November 2017 saw Gladys joining one of the NaturesLens Seal Photography tours, the intent, to spend a week intensively capturing images of the Seals of Lincolnshire coastline in all lighting & weather conditions, under the guidance of Sean, who led the trips for us & offered mentoring & advice.
The group experienced all types of behaviour throughout the week of seal photography, but apparently the most daunting & loud was when this pair of bull seals decided to face-off & fight each other.
As Gladys describes it ‘An Awesome Moment‘, which is fitting for what happens when you have the opportunity to capture an image of your target subject with a rainbow in the background!
The group were very lucky with the ideal weather conditions throughout the week which resulted in lovely colors. However, in the case of this image, Gladys couldn’t resist processing it to monochrome.
On the first morning, the group found this lovely pup in beautiful morning light, Gladys states that she was amazed to see that a part of the umbilical cord was still attached, which appears to be a very common thing even when the pups where already a few days old.
Without a doubt this was the group’s favourite seal pup! They nicknamed him ‘Chubba’, & every day they looked out for him as he demonstrated funny behaviour which caused the whole group much amusement!
In addition to the photography on the beaches & at the surfs edge, sometimes the seal pups made their way up to the dunes, which as Gladys says, gave a nice change of setting, for seal photography in the green grass areas.
One afternoon, the group experienced some extreme weather conditions, everyone commented that it was very difficult to photograph under these circumstances; but they persevered & managed to get some extraordinary images. This female seal was reaching out to her pup to make sure it was still laying next to her as it was impossible to see in the sand storm.
Join Sean in 2018 for a week of Seal Photography
In November 2018, Sean will be leading a 5-night-long wildlife photography holiday focussed on Seal photography, but this time in Norfolk for NaturesLens, specifically between the dates of November 25 – 30 2018.
The cost is £999 per participant which includes 5 nights accommodation in a gorgeous cottage on a dinner, bed & breakfast basis, your meals will be warming, homely & plentiful to get you warmed through & filled up after a long day on the beach. Numbers are limited to ensure that the trip is sustainable, ethical & enjoyable for every photographer.
