Aloha from the island of Maui! I will be based here in the islands until November 30th. Already, it’s been an extraordinary trip beginning with an encounter with an Hawaiian Monk Seal, both on land and in the water. In the morning, tourists discovered a female monk seal hauled out on the beach here in Kaanapali. Later, as I was stand-up paddleboarding, looking for turtles to photograph, she swam directly to the tip of my board, sorted a few hellos, then headed off for a nice ocean brunch. 🙂 It was an incredible encounter as the Hawaiian Monk Seal is one of the most critically endangered sea mammals on Earth. It is estimated that fewer than 1500 remain. They generally occur in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, so it’s rare to see them in areas like Kaanapali Beach, which is populated by humans.
I’m taking a little time off in order to test some underwater photo equipment for a trip to the Galapagos with National Geographic Expeditions where I’ll be the on board National Geographic Photography Expert. I’m thrilled to be working with National Geographic Expeditions as every trip is truly an adventure! If you’d like to join me in the Galapagos, I’ll be on two departures in January, the first beginning January 4th. I’ll be giving tips and tricks to enhance your photography experience while we’re on the Expedition together, and demonstrate the type of work I do on assignment. You can read more about the itinerary here. In the mean time, if I don’t answer the phone, you can find me here:
This image was taken with Lumix G2 fitted with a 20mm 1.7 pancake lens. The RAW file was processed using Adobe’s Lightroom software.
Commercial, Editorial and Travel Photographer Susan Seubert 