Galápagos Sea Lion Kiss, Rabida Island, Galápagos Islands, EcuadorFew wildlife moments were as fun for me as swimming with and photographing sea lions in the Galápagos Islands. Their natural curiosity and playful nature was apparent as they’d swim up to my snorkel mask then dive below me, only to circle back around to get another look. They were also constantly playing with each other, synchronized swimming, chasing each another and occasionally giving a muzzle to muzzle tap. These two were photographed just off Rabida Island in the Galápagos. We swam with sea lions almost every afternoon, and this was the only location with this reddish sand on the sea floor. Most everywhere else was green with algae over volcanic rock and coral. That said, Rabida provided an interesting color palette between the red sand and the turquoise water at such a shallow depth.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) Ikelite Underwater housing with 8 inch dome port, ISO 800, f/9 at 1/400th of a second