Whale watch

“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.”

“The next day, the boat captain warned us that the whales were shy. Although I was disappointed by the news, it was hard to complain surrounded by lush green islands and the deep blue ocean. Luckily, the captain was wrong, and shortly after his announcement, I saw my first glimpse of the day of a whale breaching, my new favorite sight. This would be the first of many breaches. It was incredible to watch the whales as they dove down with their flukes in the air, slowly disappearing underneath the ocean’s surface. The anticipation would build just before the whales emerged from the depths and shot into the air, their whole, massive body on display.”

“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.”