Elephant Seal Bull

Gallery: WildlifePosted January 16, 2011112 views6 comments

Olympus E-30, 12-60mm at 60mm, hand held, laying on ground
f11, 1/1000, ISO200

Photo taken at Gold Harbor, South Georgia Island. Elephant seals are huge, running to 15 feet in length and 3.5 tons in weight. This is a non-breeding adult male, probably 6-7 years old. A full grown beachmaster is even bigger. He's probably hauled out to moult.

In a sense, photos like this are unfair to the species. These big guys are very graceful, even elegant, in the water.

The high shutter speed is to freeze his lips, which were moving from snoring. I thought the relatively shallow DOF emphasized the size. 90% of full frame, selective sharpening.

C & C, please. Thanks for looking.

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Carol Nichols on January 16, 2011 at 6:13 PM

Jim, your perspective here is wonderful and your choice of DOF is perfect for what you were trying to achiever. Really terrific.

Registered on November 7, 2007, 161 Posts, 1420 Comments

Comment posted by Sally King on January 16, 2011 at 9:03 PM

Snoring? I guess it's good he was sleeping. Huge. The image definitely protrays that. I wonder if a crop from the top would emphasize the scale even more.

Registered on December 2, 2008, 416 Posts, 4450 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on January 16, 2011 at 10:34 PM

The low perspective really works well. Detail and exposure on sand and face look super. To my eye the inclusion of the steep terrain in the background is a significant enhancement. The only nits I can find are very minor and totally beyond your control. I would have wished to better isolate this giant without the partial individual on our left and it would have been nice if the sand was not so mounded up in front of his nose and mouth, so we could better appreciate all of his striking countenance!

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Floris van Breugel on January 17, 2011 at 1:28 AM

Dang, those animals truly are lazy, huh? You sure captured that personality!

Registered on December 19, 2008, 306 Posts, 4840 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on January 17, 2011 at 2:23 AM

You are a sensitive guy Jim. Your photo does make him "appear" a little "chubby", maybe it's just the angle?

Seriously though, excellent photo of a species I imagine is quite difficult to photograph and present at their best on land. Good use of the wide angle.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on January 17, 2011 at 8:58 AM

Jim, the comp on this is excellent! Love the detail, DOF and I also like the inclusion of the BG...it gives me more perspective of the size. I laughed also when I saw it...reminded me of a few releatives after eating too much during the holidays

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments