Turtle Eclipse Of The Sun

Description

LOCATION: Kume Island, Japan

STORY: This super-chill green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) lives in the shallows, just beside a deep ocean trench in Okinawa, Japan, and spends hours each day chomping on algae. Like most sea turtles, he follows a pretty regular pattern like clockwork; about 24 minutes of eating, then up about 20′ to the surface for about 4 breaths. Having shot this scenario hundreds of times before, with experience as my guide, I know to be patient and refrain from approaching or shooting until a particular moment just after the final breath – that’s my fleeting moment, and timing is everything.

I had met this supermodel a few days earlier. I was in Okinawa not to photograph sea turtles, but rather to be up all night and sleep all day, working on my Aliens Collection over a deep trench. But when I was able to get the right amount of coffee, I couldn’t help but to explore the local rumors of a colony of Red-Spotted Blennies who often have eggs. A local eagle-eyed guide quickly found a super-cute mother blenny guarding eggs, and I hunkered down with a macro lens to shoot into the 1/2-inch opening of her nest.

But this turtle was stealing the show, grazing for 2 hours straight just a few feet from me while I worked on the blenny. I knew I had to return with my normal fisheye lens on a nice, calm, flat day. I had spent the next two days visualizing the position of the sun, the lighting from my strobe flashes, and the other details that I relentlessly obsess over, and when I was able to return, the turtle was in the exact same spot, doing the exact same thing!

And if the title, Turtle Eclipse of the Sun sounds familiar, then thank you! That means you’ve been with me since the original TEotS was released back in ~2004. This new version has the same spirit, but I’ve had a revised sketch for over a decade, while I’ve waited to meet just the right turtle model in just the right conditions. And yes, just like when I shot the original, I was absolutely singing Bonnie Taylor’s 1983 hit in my mind: “But now there’s only love in the dark… Nothing I can say… A Turtle Eclipse of the Sun”. I know you’re singing it right now too.

Turtle Eclipse of the Sun is now available in the Fish Faces Collection of fine art prints, starting at 16×24″, and customizable up to 250″ wide. Originally shot as a horizontal image, it’s quite flexible, so it also works well as a vertical, square, or panoramic crop. Standard sizes are available to purchase online, but reach out via email/phone or stop by in person for a customization using our Virtual Installation where we help you visualize it in your space.

Purchase this sea turtle online in sizes ranging from 16×24″ up to a maximum of 120″ wide, or ask one of our interior design consultants to help you decide the right custom size for your art.