This was taken while within the Amazon River in late January. There are a lot of river dolphins within the river, but are very hard to photograph. Unlike their ocean cousins who love to play in any craft’s wash and have fun leaping, river ones seem to appear quickly, then go.
The Extra one here shows their normal colour and shape - they are much like Beluga whales, both having a bulbous head, but also both have teeth.
The Amazon ones all start off grey like the extra image, with the males turning pink. The only reason we saw this chap was we had heard there were some by a local fish market, which had a river setting and for a $ or two, one of the locals threw in a fish on a line! The fish was never caught, but the dolphins kept trying!
I removed the thin cord in PP (all done in Lightroom). Settings: 1/1,600 f5 ISO500 at 100mm [So FF 200MM].
7 comments posted
Richard Goldenberg
Adrian - It's a really interesting image, but I think I prefer seeing the string and a bit of the fish, which explains the dolphin's behavior. The crop/zoom is nice for showing all the texture (and scars?) on the dolphin's skin. But without the string/fish, the dolphin's pose seems a little odd. Just a thought. Posted: 07/08/2025 10:44:37
Adrian Binney
Thanks for your thoughts and comments Richard. I considered that, but concluded that with Dolphins everywhere being known to be a playful creature, this behaviour of jumping out backwards isn't something unusual. Posted: 07/08/2025 10:55:03
Dr Isaac Vaisman
Adrian, great capture. I have never seen this species of Dolphins. I agree with you that eliminating the string and the fish, gives more interest to the image. Very sharp and nice colors in spite of the murky water. Posted: 07/09/2025 13:42:30
Bruce Benson
Adrian, interesting story to go with the image. You got a great pose and agree with Isaac, it is sharp and colorful. Bruce Posted: 07/09/2025 15:42:32
Maria Mazo
Hi Adrian,
Great capture of this rarely seen species of dolphin! You've framed it well, capturing a behavioural moment that illustrates the life of these animals. The light pink of its skin contrasts nicely with the brown water, and the square crop helps to focus attention even more on the dolphin.
By removing the line, you've concentrated all the attention on the animal, which works very well, but leaving it in the image could have told a different story, highlighting the presence of human influence in nature. Posted: 07/13/2025 20:24:54
Maria Small
Hi Adrian, what a delightful image of the Amazon Pink Dolphin. I've never heard nor seen pink dolphins before; what a treat. I agree with the comments that getting rid of the string draws the attention to the adorable dolphin. I love the details in the water and the sharp and clear expression on the dolphin's face, and all the details on the skin. I feel like picking this creature up and giving it a tight hug. Posted: 07/14/2025 20:21:06
Karen Kratz
Hi Adrian, I'm so happy to got to see the pink dolphins, and getting this great photo just tops the cake, so to speak. The colors are great, sharp. And I agree with your decision to remove the line. If the fish were more visible in the photo, I'd say leaving it would be another option, but it wasn't and you did the right thing IMO. Good shot! Posted: 07/18/2025 01:15:50
