Thought I'd mix things up and post a wildlife shot taken a couple years back.

I'd love to get more serious into land based (and underwater) wildlife photography, but on land, there are times when you really do need a 500-600mm lens that can quickly auto focus. Considering the huge costs associated with these lenses, I will stick to shooting more sedentary animals...like the lounging elephant seals along the coast.

There are still challenges to be had, namely getting a seal that doesn't have vast quantities of snot oozing out of its nose.

This seal was fairly clean and nicely isolated from the masses nearby. The wind was blowing pretty hard, kicking up sand, and although this female was most likely giving herself a good scratch, it's fun to anthropomorphize just a bit.

So what is it, a hangover? Tired of the paparazzi? Or just an itch? The fun thing about photography is, you the viewer can make that decision.

Here's to a quick recovery for any of you that had one too many last night!

Nikon D200
Nikkor 70-200mm @ 200mm with 1.4 teleconverter
1/400sec @ f8, ISO 160
Old Manfrotto monopod (before I owned my Gitzo tripod)