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| Fearsome Threesome - Triple Orcas cruising Resurrection Bay, Alaska |
As a
wildlife photographer, I have taken a few images of some of Nature's smallest creatures, like the incredible
Hummingbirds, and her biggest, the
Blue Whale - the largest animal living on our planet, ever. Cetaceans, the term used to describe porpoises,
dolphins and
whales, are mammals, just like ourselves. They are warm-blooded, have mammary glands to feed their young, possess a four chambered heart and have hairs on their bodies. Like all mammals,
whales breathe oxygen. They surface to exhale and take in a quick breath before submerging. During the past few centuries of rentless commercial whaling, this behavior was the Archilles' Heel of the great
whales, because the whalers can spot the animal even from a distance and thus gave rise to the old, familiar cry, "Thar she blows!"
There are two types of
whales - toothed and baleen. Toothed
whales, like the
Killer whales and
Beluga whales, have one blow hole on top of their heads and use their teeth to seize its food. Baleen is a strong and flexible material made out of keratin, a protein that is made from the same material as our hair and fingernails. Baleen
whales, like the
Humpback, Gray and
Blue whales, have two blow holes and feed by swallowing huge amount of water, filled with small fish, krill and plankton. They then close their mouths and the baleen on the side will trap and filter the food and release the water.
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| Paradise Found - Humpback whale diving in Frederick Sound, Alaska |
Fortunately, apart from some small scale whaling operations in various parts of the world today, most shots coming from humans these days are from digital SLR cameras. There are approximately 78 distinct species of
whales. Some are rather uncommon and difficult to locate, while others are whale watchers and photographers' favorite, like the
Humpback whale and
Orca (the largest member of the
Dolphin family, also known as Killer Whale) because of their acrobatic displays and beautiful songs. Spotting whales is not a sure thing even when going out with a seasoned whale watching company. Knowing the time and place will greatly improve one's odds. Sperm and
Humpback whales are most active during the winter months in Dominica, Hawaii and Mexico, respectively. Humpbacks are also found during the spring and summer months around the waters of New England, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Alaska. Spring is also a great time to witness the
Gray Whale migration off the west coast of North America.
Killer whales can be seen during mid Spring to late Autumn in the Pacific Northwest during the salmon runs.
Beluga whales are plentiful during the summer months near Churchill, Manitoba. Sperm and Southern right whales are often seen in the waters off Argentina and New Zealand during the winter months. There are of course many other spots around the globe where cetaceans can be observed and photographed.
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| Mother and Calf Blue whales cruising the Santa Barbara channel, California |
Generally, most whale watching companies utilize boats ranging in size from small to large, carrying anywhere from less than 10 to 100 people or more. Whenever possible, I always go on a zodiac because it is faster and less crowded. On my cetacean photo shoots, I usually bring 2 camera bodies and 2 lenses. My camera equipment is from Canon, and the bodies are the 1D X, 1D MK4 and 7D, and the lenses are the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS and 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II zooms. Visit the
Equipment page on my website to see these gear. I use zoom lenses because a zodiac can approach whales and vice versa in a short time and a prime lens will be of little use. Quite a number of times,
Humpbacks, Gray and
Killer whales came right up to my zodiac and I wished I had a wide angled lens on my camera. The generally accepted global standard distance for viewing whales is 100 yards but sometimes it is hard to enforce and other times, over enforced.
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| Double the Pleasure, Double the Fun - Double breaching Humpbacks in Frederick Sound, Alaska |
In a small zodiac, bouncing in the ocean, tripod/monopod and even Image Stabilizers are of little use. I photograph in the Aperture (AV) mode and set my lens to 1 stop above the maximum and an ISO speed of at least 400 to obtain shutter speeds fast enough to freeze the action, especially on breaching
whales. The Drive Mode is set to maximum continuous burst, the faster the better. If the light is poor or fading, I will go all the way up to ISO 1600 or open the lens up to its maximum aperture, in that order, if necessary. My AF points are set to the center with surrounding assist points turned on and Focusing Priority takes precedent over shutter release or frame rates. No point in getting blurry shots unless the subject is clearly in focus.
Depending on where the majority of light is coming from, in relation to the
whales, I would also adjust my Exposure Compensation to account for the difference. With the combination of bodies and lenses I bring, it affords me a good range of focal lengths, ranging from approximately 90mm to 640mm.
Whales are fairly large animals, even though most of the time, only a small portion of their bodies protrude above the water but I almost never use an extender. If the
whale is too far, I will wait for a closer encounter next time. Photographing a breaching
whale is one of the most exhilarating experiences for me. It takes a lot of practice, patience and lightning fast reflexes because it can occur anytime, so one must have the proper camera settings ready.
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| Orca mother teaching calf to swim in Frederick Sound, Alaska |
California is one of the prime locations for
whale watching and
photography in the world. Gray, Blue,
Humpback, and
Killer whales plus others are found, at various times of the year, along the west coast of North America, from Alaska in the north, down to Costa Rica in the south. These areas can be reached by car or a few hours by air. However, my favorite spot for
whale watching and
photography is Maui, Hawaii.
You can subscribe to me on
Facebook and my
photography blog to follow my travels and join me on my
upcoming photo trips.
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