After moving to our house near Salmon Bay, we learned that not all of our neighbors are respectful of noise ordinances. The calls of the local California sea lions are so loud and unmistakable that we onomatopoeiatically refer to them as "orts". When not barking their shiny heads off, they cruise the bay looking for a meal, where they are joined by the quieter but no less hungry harbor seals.
These photos are from a couple of different shoots, from which I've got lots of additional photos to share in future posts. The sea lions in the first four photos were taken during a pair of trips down to Commodore Park and the Ballard Locks during the height of the fall Chinook salmon runs, a good time for clever pinnipeds hang out next to the fish ladder built into the spillway next to the locks. I was just above the ladder taking a portrait of a great blue heron when the sea lion stuffing it's face burst above the surface of the water, giving me only a moment to swing my lens around to capture the action.
It was a similar story with the harbor seal in the last four shots. I had gone up to Edmonds to wander the waterfront for birds. Walking across a bridge into the marina, I noticed this guy munching his lunch among the docked boats, and I only had a few quick seconds to document the carnage before the whole salmon was down his gullet. I didn't even have time to take my sunglasses off or check my camera settings, which resulted in a bit of overexposure, but thankfully I was able to recover most of the highlights during post-processing.
September 11 + 26 + October 1, 2025 | Fujifilm X-T5 + Fujinon 150-600 f5.6-8
