Females and juvenile elephant seals are back on the beach at Año Nuevo for the annual molt. I love the molting females, but this post focuses more on the very, very, VERY silly young males – only a year or two old -- they are just starting to sort out their pecking order, which is so important to their future success. Comments and critiques are most sincerely welcome!
-- Susan
# 6 - - "May I?" Is a great look and I do understand you favoring # 12 - - but I still say they're Opera singers.... Here's a duet & they're trying to see who's going to out-sing the other. Kind of like the 3 Tenors....
Great stuff Susan... Far better than my latest entry...
Ah geez Susan, you sure have done such a fine job on all of these. The commentary is enjoyable, the shots have a great look and are wonderfully processed. The tonal ranges are lovely, perhaps you could share a bit on how you have done these?? #6 did you not tell him he's got snot Shame! My favs are the first and #12, but take nothing from the others as they are too great.
Outstanding series Susan!!! The shots are nothing short of fantastic and the commentary is equally entertaining, 1, 3 and 12 are my picks as favorites, excellent work.
These are OK but some great bird shots would have been much better
OR OH YEA You could post some great low angle shots of an amazingly macho mouse .....
Great action on these and look forward to seeing these guys through my own lens sometime. Great seeing you today and hope your Dog is doing well.........
Lil Judd wrote:
Susan,
# 6 - - "May I?" Is a great look and I do understand you favoring # 12 - - but I still say they're Opera singers.... Here's a duet & they're trying to see who's going to out-sing the other. Kind of like the 3 Tenors....
Great stuff Susan... Far better than my latest entry...
Lil
Thanks Lil! They do look they're singing - and they are sooooo cute when they do that!!
Karl Witt wrote:
Ah geez Susan, you sure have done such a fine job on all of these. The commentary is enjoyable, the shots have a great look and are wonderfully processed. The tonal ranges are lovely, perhaps you could share a bit on how you have done these?? #6 did you not tell him he's got snot Shame! My favs are the first and #12, but take nothing from the others as they are too great.
Karl
Hey Karl, multo thanks for all the kind words! No special PP tricks on these - all were take with a 500/f4 lens on a tripod, then standard processing (which for me usually includes levels, shadows and highlights, saturation, and sharpening). Most were taken on an overcast day, which for these guys really helps bring out color and detail in their fur. Bright sun and elephant seals are definitely NOT a good combo!!
Doug Bentlage wrote:
Outstanding series Susan!!! The shots are nothing short of fantastic and the commentary is equally entertaining, 1, 3 and 12 are my picks as favorites, excellent work.
Doug
Thanks so very much, Doug - really appreciate your picks especially!!
harshaj1 wrote:
Wonderful shots Susan. I like the glistening skin they are wearing. I assume this is a semiannual event.
Harsha
Thanks Harsha! Once they molt, their fur is silvery and beautiful. During the molt... well, pretty scruffy!! They molt once a year, and will be back again in winter for the pupping and mating season.
Ed Robertson wrote:
Very Very Well Done Wow. Ed
Thanks Ed!!!!
gerov wrote:
Beautiful series Susan - they are such entertaining creatures and they've given you so many wonderful poses and interactions.
Thanks for sharing these with us.
g.
Hiya g., and thank you - they're a hoot. Come on out sometime and have a look!
s.
anthony whitmo wrote:
Hey Susan,
These are OK but some great bird shots would have been much better
OR OH YEA You could post some great low angle shots of an amazingly macho mouse .....
Great action on these and look forward to seeing these guys through my own lens sometime. Great seeing you today and hope your Dog is doing well.........
Anthony (Mouse Photographer)
Anthony, you Mouse Man you -- thanks!! Would have been fun to go out to AN with you. And would have been very, very, VERY good for you - you know, losing the bird fixation and all. Glad you found some rodents as a transitional step.
Susan
p.s. Dog is doing great, and it was wonderful to see you too at the slough!!!!!
These are really well done, thanks for posting. I really like 1, 5 & 12. I think 5 is my favorite because you always see a beach background wih seals, having the solid green background is something different and the seal stands out well against it.
I remember my husband & I on one of our California trips 10 years ago stopped to watch some noisy elephant seals on the beach. Some brave (or foolish) guy was down on the beach running in between them! Egads what goes through some people's heads? Those elephant seals mean business and they are BIG!
#6 did you not tell him he's got snot 
