B&W Sea Otters
Here are some more sea otter photos from Morro Bay, CA. There were two pups in the group and it was difficult to get a decent shot of them.
Converted these to B&W using NIK Silver EFfx Pro 2.
1/640 sec @ F4.5, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2 exposure compensation, 500mm mounted on tripod
1/400 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2 exposure compensation, 560mm with 100-400 II lens and 1.4X III teleconverter, handheld
1/500 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2 exposure compensation, 560mm with 100-400 II lens and 1.4X III teleconverter, handheld
Sea Otters at Morro Bay, CA
Spent last weekend at Morro Bay in California taking photos of sea otters. This was my second trip there in the last 4 1/2 years. Got some time to see some old friends and make some new ones. Love this small bay town and need to try to make this an annual trip.
Day 1 was cloudy with about 20 otters wrapped up in sea weed near the Morro Bay rock. They wrap themselves in kelp to keep them from floating away at night while sleeping.
Tried to get as close to the water as possible, which meant positioning my tripod on the rocks and sitting on a rock for a few hours. Had to shift position when the water came up with the tide.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, + 1 2/3 exposure compensation, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/400 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, + 2 exposure compensation, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/640 sec @ F4.5, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, + 2 exposure compensation, 500mm
California Wrap Sea Otter Style
One of the cool behaviors that we observed at Morro Bay was the Sea Otters wrapping themselves in seaweed to keep them from floating away while they slept. This one was almost totally wrapped up.
I lived in the Los Angeles area for a couple of years back in the late 80’s but wasn’t into wildlife photography in the film days, which was a shame. Jumped at the opportunity to go back to California to take photos of these awesome critters.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4x III teleconverter, handheld
1/250 sec @ F10, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
California Dreamin’
Still dreaming about California after spending 3 days on a photography trip last week. The tour was led by professional photographer Bill R. Shewchuk from Morro Bay, CA. Thanks Bill for an excellent tour and all of the advice. There were 7 of us on the tour and we had a blast. Thanks Beth for the invitation.
One of my goals this year was to get out of the Houston area to photograph something different. This trip definitely qualified. We had photo op’s of Sea Otters, Elephant Seals, Whales, horses, piers, fishing boats and landscapes from Big Sur. The problem now is that I’m hooked and want to go again.
Here are some of my Sea Otter photos. These were taken in Morro Bay after the fog rolled in on Monday morning before heading to the airport. The fog made for better lighting than direct sunlight. The Otters are adorable and very fun to watch. When resting, they keep their hands/feet out of the water to regulate their temperature while they roll their bodies 360 deg in the water.
I’ll post some more shots later. Ended up taking about 6300 photos, which is less than I anticipated. Took 7 – 32 gig memory cards and didn’t use them all.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4x III teleconverter, handheld
1/200 sec @ F10, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
1/200 sec @ F11, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
1/250 sec @ F11, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
Tim Timmis Photography 