Norberta Barlickiego 2a, 43-300 Bielsko-Biała

“Prissy” the Baby California Sea Lion

The Story

Excitement was pouring over me the night before I took this picture because my first-ever Nikon had just been delivered. I had been reading up on all kinds of new features and techniques I would finally be able to use with my new gear…. so much so that I couldn’t sleep.

Living in Hermosa Beach, California at the time, I was only a few minutes walk from the beach. So I decided I would test my D700 by taking some sunrise shots on the beach. Little did I know, I would have a much more interesting subject once I got there.

Almost immediately after my feet touched the sand, I couldn’t believe my luck- a baby sea lion! I pulled up the camera to my eye and started snapping away.

I started too far away, not being familiar with my camera and not wanting to scare away the sea lion. Camera in hand, I slowly crawled closer and closer.

If you’d seen me, you probably would have laughed at how silly I looked, rolling around, snapping photos and shaking off the sand I was covering myself in, as if I was reenacting a scene from a Jim Carrey movie.

The sea lion wasn’t moving much from its position, just letting the waves rush past. With its head held high in the air and looking straight up, I got the impression that the sea lion was quite proper and giving a bit of a show, leading me to nickname her “Prissy.”

Little did I know, it wasn’t a show that Prissy was putting on. This became startling clear when Wildlife Rescue quickly pulled up in a truck and jumped out with a net.

It turned out that the reason Prissy wasn’t moving much and just “relaxing” was due to a lack of food.

Thankfully, the rescue was successful and Prissy was taken to a center to recover.

Sunset at Wat Arun- Bangkok, Thailand

Snowstorm at the Grand Canyon