jump
Nile '14 Calf. Taken July '14. On a whale watch with Cape Anne Whale Watch in Gloucester, MA
Nile '14 Calf. Taken July '14. On a whale watch with Cape Anne Whale Watch in Gloucester, MA
Read less
Read less
Jul, 2014Views
1197
Likes
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
Magnificent Capture
Jaw Dropping
All Star
Great Find
Top Ranks
Top 10 rank
Top 20 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Top 30 rankTop 30 rank week 1
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo is taken in the Atlantic ocean off of Cape Cod, in the Gulf of Maine, in a protected area known as Stellwagen bank. It's the summer home and feeding ground of many whale species.Time
This was taken in the afternoon on a whale watching trip.Lighting
It's completely natural lighting (cloudy day)Equipment
I used my Nikon D5100, Nikor 55-200mm f/4-5.6g ED IF AF-S DX VR zoom lens.Inspiration
My family and I have been going whale watching in Glouchester, MA since 2007, and this was from one of trips in 2014. It was a beautiful overcast day and this particular calf (Nile '14) was being very active. We had seen behavior similar in past years but i didn't have the equipment to capture it properly. Humpback whales are all cataloged and named (eventually) and sightings are recorded by populations, this happens to be part of the Gulf of Maine population, so after so many years going out on trips with Cape Ann Whale Watch we have learned the names of particular whales and each have a favorite, Nile happens to be my mothers favorite whale, and this was her calf that year having some fun and showing off.Editing
I don't remember doing much post-processing besides maybe editing the lighting a bit and a crop, and I did edit out a boat that was too close and in the shot (there are law in Stellwagen on how close a vessel can get to the animals). I've always tried to get my shots as close to perfect in the camera as i can partly because i'm still learning how to edit but also because i don't like overly processed images.In my camera bag
I only have one usable camera body, Nikon D5100, but i have a couple lenses a Nikor 18-55mm and 55-200mm, and i just acquired a older lens 22-200mm. I always keep my flashes (yongnuo and an older one i recently acquired Nikon i believe) and receivers in my bag, and of course spare batteries and SD Cards.Feedback
Patience is a virtue and required for animal photography i think. you also have to be ready at a split second, so paying attention and don't stop clicking. i do this for portraits too, i've gotten great candid faces from children. I do a lot of equestrian photography and always have my continuous release mode on because sometimes that first click isn't right and it comes in one of the sequence shots. With "Jump" i have the whole sequence from the moment the calf broke the top of the water to his splash back down. Practice, I shoot a large variety of subjects, from people to animals to flowers, i love to get the practice with different angles and lighting situations.
