Manatees are so ugly that they are adorable. This picture clearly illustrates that point. I spent hours in the water waiting for a manatee to pose for me like this. Whenever I photograph wild animals, I do not chase after or harass them. I can never force a picture to happen. That is why I wait patiently for them to reveal themselves to me. Eventually, an animal will become comfortable with my presence and I will be able to photograph a beautiful portrait like this. This manatee was actually nibbling on my toes, so it let me know that it was very friendly and curious. With my permit from the USF&WS, I was able to gently drop down to the bottom and allow the manatee to swim right up to my camera. I created this image using my Canon 5DmkII and 17-40mm f4 lens with a +3 diopter in my Ikelite 5DmkII housing with 8″ dome port. This image is a single exposure which was mostly processed using Aperture 3.0. I also cloned out particles floating in the water using Photoshop CS5.
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Classic image Jon. They might take awhile to pose, but at least the water is shallow and they don’t bite!
Thanks, Russ! Though, it would be a lot more sporting if they had big teeth. All they need to do is put a couple of alligators in the water nearby and that will stop most of the manatee tourism.
What a superb shot. You have captured the gentle nature of this species wonderfully…. even if he is a little battle-scarred!!
Thank you , Alex! They are ugly, but the same could be said about us.