A little tip for your wildlife photography composition:
This juvenile Australian Sea Lion was photographed on the beach at Seal Bay, Kangaroo Island, in South Australia. I was thrilled to have been given the opportunity to photograph this amazing species. I was with a qualified ranger/guide and a small group of other people, watching some Sea Lions interacting around me, while others slept peacefully. They seemed totally unconcerned that there was a group of humans standing nearby. Before I even took a photo, I observed their behaviour closely, watching out for any interesting behaviour to happen. Nothing out of the ordinary did happen for a while until this juvenile came towards me and seemed quite “bouncy” and energetic….
Patience is one of the keys while you watch out for interesting behaviours and patterns. I’ve seen it time and time again and have written about it before.
I immediately focused my camera on the juvenile sea lion and composed my shot, waiting for something to happen. After a few minutes of playing around, the Sea Lion finally turned in my direction and started to scratch. This was my moment! I recomposed my shot, focused on its eye and took several shots using the continuous shutter mode on my camera. I ensured there was room in the direction the Sea Lion was facing, an important part of wildlife photography composition. Fortunately for me, light grey clouds in the sky made for perfect, diffused light. This type of lighting is preferred to sunny conditions, which tend to cause annoying highlights that blow out any light areas on your subject, as well as create harsh background shadows. Even when these lights are manageable, they can cause distraction from your subject. Diffused lighting is more consistent, ensuring that your subject stays the focus and not the light.
The Australian Sea Lion is Australia’s only endemic Sea Lion and is listed as a threatened (vulnerable) under the Federal Government’s Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. It is Australia’s only endemic Sea Lion and their population is thought to be between 10 000 – 12 000.
It was a real joy to be able to spend time photographing this beautiful mammal, and an experience I thoroughly recommend to anyone.
Happy photography!
If you have a passion for wildlife, nature or travel photography and would love to go on a small-number, professional photography adventure, please get in touch with Michael Snedic at WildNature Photo Expeditions. You can call him on 0408 941 965 or fill in this Contact Form and he will get back to you ASAP.
