I visited Iceland twice, in 2015 and 2016. During my first visit, I didn't see any sea lions, but my fortunes changed on my second visit.
My first encounter was at Jökulsárlón, which is a glacier river lagoon in the south of Iceland. While walking alongside the glacier river, we got to see these lovely creatures swimming around or just resting on some floating ice sheets.
I wanted to capture some of the for a souvenir, but they were quiet far and the only zoom I had was 105mm which isn't much.
Eventually I came upon some large ice sheets that were floating by the riverbed, on them I noticed many footsteps, so I thought walking on them should be fine, and it was. I walked over the first one, and reached a second sheet that was floating with the first. A gap between them was filled with large icy chunks. I stepped on one and jumped onto the other ice sheet. I took a good look at the piece I used to jump from to memorize it and use it on the way back.
But….I forgot an important point, and that these are floating over the river, meaning they are constantly moving around. I got to the edge of the second ice sheet, and took several photos of these sea lions. They were curious as to who/what I was, and would get close then swim back. Personally, I was having a great time as this is my first experience with such wildlife.
Once done, I packed my gear, and walked back to the edge of the ice sheet. By then around 15-20mins had passed, and the gap containing the ice sheets had completely changed.
Jumping from to the other was a no go as the gap was large and I had my gear on me. I used my tripod to push done on the large ice chunks to see which would probably sustain my weight and gear. In the end, I found one good one, and decided I would use it to leap onto the other one
But….I was wrong, and as soon as I stepped on it, it sunk, taking my foot with it. Luckily, I managed to hold onto the ice sheet with my hands, and stuck my legs on the other ice sheet. By now, I was hanging over the ice cold water, with my gear attached to my back.
I through the tripod on the ice sheet in front of me, and started to think of what I should do to avoid falling in the water. My hands were getting colder and colder, but thankfully I remained quiet calm. I the end I decided to use the weight my gear bag, to help me swing on the ice sheet. 1, 2, 3 and off I went. Thankfully, my idea worked, and the weight of it, give me that little bit of push to land on my side.
Hands freezing cold, left foot wet till my knee, I got up and walked towards the riverbed.
Many people were looking at me to see what would happen to me, so walking back to the car was quiet embarrassing.
I always refer to that moment, and think to myself, if taking that extra bit is worth it sometimes.
Was it worth the picture? Not quiet as I could have lost all my gear in the water, let alone got myself wet in freezing cold water, and windy atmosphere.