BAJA EXPEDITION SERIES PART II

In pursuit of the surreal creatures of Los Islotes

Shot on Sony Alpha 7R IV along with FE 28–70 mm F3.5–5.6

After the success of ‘Following the Baitball’ series, Sony Alpha Community comes forth with a second chapter of the Baja Expedition journey. In the first series, we got to know about the Sardine season and saw stunning photographs of exotic sea creatures clicked by Dhritiman Mukherjee, our own Sony Explorer. We also discovered the exciting experience of underwater photography and the traits of Peninsula fish. The second chapter would focus on the underwater beauty of Los Islotes – a small island in the Baja Peninsula. In terms of gear, our Explorer went to the Baja Peninsula armed with Sony Alpha 7R IV with FE 28–70 mm F3.5–5.6 lens and Sony Alpha 7R III with 16-35 mm F4 Zeiss lens.

Los Islotes and capturing its Beauty with Sony Alpha Gear

Nestled in Baja Island is a small island of Los Islotes- famous for its delightful Californian Sea Lion.

Our Explorer chose the location for its gigantic Sea Lion population as well as for the presence of Cormorant- an exotic sea bird. Equipped with the Sony alpha series gear, the Sony Explorer was able to capture the grandeur of the place where the limitless sky met droplets of the aqua sea as the Cormorants dived into action.

Underwater photography is always tricky, you are always moving, and the light conditions are worse to take pictures. And to photograph such conditions requires a stable gear with exceptional low light capability. For the same, our explorer used Sony’s Alpha camera body equipped with brilliant Image stabilization, Fast Autofocus, and even Animal Eye-AF. The equipment is compact and lightweight which makes them perfect for an underwater photography expedition. The beauty of the shot was enhanced by the selection of powerful lenses which ensured high performance even in low light conditions.

Adding on to the same, our Sony Explorer elaborated, “Underwater photography in the Gulf of California can be very exciting. What helps is that the Sea lions are also familiar with human interaction and do not mind much human presence. That is until and unless you are too close to them or within their territory. That part must be taken care of while shooting especially with males who seem to be a bit aggressive sometimes.

In order to be quick, I used my Sony Alpha 7R IV and Sony Alpha 7R III which can capture frames at 10 fps. These cameras have high resolution and superior AF functions, which meet all my needs for the expedition. I was more surprised with the lenses used in this series. Generally, at low light condition people tend to click at lower aperture value to get more lights but all my images clicked at Los Islotes are at higher aperture value (Between F8 and F14). Getting such vibrant images with almost no noise at such aperture value really surprised me.”

The Sea is their Playground

All sea lions have certain features in common, like their coarse, short fur and great body bulk. Sea Lions are playful creatures. One can see it in the images captured- where little Sea Lion babies were playing with StarFish. Yet, they also have their own personality traits. This was what attracted our Explorer.

Capturing them in a mesmerizing atmosphere and bringing these amazing images using Sony Alpha Gear back to us, was an opportunity that he shall always cherish.

The adventure doesn’t end here. Know more about the exciting journey of our Explorer’s expedition. In our next series, get to learn about the marvellous Brown Pelican and discover the amazing shots captured by our Explorer for the same.

Keep following alphacommunity.in for more updates. #BajaExpeditionSeries

To read Baja Expedition part-I click here