Dolphins in the Trees

KUOW, the Seattle NPR affiliate, is running a ten-minute piece today on my Amazon River Dolphin story for National Geographic. I will talk about the assignment, the highs, the lows, the challenge of story-telling – and the scary things that swim in the water. As a photographer, I find it a little unsettling not to have pictures available when I talk, so we will have to see how it translates to radio! Have a listen at:

http://kuow.org/program.php?id=26936

If you miss the initial broadcast, don’t worry – it will be archived at this site forever, I’m told…

This image, meanwhile, was the opening shot of the NG story, largely because it encapsulated the entire notion of dolphins living in the treetops. It was NOT an easy shot to get, since it involved keeping the camera housing half-in and half-out of the water, and composing both for the trees in the background and a dolphin that was constantly in motion. I probably took a hundred similar images, but none worked as well as this. In the end, it was the slight curve of the body, and the little curl of the wave that made this one stand out. The best pictures often hinge on the smallest, unplanned detail.

Nikon D200 in Sea & Sea Housing