Photograph by Rick Sammon

It's Day 4 of my series on travel photography here on my blog. Scroll down for past posts in this series.

Location: Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.

Tip: For wildlife, bring your wide-angle and super wide-angle lenses as well as your telephoto lenses. Because the animals are not hunted, they are not afraid of tourists and photographers - so you can get very close to them.

Above, marine iguanas: Canon 15mm lens. Below, sea lions: Canon 17-40mm lens.

Note: marine iguanas "sneeze" a saltwater spray, so perhaps you don't want to get too close. :-). If you do get a "sneeze" on the front element of your lens or filter, wipe it off carefully with a lens cleaning cloth. The salt can scratch a lens or filter.

Photograph by Rick Sammon

When it comes to a telephoto lens, I'd recommend the Canon 100-400mm IS lens. I used that for the photos below of the blue-footed booby and the giant tortoise.

All my gear recos: My Gear.

Photograph by Rick Sammon

In Galapagos, when you are not on the beach, you must stay on the paths. Keep that in mind when thinking about your lens selection.

Photograph by Rick Sammon

Finally, plan to visit the Galapagos on a live-aboard boat. . . the best way to see as many islands as possible in a relatively short period of time.

You can see more of my Galapagos images in my SmugMug gallery.

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If you like traveling and photography, check out my workshops and photo tours.

If you want travel photography tips at your fingertips, check out my app: Rick Sammon's 24/7 Photo Buffet.

Explore the light,
Rick