Humpback breaching
Went on a shame boat trip hoping to see southern right whales but saw these beauties instead. Very unpredictable breaching patterns...
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Went on a shame boat trip hoping to see southern right whales but saw these beauties instead. Very unpredictable breaching patterns
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Jun, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
Taken near Plettenberg Bay, South Africa.Right place at the right time.Time
We had spent nearly 3 hours on a boat in relatively choppy conditions looking for Southern Right Whales and had seen virtually nothing. As we were about to head back to land, the whale spotter said there looked like whales in the distance. We made our way to the spot and there were 4 Humpback Whales. I am used to photographing southern Rights as they are predictable in their breaching while Humpbacks I found are highly unpredictable. I was facing the front of the boat and resting my camera on part of the boat structure when all of a sudden this Humpback breaches in front of us. I lifted the camera and guessed where to shoot and snapped away. It is a miracle I got the whale in focus and the breach from here to when it landed back in the water. Had I tried to bring the camera up to my eye and focus I would have missed this shot totally. As massive as the whale is, it is not out of the water for very long, in fact it was out for at most 2 seconds.Lighting
Being midday, the lighting was not fantastic but this is nature, you can't time when its the best to take the photo.Equipment
I used a Canon 6D with a Tamron 150-600mm lensInspiration
My passion is wildlife and motorsport. As I was on a birding tour with Dutch clients and they were keen to possibly see some whales, we decided to do the boat trip. I nearly did not make it onto the boat as there was not enough space, but one of the other passengers decided not to go at the last minute and I managed to get the last space.Editing
This is one photo which I corrected the horizon, cleared up the haze with the dehazing tool and marginally sharpened the photo and cropped it a bit. That is all.In my camera bag
I had recently upgraded all my equipment from an insurance claim and all I had at the time and still have, is the Canon 6D, Canon 24-105mm lens and the Tamrom 150-600, some spare batteries and a battery pack which is permanently attached to my camera. Also have a tripod but that is not in the bag but attached outside.Feedback
Whales generally are found along the South African coastline from Cape Town all the way to Durban, mostly from June to November. October being generally peak season. This however was shot in late November and whales have been spotted in January and February. My advice would be to always be ready as you can miss the best shot when you relax and put your camera down.
