Bob Wills
July 2026 - Harbor Seals
About the Image(s)
Meet Qilak, Riley and Onion. They are the three harbor seals at the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma. Qilak (cloud) is the dark one, and the oldest of the three, born in 2004. Onion is a rescue from Massachusetts, blind in one eye, eye infection in the other, and ultimately had both eyes removed for his own comfort. That is why his eyes look so flat. Onion cannot be re-released into the wild of course, but is doing well in captivity.
I liked their position and cropped to a left to right diagonal matching the light in the water. Processed in LR , PS and Topaz Studio.
Fuji X-T1, 18-135 mm lens, 203mm (equivalent) 1/250 sec @ f5.6, ISO 500
11 comments posted
Hi Bob, this is both an interesting image and story, poor Onion but at least he has a home. I like your composition but something about the image bothers me, it seems to be overworked or something, it doesn't look quite natural to my eye. Posted: 07/08/2026 20:47:03
Thanks, Lou. Your reaction matches mine. I kept backing off each adjustment I made, sliding the adjustment fully in each direction. I submitted this, hoping someone will download and re-edit it. Topaz didn't do very much to the original except kind of muddy the tops of their heads. Feel free to work this yourself. Posted: 07/09/2026 13:37:11
Your image of the seals is sharp and interesting. Agree with you that it does not look natural. I'm sure the reflecting pond colors are probably very bright and the sun on the water adds another dimension of reflection. Adjusted the blue hue, maybe looks a little more natural. What do you think? Posted: 07/13/2026 17:38:12
Thanks, Kathy. It's better than what I came up with. I agree that the pools at PD Zoo create some real challenges for photography. I'll do some more experimenting to see if there's a post-processing filter that helps overall.
I may also try the White Balance eyedropper in ACR and see what happens if I drag it from the upper left to the lower right, selecting the entire image. I'm curious whether that will produce a more balanced overall color correction. Posted: 07/13/2026 20:19:13
I may also try the White Balance eyedropper in ACR and see what happens if I drag it from the upper left to the lower right, selecting the entire image. I'm curious whether that will produce a more balanced overall color correction. Posted: 07/13/2026 20:19:13
I used ACR as a filter in Photoshop and adjusted the white balance using the eyedropper as I described above. I also applied a few color actions that I have, and I like this result better. It's still a work in progress, as usual, but I think it's moving in the right direction. Posted: 07/14/2026 15:06:15
Hi again. Took your revised image and added some color back in. Darkened the shadow on back otter and then cloned in water swirls over the shadow of the front otter. Interesting photo to play around with! Posted: 07/14/2026 18:35:42
Hi Kathy, nice work. You have made great improvements. I like the first one you submitted better. Posted: 07/14/2026 22:51:24
I like this capture Bob. The position of the seals give it good balance. Like the others have said, the blue is very powerful. I know it is a pool in the zoo, and they make them very blue. It is difficult getting the WB sometimes with that. Posted: 07/16/2026 01:51:10
This is getting closer, I think.
I wonder if the zoo animals like these gaudy blue paint jobs. Commencement Bay sure doesn't look anything like this. Black, Dark Blue and Sky Blue are used in most tanks, and I think it is more for staff and visitors, than for animals. Posted: 07/16/2026 22:27:20
I wonder if the zoo animals like these gaudy blue paint jobs. Commencement Bay sure doesn't look anything like this. Black, Dark Blue and Sky Blue are used in most tanks, and I think it is more for staff and visitors, than for animals. Posted: 07/16/2026 22:27:20
I love seals and they are fun to see and photograph. I ditto all the above comments. I think the color makes it quite a challenge and most do not look realistic. Great story about the seals and glad they are well cared for. Posted: 07/16/2026 13:51:00
Thank you, Judy. I think it is a good Zoo. Posted: 07/16/2026 22:30:22