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Sea lions are a common sight along the Southern California coastline but to play with one up close is a privilege not everyone can enjoy. I captured this sea lion while beginning a day of SCUBA diving underneath an oil rig. California's oil rigs create massive artificial reefs that attract a very diverse crowd of marine species. The California sea lion has become a resident among these off shore platforms that host a bounty of fish and invertebrates to sustain them. Sharing a relation to canines, sea lions are extremely playful and interact with humans regularly in the water.

This image was captured in sunlight diffused by the surface of the water ,with no external light sources, in about 25 feet of water. Shot on Kodak T-Max 400 at 1/125th on a Nikonos V with a Nikonos 35mm lens.

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