Last week, we spent a few days in Massachusetts. While Gabi was attending the annual DEL Symposium in Boston, I spent two days at Cape Cod National Seashore (map) to photograph gray seals (Halichoerus grypus). I enjoyed my first day on the shores of the Atlantic photographing gulls and some lonely seals, however, on my second day I found the perfect place for some serious “seal hunting” where dozens of gray seals were hanging out in the water not too far from the coast. They were seemingly having fun with playing, sunbathing and some of them even surfing. A small group of seals were also very curious about the strange two-legged creature on the beach and swam closer to have a good look at me. Right there I was able to take some close portrait images and see where their scientific name comes from which means “hook-nosed sea pig”. They were so much fun to watch and photograph. These few hours were one of the best experiences in my life as a natural history photographer.

Gear: Canon EOS 5Ds camera, Canon 300mm f/4 lens + 1.4x teleconverter, Manfrotto tripod