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A pod of Orcas going after a crab-eater seal on an ice floe.

A pod of Orcas going after a crab-eater seal on an ice floe. Antarctica

A pod of Orcas going after a crab-eater seal on an ice floe. Antarctica
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SONY DSLR-A900

settings

Aperture 95/10 ISO 200 Shutter 1/500 Focal Length 4000/10

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Nov, 2016

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1622

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Awards

Contest Finalist in Our Natural Planet Photo Contest

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Winner in a whale of a tale Photo Challenge

Peer Award

+191

Top Choice

+12

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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken in Antarctica on an expedition cruise in the last week of November 2009. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time to see these Orcas. The Captain stopped the ship for at least 30 minutes, it was probably more like an hour, so we could watch.

Time

This was taken in the early afternoon - no choice, that's when the whales appeared!

Lighting

As it turned out, the lighting was good, it was early in the afternoon with a light cloud cover so there was no glare. As with any unexpected event, you just shoot as well you can.

Equipment

I used a Sony A900 with a full-frame 70-400 lens, handheld. No flash, no tripod. I have to admit one of my other favorite shots from this trip was of the other 50 or so people along the deck railing with large cameras and lenses - I don't think there was a cellphone camera around.

Inspiration

This was truly one of the most wonderful experiences I've ever had - it was like living in the middle of National Geographic film for a little while. The inspiration was that it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to shoot something like this and luckily, I had just dumped my big memory card a little while earlier. There were 10 or 12 orcas in this pod. The adults were teaching the juveniles how to get the Crab-eater seal that was on the ice floe.They would all swim around the ice and then back off a distance - then they would all swim toward the ice flow at the same time making a large wave that would wash the seal into the water. Seconds later (while we were all holding our breath) the seal would slide back up onto the ice. Then the orcas would swim around the ice again slowly. It was fun watching them lift their heads straight up out of the water and turn to see the seal (like the one at the back of this shot). Then they would repeat making the wave. They did this whole process over and over. Finally, the seal did become dinner for the whales.

Editing

I did little to this shot, a bit of cropping white balance and contrast adjustment.

In my camera bag

I shoot all Sony cameras (a migration from Minolta when Sony bought them). I have a couple A-mount (A900 and the new A99 Mark II) and a couple E-mount Sony cameras (NEX7 and a6000) to choose from depending on what the situation is. I like to have a 'walking around' lens like as a 28-300 zoom as well as my better lenses, the 28-70 and the 70-400 zooms. When we are traveling, I also have a tiny (old) laptop computer and storage hard-drive that fit in the pocket of a couple large bags.

Feedback

There is nowhere else on earth like Antarctica. If you want to get good pictures of the penguins and other wildlife, you want to take an expedition cruise. These cruises are on small ships with limited people onboard so you can make landings in the Zodiacs right where the penguins are located and they can do pretty much what they want to do and go where they want - like stopping for at least a half hour for these whales. For the large ships that cruise the region, you'll only get distant landscapes and tiny black specs for penguins. Your cruise or tour company will provide guidance on the type of clothing to bring - follow what they say! When doing a landing you aren't allowed to take much extra equipment so a good walking-around lens is perfect. You'll also want to have a second battery keeping warm in an inside pocket of your coat - when it's cold out, the batteries go down quickly. Since you cannot control when or where the ship stops, or when mother nature will throw something wonderful at you (like these whales) you should always have your camera nearby. Know your camera well as you will find that you'll be making adjustments as the light changes. On the landings I saw a few people using tripods, but I prefer to handhold when it's possible as I can move around so much easier and penguins (or whales) don't follow instructions like "quit moving around" very well. We are very lucky to have traveled almost all of the world in our retirement including 2 full around the world cruises. We are still missing far northern Europe and the Arctic. But, Antarctica remains my #1 favorite trip. You can't imagine it - you have to see it in person.

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A pod of Orcas going after a crab-eater seal on an ice floe.