Josef Litt: Galapagos with a snorkel
Galapagos, amongst divers, evoke dreams of endless schools of hammerheads and scores of whale sharks. The enchanted islands are without a doubt one of the top diving destinations in the world, if not the best one. Photographically, however, the classic diving itineraries to the islands Darwin and Wolf rarely deliver good opportunities for stunning and pleasing imagery.
“Take part in an island cruise to take the best underwater pictures!”
This sounds counter-intuitive, but I can only confirm this statement. The itineraries of island cruises on boats typically consist of morning and late afternoon landings with the time before lunch and after lunch spent snorkelling.
It is worth checking the plan of the landings because rockpools alongside the visitor paths on the islands offer many excellent opportunities for split photography. In the shallows, the animals are curious and often fearless. A young pelican attempted to devour my GoPro camera. Courting cormorants did not care about my presence, and if allowed them they would court on top of my head. A marine iguana used my camera and my mask as stepping stones to the surface. Penguins disappear as quickly as they appear just in front of the snorkelers.
All this on top of the spectacular land-based photographic opportunities featuring iconic Galapagos animals such as waved albatrosses, land iguanas and giant tortoises.
The Galapagos islands are a must-visit destination. If you are an underwater photographer, think twice about the opportunities deep under water or just on the surface.
Josef Litt, the author of GALÁPAGOS, one of the best guides to the islands, leads diving trips and island cruises to the famous archipelago.
The advice we received from our guides was straightforward. Wait for the iguana to dive and to start feeding. Do not use flash until it settles on the rock and starts grazing.
The Galapagos sea lions love to play peek-a-boo with snorkelers.
We tried to quietly slide into the water from the zodiac. The pod of false killer whales had some baby whales amongst themselves. The males came closer to us showing their size, standing upright in the water and blowing bubbles.
Playful juvenile Galápagos sea lion imitating a scuba diver blowing bubbles at Punta Cormorant, Floreana, Galápagos
It was a bit of a schlepp to carry the camera in the housing for a mile and a half but it paid off in the rock pools.
The pups in the rock pools of James Bay at Santiago were particularly playful. This one indulged in Zen-like floating pose and snored.
found this Galapagos green turtle while snorkelling at Punta Vicente Roca. The visibility was poor due to the sandy bottom and the green algae in the cold water.
Penguins are unbelievably fast swimmers. I got lucky to capture one to dive just in front of me.
Once engaged in their courtship dance, the flightless cormorants don't care about their surroundings or the spectators.
This little cove was home to at least eight turtles. For years I wanted to take a split image of a turtle breathing on the surface. This one was better in the end.
This bird followed me for some time, very interested in what I do snorkeling around with that big black box.