Retiree
FollowI was on a small fishing boat when this humpback started jumping. I tried guessing where he would come up next, and got lucky with this shot. You can see it spr...
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I was on a small fishing boat when this humpback started jumping. I tried guessing where he would come up next, and got lucky with this shot. You can see it spraying water on the right side of the pic. This is a feeding behavior forcing the water through their baleen which filters out it's food.
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Contest Finalist in Colossal Wildlife Photo Contest
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Magnificent Capture
Outstanding Creativity
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Behind The Lens
Location
Taken from a small fishing boat, approx. 15-16 feet, off Ixtapa/Zihuatenejo MexicoTime
About 11:00 a.m.Lighting
Natural sunny day allowed me a fast shutter speed to freeze the actionEquipment
Was on a rocky boat, no tripod. That is why the horizon is not perfectly level. Did not correct with photoshop.Inspiration
My wife and I were fishing when the boat captain (the only other person in the boat) said he saw whales further out. I him to forget the fishing and get us out to the whales. It was a mother humpback and her calf, playing together in the water. The mother would breech and a few seconds later the calf would try to imitate. This included lying on their backs and slapping the water with their flukes. At one point, the mother came straight towards the small boat and the captain had to motor us out of the way. She also stuck just her head out of the water to look at us, a manuever known as spy-hopping, which I also captured on film. That pic is in my viewbug portfolio also. I wanted to just watch as they played, but I knew I was unlikely to get this photo-op ever again, so I started guessing where she would come up to give me a shot. I lucked out with this one.Editing
No, although it was tempting to straighten the horizon. Thought the original would have more impact.In my camera bag
Camera, spare batteries, spare sd card, and lens wipesFeedback
When the lighting allows, always go to a high shutter speed unless you deliberately want a blurred effect.