Behind the scenes: photographer Brook Mitchell on the return of Sydney’s seals

In early June I was given an open brief to photograph seals around Sydney. “Any idea where?” I asked. “Wherever they are found. Take a few days, bring us some nice pictures,” was the instruction.

The photos were to be part of a visual story, The return of Sydney’s seals, looking at how the charismatic marine animals are co-existing with humans in one of the busiest harbours in the world.

An Australian Fur Seal swims at the base of the cliffs under the Macquarie Lighthouse in Vaucluse.Credit: Brook Mitchell

After covering rolling disasters of drought, fires, COVID-19 and floods, stories like these are a welcome change of pace.

The first and most obvious stop was to check in on Benny, a long-nosed fur seal that can often be found on the northern VIP steps of the Sydney Opera House.

Benny, named after Bennelong Point, has been a regular visitor to these steps since 2014. Visitors distracted by the famous views might miss him. Yet a glance over the edge and you may be lucky to catch him, usually fast asleep in the sun. This was the case on my first visit - a nice picture, but something more dynamic would be great for the story.

I came across a dive company offering a chance to swim with seals at the Southern Entrance to the harbour. While I don’t scuba dive, I’m always happy to freedrive with my water housing, so this seemed a good option for pictures.

The only issue is this stretch of the coast is bordered by sheer cliffs and pounded by swell. Storms driven by our second La Niña have meant almost constant large waves this year. It’s not the first place you would think to swim.

As luck would have it, a break in the weather opened the opportunity to go. Blue skies, clear water and almost no swell.

Rounding the heads my thoughts turned to Melissa Caddick. The spot we were heading to was where a few years prior I’d watched police divers searching for signs of the famous fraudster.

Seals can be reliably found here over winter. While not yet a breeding colony, up to 20 can be seen at a time.

On our arrival, a few playful looking seals flapped around the rocks. The divers disappeared into the depths while I stuck to the surface.

The seals are really inquisitive. There were some nice moments where I could see their almost comical facial expressions through the lens as they darted around. The small waves crashing onto the cliffs made for some nice pictures as the seals hauled themselves in and out of the water.

An Australian Fur Seal bend backwards at the base of the cliffs under the Macquarie Lighthouse in Vaucluse.Credit: Brook Mitchell

An obvious question might be the threat of sharks. Apparently Great Whites prefer juvenile seals, yet these were all older folk, according to the dive master. “We sometimes see them with chunks taken out though,” he said.

With no sign of the apex predators, the only stress taking these pictures was nailing focus, as the seals move so erratically. With free diving it’s a matter of exhaling out, getting as deep as possible and staying ready for the action as long as possible.

Thankfully, most of the shots were on target, with the silhouette of the seal bending backwards probably my favourite of the bunch.

As editor Bevan Shields wrote, the final piece was truly a real team effort involving reporter Angus Dalton, photographer Jessica Hromas, head of creative video Tom Compagnoni, developer Reginal Sengkey, designers Luis Araujo and Kathleen Adele, former photo editor Dan Adams, data and visualisations project manager Matt Malishev and editors Alex Rowe and Jamie Berry.

It was a great experience as a photographer, and hopefully readers enjoy the pictures by the team as well.