In today's episode a Ross seal, a unique vertical sensor camera, a wild Lynx washes its kill and Marilyn Monroe portraits.
Show Notes
Welcome back to the show everyone, Liam here and this is Episode 500 of the Liam Photography Podcast for the week of April 2nd, 2026. In today’s episode a Ross Seal, Vertical Sensor, Photos of a Lynx and Marilyn Monroe.
A photographer has captured the first-ever images of a rare and adorable Ross seal swimming in the icy waters of Antarctica.
Justin Hoffman has spent 16 seasons diving from an expedition vessel as part of his role as an undersea specialist. During that time, the photographer had only ever seen a single Ross seal.
Ross seals live deep in the Antarctic pack ice, and since the species never leaves the Southern Ocean, comparatively little is known about it.
But for the summer of 2025, the expedition vessel Hoffman works on was able to venture much further south than usual. “We were not hoping to find Ross seals,” Hoffman tells PetaPixel. “The captain of the ship saw an opportunity to take the vessel really far south, which happened to be a prime spot for Ross seals.”
Hoffman says that he became aware several years ago that a Ross seal had never been photographed underwater before and realized he had an opportunity to be the first. But it was never his main objective; it was more like, Wouldn’t that be cool to have the first underwater photos of this animal?
Earth’s rising temperatures granted Hoffman an opportunity this winter. “We had originally gone out with the intention of photographing krill along the ice edge,” he explains. “So I put on my Nauticam EMWL 130 wet-mount lens. It converts a 90mm macro lens into an extreme macro wide-angle lens. It’s a wild lens that allows you to focus up to the glass of the object and still have 130 degrees of field of view.”
Hoffman calls it “absolutely the wrong underwater setup for photographing seals,” noting that he had been expecting to shoot crustaceans. But fate had other plans: while he was in the water, a Ross seal that had been sleeping on the ice began galloping toward the edge.
“One of my colleagues notified us that the seal was heading our way, so we just sat patiently and very still in the water,” Hoffman explains.
“The water temperature was 30 degrees Fahrenheit (minus one degree Celsius). My options were: a 90mm macro lens, or a close focus wide-angle. Neither of those is what anyone would consider a setup for photographing a Ross seal.”
Fortunately, the setup turned out to be a great one. The summer plankton bloom had not yet occurred meaning the water was crystal clear. As the Ross seal entered the water, Hoffman and his dive partner stayed back and still so as not to disturb the marine mammal. The 90mm lens and the clear water suddenly complemented each other beautifully.
“Generally when shooting underwater, you’re always trying to limit the amount of water between the camera and the subject because water absorbs light and has particulate matter in it — leading to lower contrasts,” Hoffman explains.
“The second lucky thing was that the Sun was out. Knowing this was a very special encounter I decided to not use my underwater strobes. I try very hard not to disturb animals while I am photographing them and I had no idea if the seal would respond to strobes. I decided it wasn’t worth it and turned off my strobes as the seal entered the water.”
The bright sunshine counteracted Hoffman’s want of a strobe, and he was able to get beautiful, natural shots of the cute Ross seal.
“In total, the Ross seal spent about four minutes hanging out along the ice edge, doing some shallow dives, and then eventually disappearing under the ice,” he adds.
Part of Hoffman’s job is to take photos underwater and then give guests on the ship a presentation about what he’s witnessed.
“It’s honestly the best job in the world because I get to travel the world, go diving in some really wild places, and teach travelers about what happens underwater in the places they visit,” he says.
“Most of the places that I work are cold-water destinations like Greenland, Alaska, Antarctica, et cetera, so guests are always so surprised at the vibrant marine ecosystems in these locations.”
It means that Hoffman isn’t always focused on maximizing a shoot; he might only get a single dive attempt at a particular location, so he has to be economical.
“Expedition diving is some of the most challenging diving in the world, and throwing a camera into the mix makes it even more difficult,” he says.
“The primary goal of my job is to educate, so you don’t actually have to be a good shooter to teach guests about what’s happening underwater. I just do it for my own satisfaction.”
“I very rarely get to make art or really work a scene,” he continues. “Unless it’s something totally unique like a Ross seal, I can’t return from a dive with just one good photo; I need to cover the scene and convey to guests what it’s like to do a dive in Antarctica.”
But as Hoffman says, the Ross seal is something very special. “Every time I look at his face it makes me smile,” he says. “For the first few days, I would just stare at him. He’s the perfect ambassador for his species and for the importance that Antarctic ecosystems play on a global scale.”
Hoffman hopes his photos will strongarm folks into “going down a rabbit hole” and learning not just about seals, but the entire Antarctic ecosystem they live in.
“Personally, this encounter and the resulting photos bring me so much joy because it’s the culmination of decades of wildlife watching,” the photographer reflects.
“15 years ago I might have blown it by not being patient, or I might not have even been in the water that day because there really wasn’t much to shoot.
“But these days I will always take the opportunity to get in the water because every once in a while you get an immense surprise and get to see something that no one else has ever seen.”
While Hoffman is overjoyed to swim with and photograph a Ross seal, he is aware that a rapidly warming planet and lack of sea ice formation gave him the opportunity in the first place.
“Those are the things that keep me going through all this ecological grief that I feel as I watch the ecosystems I love degrade year after year,” he says.
“Those are the things that motivate me. I feel like I owe it to these places and these animals to try and bring them to the public and to bear witness.
“So this photo is very high on my list of personal accomplishments because it’s the one time I can say without question that I brought something to the world that no one else has ever seen, and with that, expanded the collective knowledge of our species just a little bit more.”
More of Hoffman’s work can be found on his Instagram and website.
Photographer James Warner, known for his excellent YouTube channel, snappiness, loves weird digital cameras. His latest acquisition is a bizarre but fun relic, the Sony C200X digital passport system camera. This chunky silver digicam from 2003 has a vertically oriented sensor, a huge on-camera flash, and is designed to permanently live in an administrative office. It exists solely to shoot passport or ID photos and works alongside an accompanying Sony thermal printer.
Back when Sony announced the camera and printer in 2003, as reported at the time by DPReview, Sony touted the $1,495 camera’s Bluetooth wireless connectivity and 4-megapixel vertically-oriented image sensor. Save for last year’s fun and quirky Fujifilm X half, it is extremely unusual for a digital camera to opt for a vertical sensor.
In the case of the Sony C200X, however, it makes sense. The camera is built for identification photos, whether square passport photos or portrait-orientation ID shots. It is also built for rapid workflows — snap and print. The Bluetooth-equipped camera wirelessly transmits photos to the UPX-C200 Digital Printing System, features a 1.8-inch swivel LCD that rotates 90 degrees, and promises easy setup. It is a camera built for people who don’t necessarily care about taking photos to capture usable, compliant portraits of people who probably don’t particularly want their picture taken.
Nearly every aspect of the Sony C200X caters to this relatively rigid and very unusual camera use case. It is big, bulky, weird, and doesn’t take particularly impressive photos. However, as Warner shows, it can be used outside the office like a regular, albeit weird, camera. Its massive on-camera flash admittedly looks pretty darn good.
“I get a kick out of quirky old cameras,” Warner tells PetaPixel. “But the fact that [the Sony C200X] wasn’t meant as a normal consumer camera makes it all the more fun to me.”
The same things that make the camera weird are what make it fun to use, Warner explains.
“The most enjoyable part of actually using the camera is the flash and the vertically oriented sensor. It’s not what you expect when you hold an optical viewfinder up to your eye, unless you’re used to shooting half-frame film cameras,” the photographer says. “The flash does a good job of giving out an even lightning and reducing harsh flash induced shadows, but I don’t actually think it’s much stronger than a smaller DSLR’s onboard flash. I think it’s just a larger area. It’s equal parts impressive and ridiculous to look at built into the camera like that.”
While Warner doesn’t necessarily recommend that other photographers buy a camera like the Sony C200X, he says it’s a good choice if someone wants to own something unique and fun. A consumer-oriented digital camera of the era might better serve those who like the look of the photos. That said, as Warner shows, the C200X can work as a quirky “instant” camera.
“You could shoot it free-hand like I do, or set it up as a photobooth, as it was originally designed. I don’t generally recommend it because it essentially uses the same camera sensor and lens as a much smaller, more versatile digicam. Not only would those smaller digicams be more practical, but they would probably also have more features you actually want like RAW shooting, more profile options, and more easily accessible storage,” Warner says.
“But if you look beyond all that and the camera still tickles you, it’s absolutely a fun pick-up today.”
At the time of writing, Sony DKC-C200X cameras are available on eBay for under $100, though a printer will raise the price. In any event, it is a quirky camera and an excellent conversation starter, assuming you’re talking to a photography nerd.
Camera traps captured an Iberian Lynx bathing their prey in a water trough — in the first instance of pre-soaking behavior being recorded in carnivores.
According to a report by IFLScience, researchers captured the unusual behavior in the Montes de Toledo region of central Spain. In a study published in Ecology this month, a female Iberian lynx was filmed near a water trough not to drink, but to dunk a freshly caught rabbit.
IFLScience reports that while washing food items has been observed in primates, birds, and raccoons, it is typically associated with species that eat fruit or have a more omnivorous diet, and most observations occur in captivity. In carnivores, prey is usually eaten soon after death, with any manipulation done to aid consumption or storage. Soaking prey, as shown by the lynx, has not previously been reported in any carnivore species.
According to the report by IFLScience, the researchers noted that this pre-soaking behavior has been seen in more than one lynx in the area. In Montes de Toledo, females Luna and Naia were recorded soaking rabbits on camera traps almost exactly three years apart. The first instance occurred in 2020, and since then, researchers have documented eight cases of prey-soaking by five different females at five separate water troughs.
The reason for this behavior remains unclear to researchers. Camera trap records show no consistent pattern in temperatures, suggesting it is not a response to heat or drought. The lynxes in Montes de Toledo appear to be the only ones exhibiting this behavior, with no other wild or captive records known. Researchers suggest it may be a rare local tradition shared among related or overlapping females, and it could help cubs transition from milk to solid food.
The findings come after trail cameras in Minnesota captured rare and unexpected interactions between wolves and a black bear around a fresh catch of fish. The trail camera recorded a wolf leaving the fish behind. A black bear then entered the frame, sniffed the potential meal, and ultimately walked away. Two days later, another wolf, identified as the breeding female of the Half-Moon Pack and the older sister of the first wolf, retrieved the fish. This behavior was unexpected by researchers, as bears would typically consume an easy meal.
She looked down the lens of some of the most famous photographers of the 20th century, now a new exhibition will celebrate the life and work of Marilyn Monroe via the portraits that immortalized her.
Cecil Beaton, Richard Avedon, Eve Arnold, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Milton Greene, Sam Shaw, and Inge Morath are just some of the 20 photographers featured in the exhibition who made portraits of Monroe alongside artists like Andy Warhol, Pauline Boty, James Gill, Rosalyn Drexler, and Audrey Flack.
The exhibition, Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait, is being held at the National Portrait Gallery in London, U.K., and will celebrate what would have been Monroe’s 100th birthday by showing famous pictures of the American actress as well as previously unseen portraits taken by Allan Grant at Monroe’s Brentwood home just a day before her death in August 1962.
Grant’s exclusive session, which accompanied her final interview with Life associate editor Richard Meryman, captured 432 images of which only eight were originally published. These dynamic photographs show Monroe reading the transcript of her interview, performing a range of emotions from joy and contentment to quiet reflection.
Photographers who worked with Monroe described her as the best subject they had ever had. The exhibition will foreground Monroe’s collaborative approach to image making and her creative agency; she not only performed, but also directed sessions and claimed the right to veto any images she did not like.
“Marilyn Monroe remains one of the most recognizable people in modern history: a shorthand for glamour, distilled from the films that she appeared in and the wealth of photographs of her, reinforced by the generations of artists she has inspired. We are proud to be staging this exhibition celebrating Marilyn in her centenary year, exploring her extraordinary life and influence as well as her enduring legacy,” says Victoria Siddall, Director of the National Portrait Gallery.
Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait runs at the National Portrait Gallery in London on the ground floor from June 4 to September 6, 2026.
Although it is April Fools’ Day, OM Digital Solutions is not joking around. The company announced a significant change in its corporate shareholder structure today, which it says will “enable more agile and flexible decision-making.”
As spotted by 43 Rumors, OM Digital Solutions’ current CEO, Shigemi Sugimoto, who was previously an Olympus executive, has effectively taken over the company. Sugimoto is now the principal shareholder in OM Digital Solutions and has assumed management control of the company.
Admittedly, corporate news is rarely exciting, but this is very interesting. Sugimoto is not only assuming control of OM Digital Solutions but also presumably taking on a level of risk unusual in Japanese corporate structure.
OM Digital Solutions describes the move as giving Sugimoto “management control with full responsibility.”
“This is expected to enable more agile and flexible decision-making, strengthen the company’s management foundation, and further promote investments in technology development and business growth strategies from a medium- to long-term perspective,” OM Digital Solutions says in a translated press release.
While there are no resulting changes to the company’s legal entity, name, location, representative, business activities, or the “fundamental terms of transactions with customers and business partners” due to the corporate structure change, the company should, in theory, be positioned to be more aggressive.
It also likely reflects some level of confidence. It would be very odd for Sugimoto to take on additional control, and thus exposure, unless he was confident in the company’s prospects.
There are still some blurry parts of the picture, however. OM Digital Solutions’ press release doesn’t make clear exactly what has happened to Japan Industrial Partners’ (JIP) stake in OM Digital Solutions. JIP took over Olympus’ imaging division in 2020, promising to improve the financial health of the company after Olympus’ dramatic exit from the photo industry amid broader industry challenges.
Perhaps not coincidentally, OM System executives were unusually chatty at CP+ 2026 about the company’s plans, showing a lot of interest in discussing a new PEN camera. While the company stopped short of providing any specific details, it is clear that they are up to something.
In 2025, OM System released the OM-3 and OM-5 II cameras and a quartet of lenses, including the entirely new OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 50-200mm f/2.8 IS Pro that was created from scratch under the OM System umbrella. So far this year, the company released the astrophotography-specific OM-3 Astro. The point is that OM System has been busy lately and seems quite excited about the future.
More agile decision-making, more aggressive technological development, and new products are great news for OM System (and Olympus) fans. It will be very interesting to see how the new corporate changes impact the company moving forward.
Insta360 Japan announced a new Snap selfie monitor that magnetically attaches to the back of a smartphone and enables mobile users to capture higher quality selfies using the superior rear cameras on their device.
As reported by Asobinet, the Insta360 Snap has a 3.5-inch touchscreen surrounded by a fill light to let people frame, light, and capture self-portraits using their phone’s rear cameras.
Although front-facing cameras have come a long way in recent years, rear cameras still feature bigger, better sensors and larger, faster lenses, resulting in better photos. However, it is difficult to use rear cameras for selfies because there is no way to preview the photo before capturing it. That is, unless the user has a rear screen like the Insta360 Snap.
This is not a wholly novel idea, as other products have been filtering into the market to achieve the same thing. For example, PetaPixel recently went hands-on with the Dockcase Selfix, which opts for a case-based design with an integrated circular rear display.
Insta360 has taken a different approach with its selfie-friendly product, opting for a magnetic add-on that connects to the phone via USB-C. Insta360 supports both Android and iOS devices, while Selfix is only available for select iPhone models at this time.
“Plug and play — simply connect and it’s ready to use,” Insta360 says on its Japanese product page. “No charging required, and with 4K recording and real-time preview, it delivers a ‘shoot what you see’ experience.”
The Insta360 Snap includes a folding cover that protects the snap-on screen when it’s not in use.
Technically, there are two versions of the Insta360 Snap, one with a light and one without. The one with the light further differentiates itself from the competition and the company says it was developed in collaboration with the beauty technology brand, Amiro. The light has three color options, warm, neutral, and cool, and has five brightness levels.
“Even in dark places, it softens shadows and imperfections, creating a bright and natural-looking complexion,” Insta360 says of the Snap’s built-in light.
The Insta360 Snap is now available for purchase in Japan. The monitor-only version is 14,000 yen, or about $88 at current exchange rates. The version with the built-in light costs 15,800 yen, which is nearly $100. Insta360 has not announced the Snap in other markets.
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