Godzilla

We had a lot of fun photographing the marine iguanas in the Galapagos. It was a much better trip for them this time around, in part because our journey took us to the western islands of Isabela and Fernandina, home to the largest and some of the most colorful marine iguanas in the archipelago. You can see why this species inspired the design for the Godzilla character.

On Fernandina there was a very active colony, where we were able to witness several of these lizards heading out into the ocean, where they feed on aquatic plants. Of course, after they're done swimming in the cold water for extended periods of time, they have to warm their core body temperature back up. This is why most iguanas you see on land look very lazy. A LOT of lying around, sunbathing in order to soak in the sun's rays.

For this shot I went low in order to show more of the environment from a better angle. However, I did not want to disturb the lizard by crawling right up to it, so I simply held the camera out and guessed. As a result, I ended up with a lot of throw-aways, and even this shot could've used a bit more room on the right and the top. But it still ended up being the closest result to what I had envisioned.

Canon 7DII
Canon 24-70mm 2.8
ISO 640
1/640th
f/8

Max