Go whale watching

“However, as our boat began to approach the coastline, a massive humpback whale suddenly appeared 100 feet ahead between us and the harbor. The captain immediately shut off our boat’s engine as per safety guidelines, and, much to our surprise, the whale began approaching us. Within minutes, the colossal creature was only a couple of feet away from me and my 300mm lens. This curious mammal started to circle our boat and would occasionally break through the surface to splash its massive pectoral fins and blast water from out its blowhole.”

“I went into it with no real expectations - of course I was excited about the chance to see some marine life, but I wasn't really sure what to expect. Seeing that first group of humpback whales was amazing. It's impossible to grasp just how big and majestic they are until you see them in person! It's almost hard to believe they're real the first time you see them.”

“So, the first thing I learned about whale-watching is that if you try to spot them looking through a viewfinder…you likely won’t. It’s not easy to turn to where someone has pointed out the whale, and at 30x telephoto actually get it into the picture before its gone. And hand-held small cameras with that much zoom, on a moving boat, tend to miss the next shot, too. Once I stopped trying for the picture and started looking for the eyeful instead, it got better.”