How to Photograph California's Sea Lions

One of the ocean's more playful creatures is the sea lion. Fast, agile and cute, they are fascinating to watch, and should they choose to include you in one of their games you will cherish the encounter for some time. It is certain that their propensity to engage in play and to include humans in their games is what makes diving with sea lions so exhilarating.

There are four species of sea lion (California sea lions, stellar sea lions, northern fur seals, and Guadalupe fur seals) that are found in substantial numbers along the California coast. Sea lions are gregarious and form large herds, both during the breeding and non-breeding seasons. They are powerful swimmers and can swim circles around a diver faster than he/she can turn their head. When in a group they will defend their territory and challenge divers. This behavior consists of charging a diver at full speed, only to veer off at the last instant, as well as swimming up to a diver and blowing bubbles in his/her face. This bubble blowing behavior is a clear sign of aggression and is common to many marine mammal species.

To photograph a sea lion, you'll need a medium-wide to ultra-wide angle lens. A 20 mm lens on a Nikonos works well, the wider 15 will give you better images if your subject chooses to come close enough to fill the frame. In a housing I like the 24 or 18 mm lenses. Sea lions absorb a lot of light so a strobe is nice to bring out some color of their fur. Because they absorb so much light, it is better to get underneath them and shoot up against a bright background for contrast. Sea lions are fast, so a camera with a sync speed of 1/125 of a second or faster is preferred, or on sunny days you may want to shoot at 1/250 of a second with natural light.

Having spent many hours in the water photographing marine mammals, I have never gotten over how creatively they can avoid having their picture taken. Many take great pleasure in approaching a photographer at close range, only to dart out of range before the shutter can be triggered. To get a good sea lion photo, you must be patient and allow the animal to approach you. Never chase a sea lion or any other subject. The trick is modify your own behavior to arouse the sea lion's curiosity.

One way is to ignore the animal completely. Focus your attention on the bottom or some other creature and the sea lion may come close to investigate. Another trick I use is to pick up a rock, and repeatedly toss it up and catch it. Frequently a nearby sea lion will come in and investigate.

Remember to look for repetitive behavior. I have noticed that sea lions will follow the same path around their "territory." Watch their behavior and position yourself to take advantage of it. Maybe they pass over a rock with a good upward angle? I once stumbled over a discarded tire with a juvenile sea lion perched on top. The animal would chew the tire for a short while, swim away and return repeatedly. This recurring behavior gave me the opportunity to bracket and acquire shots from several perspectives.

So where do you go for sea lion photos? In Northern California, Fish Rocks at Anchor bay is a good bet. In the Monterey Area, try the Breakwater or Lobos Rocks. In the Channel Islands, the rookeries at Santa Barbara Island or at San Miguel Island are very productive. Remember that it is photographically a bad idea and illegal to approach or harass marine mammals. Always allow them to approach you.

Bruce Watkins is a photojournalist residing in Northern California. Bruce is a regular contributor to California Diving News and hundreds of his articles and nearly a thousand of his photographs have appeared in various magazines, including Discover Diving, Ocean Realm, Outside, Rodale's Scuba Diving, and Skin Diver. He is the author of A Diver's Guide to Monterey County, recently published by Saint Brendan Corp.