their fur and more of their color. It also helps freeze their motion for the image. While conditions are normally excellent during the summer months, there is always potential for backscatter, so keeping your strobes out helps minimize this.
If you decide to go only with ambient light, unless you are going for silhouettes, you typically want the sun at your back. You can hit the focus and freeze the action perfectly on your speedy sea lion, but if the sun is behind your subject, you’ll get a dark blob, and your photo won’t have the connection that makes it really pop. As you will typically be on the Surface, or close to it when shooting ambient light, it can often work to shoot straight at the subject or even at a downwards angle, as that will give the nicest lighting.
Overall, this means I’m typically trying to shoot around 1/320 sec, f/8, ISO 400. Keep in mind this does change with ambient light conditions, but it’s a good starting point. If the water is clear and there’s bright sunlight, then I may be able to turn down my ISO to 200 and bump up my f-stop while still getting a nice bright blue background.
– Visualize the shot beforehand. Adjust all your settings for that scenario, and then doggedly pursue it without being distracted by too many other things. (The exception to this is if you see really cool behaviors like a sea lion playing with a starfish. In such a case, drop everything and go for it!)
What I would recommend is that you create a shot list of the sea lion photos you want. Once you’re in the water, observe the sea lions and figure out what shot on your list is the best to try based on how they are behaving.
Get all your settings dialed in for your chosen shot, and then stick with it! Sea lions are really distracting. You may see them playing and having fun with each other, so you decide you want to do a sea lion interaction shot. So, you get all set up, maybe you pre-focus 3 ft away and put your strobes out… and then a sea lion comes up to your dome port and nibbles on it, then swims away. Well, missed opportunity. But stick to your plan. Keep the set-up for an interaction shot and keep looking for it. Because as soon as you adjust for that close-up nibbling shot, then you’ll see the interaction you were looking for… and you’ll miss it because you’re not set up for it.
To finish with, let me give you this piece of advice. With a curious and playful nature, sea lions are always more than happy to be in front of the camera. Juvenile sea lions are like big puppy dogs of the ocean and will lose interest quickly if you don’t interact with them. So, remember to take in the moment, interact with them, spin when they spin, let them play, and fire off some snaps within those moments. You can make a friend for the whole dive.
