Waiting Out The Storm

[Lee Webb]

After a request to show one of the images I'm entering into this years Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, Here it is! One of them, at least.
This image was taken in 60mph+ winds after a severe rain storm. This adorable Grey Seal pup was soaking wet and the stong wind was blowing ever increasing amounts of sand into the seal's fur. Isolated on a mud flat with no cover for miles, the seal only had the option to close it's eyes and curl up as much as possible to shelter itself from the storm. The wait for the winds to die down and the rain to stop must have seemed endless. If you look at the bottom of the image you can see grains of sand shooting by!
Nikon D3, Nikon AFS-VR 500mm f/4, f/6.3, 1/125th, ISO 1100, +0.3EV, hand held

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Stunning!

I love the comp and the narrow DOF to isolate the features.

Hellishly impressive sharpness for 500mm and 1/125 - and then you factor in the wind - and then you factor in hand held!!!

Best of luck with the competition

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Lee - just looked at your wildlife website - fantastic stuff

Love the hints and tips as well - nice one!

Think I might have been out on the same mudflats back in the day...

 

[Hamish Gill]

I'd echo Chris's comments entirely mate!
Very impressive indeed!

 

[Paul Lange]

Yeah, I had a look at the website and was quite stunned by the images on there. I feel they differ from the many of the other (still great) wildlife shots because they also seem to convey a sense of honesty about the subject.

 

[Lee Webb]

Thanks for the comments guys, really glad you like them!

 

[Alastair Cummins]

Loving the expression on its face, and you did so well considering the weather