Los Islotes Sea Lion Colony (Underwater)

Los Islotes is a pair of guano-white rock islets off the northern tip of Espiritu Santo Island in the Sea of Cortez, about an hour and a half by panga from La Paz in Baja California Sur, Mexico. Several hundred California sea lions haul out on the rocks, and the shallow, sheltered water on the leeward side is where the photography happens. The subject behaviour is unusual: juvenile sea lions swim directly at a camera, mouth the dome port, spiral around a snorkeller and repeatedly return, which means the useful frame is wide and close, often shot upward from two or three metres depth with the sunlit surface and the silhouettes of other animals behind. Natural light does most of the work. The water is rarely deeper than about ten metres at the colony and midmorning sun drives strong shafts through it, so strobes are optional and often counterproductive against fast-moving, curious animals; a sequence shot in continuous burst with a fast shutter is more productive than a carefully lit single frame. The clearest water and warmest temperatures run from roughly August through November, when visibility can exceed twenty metres and the sea reaches the high twenties Celsius, while winter is cooler and greener but still workable in a wetsuit. Mornings are consistently better, both because the light angle is higher on the leeward face and because the afternoon northerly wind builds chop that ruins the crossing. Access is through licensed operators from La Paz only, and the colony is closed to visitors each year during the pupping and breeding season, generally from around June until the end of August, when adult males are territorial and aggressive; the closure dates are set annually by the protected areas authority. National park bracelet fees of roughly MXN 100 to 200 per person apply on top of tour prices, and full-day snorkel trips from La Paz commonly run in the region of MXN 1,500 to 2,500. Touching or feeding the animals is prohibited, boats are limited in number at the site, and drone flight over the colony requires park authorisation.