Alaska: Breaching Humbpack Whales

 

 

 

Before my most recent trip to Alaska, I had been out on two previous all-day whale watching tours.  Both times we saw a few whales.  But we never saw more than a few of them swimming on the surface and I never managed to get any images I felt good about showing to anyone else. I had never even managed to get a decent water-dripping tail shot, or a photo of a whale exhaling through its blowhole.  In short, whale photography has been a complete bust for me until now.  It has always been my dream to see a breaching whale, and if it ever actually happened, I hoped to be quick enough to get a decent photo.   I always figured it would probably be a 'one-and-done' opportunity that would likely never repeat itself.

This trip out of Seward Alaska started out like the other two.  After a while we found some whales but I was not getting opportunities that were any better than I had seen in the past.  It seemed likely that this day would bring more of the same.  We did see some puffins and other birds but found it very challenging to photograph them in flight.  One person likened it to attempting to photograph a bullet, and it's not as much an exaggeration as you'd think until the first time you actually try it.  It's would be difficult enough if you were standing on stable ground, but trying to do it from a boat bobbing up and down in the water adds that much more difficulty to the task.

We also saw sea lions on rocks near an island, but nothing very exciting when one thinks of an image worth showing anyone else.

At one point our boat captain got a call on the radio and told us we were leaving.  He didn't tell us where we were going or what had been seen, but told us if nothing changed this was going to be worth it.

After about a 15 minute ride we came upon some whales and they were continuously beaching.   I don't know how many there were but there must have been a lot because everywhere we looked, they were breaching.  Sometimes they were breaching more than one at a time and we had to choose which direction to point our lenses. 

It happens very quickly and you need capable equipment in order to point in the right direction and focus in time to get a good shot before the whale falls back into the water with a huge splash.  To add to the challenge, most of the time our 35-foot boat was bobbing up and down in the seas.  It would have been easily to slip and drop my gear if I had not been extremely careful. 

Our group of six photographed the humpback whales continuously for what seemed like close to an hour.  Looking at the time stamp on my images, I later determined that I had been photographing breaching whales for 48 minutes straight.  At one point during this time, I turned to my cousin, David  and told him I was seriously wondering if we were about to wake up and learn that this was all just a dream.  It certainly seemed like it.  I would have never believed this could happen if I had not actually experienced it myself.   

I have already written a lot more than I had planned as I attempted to explain what we witnessed that day.  So I'll stop here and get to some photos.  I photographed 47 separate breaches, and most were multiple image bursts that look like a video when I look at them in secession.  Most were pretty sharp or at least usable, so I was able to choose a few favorites to post.  If you have have half as much fun viewing these as I did shooting them I will have accomplished my task.  This day was nothing short of  indescribable.  It is a day I will never forget.

You can see more images from this trip on my website at www.timrucci.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alaska: Bald Eagle in Flight

 

On my recent trip to Alaska, I finally had a decent opportunity to photograph a bald eagle in flight. This was my 4th trip to Alaska but ironically I had never had this  opportunity before.  This is mainly because I had not spent much time in the coastal areas of Alaska.   As we all know, if you want to see a specific bird or other animal, the best plan is traveling to where its food supply is.  Since eagles mainly feed on fish, your best chances are in coastal areas. 

On this occasion I was in Homer Alaska, which bills itself as the halibut capital of the world.   One evening I saw an eagle up on a perch in a light falling drizzle in less than perfect light.  The daylight was also waning as I waited nearly an hour to see if the eagle would leave its perch.  Every few minutes I would take a test shot to meter the light and ensure that I would nail the exposure in the event the eagle would take flight and gave me the opportunity that so far had evaded me.   I was about ready to give up when the eagle started to move and raise some optimism that it would soon fly.

I was shooting in manual exposure mode to ensure that the camera would not try to adjust the exposure as the color of the background changed.  Having the camera automatically adjust the exposure when using aperture priority or shutter priority modes will result in incorrect exposures and lost shots if the color of the background changes.  As long as the general level of light is not getting brighter or darker, manual exposure is the best approach to this type situation.  While I waited, the correct exposure ranged from +1EV to about +1.67 or +2EV by the time the eagle flew.  To get the correct exposure I had to overexpose the shots about 2-stops compared to what the camera metering system thought was the correct exposure.  The white background filling at least 3/4 of the frame compared to the dark colored bird was fooling the metering system.  So the photographer must trust the histogram if he intends to get the true, correct exposure.

For this entire series of images, the settings were 1/1600 @f4, iso 1600, (+2EV) with Canon 1DX camera and 500L f4 IS lens.

The eagle finally launched itself and I was firing immediately from the start.  I seldom if ever shoot long bursts, but this was an occasion where such action was warranted.  I knew it might be difficult to keep my focus sensor pattern trained on the eagle as it flew, so I used settings that caused the camera to delay searching for the subject in the event the focus sensors were not on the bird the entire time as I attempted to track its flight.

I ended up firing a burst of 37 consecutive shots in a period of just over 3 seconds.  I managed to track the eagle relatively well through the flight and only lost focus as the bird banked and flew over my head.  Upon reviewing the images on the rear LCD of my Canon 1DX, I found that about 32 of the 37 shots were tack sharp, and 2 or 3 more were acceptably sharp.  The 2 shots that were unusable were the last 2 in the sequence where I no longer had the focus sensor pattern on the bird as it flew past me.  (in other words, the 2 unusable shots were my fault, not the camera's).

With birds in flight, it's always good to have lots of in-focus shots so one can pick out the most flattering images with the most appealing wing positions.   I chose several from this sequence and posted them below.  

You can see more images from this trip on my website here:
http://www.pbase.com/tim32225/alaska_2013

Please feel free to click on the link above and take a look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whitewater ! Ohiopyle Falls, PA

We recently returned from a two week vacation that included a several days in a golf resort near Morgantown, West Virgina.  While we were there, my wife took our nephew white water rafting one day, but I opted to sit out and just try to get a few photos of them as they put in and started off in their rafts.   This was across the border in Pennsylvania, on the Youghiogheny River.  There is a park along the river adjacent to where the rafters set in, and just upstream is the 20 foot high Ohiopyle Falls.

Ohiopyle Falls

While I was on a viewing platform at the falls, a woman I spoke to there told me that three of her friends would be going over the falls in kayaks in the next few minutes.  I turned my attention to the falls, and watched and photographed all three of them individually as they paddled through the rapids and then went over the falls.  It was an interesting spectacle to watch.   I shot sequences of about 25 images of each kayaker, and you can see a few of them below as each paddler went over the falls.

#5661 - 1/3200 @f7.1, iso 800

#5662 - 1/3200 @f7.1, iso 800

#5663 - 1/3200 @f7.1, iso 800

#5664 - 1/3200 @f7.1, iso 800

#5771 - 1/3200 @f7.1, iso 800

#5702 - 1/3200 @f7/1, iso 800

#5703 - 1/3200 @f7.1, iso 800

#5624 - 1/3200 @f7.1, iso 800

#5625 - 1/3200 @f7.1, iso 800

#5628 - 1/3200 @f7.1, iso 800

Climbing Moro Rock

SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK

To celebrate the end of my chemo and radiation treatments back in October, we spent 2 weeks in California visiting a few places we had always wanted to see.  High on my list was Yosemite National Park, and it seemed to make sense to also visit Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks since they are nearby.
[click any image to enlarge]

Our timing could have been better as I misjudged the date that the radiation treatments would end, and it only left a week between the end of treatments and the departure date for our trip.  (This snafu happened because it took 2 weeks longer than expected for the insurance company to give approval for the treatments).   Radiation gradually wears a person down and my radiation oncologist explained that it would take at least a month for me to get my strength back after the treatments.  Oh well... reservations were already made and plane tickets purchased, so we were going.

I decided to just enjoy the trip and try not push myself too hard physically so I could get the most enjoyment possible from our travels.  Cindy did virtually all the driving once we landed in California, and it was really great sitting in the seat on the right for  a change. 

After 3 days at Yosemite, we drove south to Sequoia National Park.  Aside from seeing redwood and sequoia forests we planned to climb Moro Rock, which is a 6,725 foot high granite rock which resembles a much smaller version of Half Dome.   It's very easily accessible and you can park at the bottom of a sequence of 400 steps that take you to the top.  Some of the steps are carved into the rock and others are poured concrete, but the route is cleverly blended into the natural surroundings.



#7_1520 - About half way to the top

 The views we were treated to during our climb were worth stopping for pictures, and this served the dual purpose of giving me a chance to catch my breath. 


#7_1497 - View from the steps on the way to the summit


Climbing the steps was a little bit tiring for me and I had to stop and rest several times along the way.  But we got to the top and enjoyed the sunset with one other couple who had gotten there before us.  I was surprised that there were not more people up there that evening.

#7_1508 - Another view from the steps



#7_1510 - Reaching the summit

The view from the top was well worth the climb.  We stayed through the sunset and snapped a few photos, then started back down before it got completely dark.  We used flashlights to light up the area in front of us as we decended, but there was still enough ambient light to see where we were going.


#7_1549 - View of the Mountains to the south



#7_1538 - Sunset at Moro Rock

#7_1540 - Layers of Mountains

 Here are a couple images of the sequoias from earlier in the day.



#7_1430 - Giant Sequoia Trees


The park rangers were doing a controlled burn to remove some underbrush, and the sunlight shining through the smoke made an interesting photo.

#7_1490 - Controlled Burn

Elizabeth in Soft Light at Dusk

Last weekend I traveled to Cocoa Beach to visit relatives and witness the final launch of space shuttle Endeavour.  The shuttle photography was challenging as we were looking in the direction of the light and it was only the low cloud cover that prevented lens flare and made it possible to get decent phots. 

But the evening before I enjoyed some of the best light I've ever experienced with my camera in my hand.  After enjoying a fantastic home cooked dinner with Liz and David, we went out cruising on a boat before sunset and were washed in some fantastic soft light.  I took advantage of that for nearly two hours, shooting away with Elizabeth and trying to create some nice images.  Balancing fill flash with ambient light in this situation was so amagingly easy that it was fun.   It's not difficult to see that I could really enjoy  doing a lot more of this kind of photography.  It was so much fun creating the images you see here with almost no effort.  And obvioulsy it helped to have such an attractive subject in front of the lens.   Thanks for your willingness to pose for the photos, Liz.   I hope you like the results....

[click on any image for a larger view]

I decided to post this to share a look at some of my favorite images from that evening with anyone who may be interested.  Thanks to David, Elizabeth, and Patty for a fantastic weekend, for wonderful company and a lot of just plain fun.  It was the perfect weekend and a sort of escape for me, having just been through my 2nd round of chemotherapy.  And thanks again to Liz for posing for these images.  

More images can be seen at the link below:    http://www.pbase.com/tim32225/elizabeth