The breach
A young humpback whale breaching
A young humpback whale breaching
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Canon EOS 80D
Aperture f/7.1 ISO 500 Shutter 1/2000 Focal Length 286/1 
Merimbula, New South Wales, AU
Oct, 2019Views
1440
Likes
Awards
People's Choice in Wildlife special moment captured Photo Challenge
People's Choice in thingswaitingfor Photo Challenge
2020 Choice Award
Peer Award
Magnificent Capture
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
All Star
Superior Skill
Superb Composition
Genius
Virtuoso
Outstanding Creativity
Top Ranks
Top 20 rankTop 20 rank week 1
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Top 20 rank
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Behind The Lens
Location
This image was taken whilst on a whale watching cruise at Merimbula on the New South Wales south coast.Time
The morning cruise departed Merimbula at 10am so this would have been taken around 11am. The cruise times vary depending on tides to enable the boat to get over the sandbar at the head of the river.Lighting
We were lucky the day was fine with blue sunny sky and light winds. When on a cruise you do not get to pick your lighting, you get whatever nature throws upEquipment
For this shot I used a Canon 80D camera with a Canon 100-400 1:4.5-5.6 L IS USM lens. The image was taken at 286mm @1/2000 sec at f7.1 ISO setting was on auto. Better to have the ISO set on auto as you do not have time to manually set the camera for every shot.Inspiration
I am totally in awe of these magnificent creatures and had been out with the cruise operator a number of times without witnessing a breach. Whilst we had seen plenty of tail throws and pec slaps which are spectacular in themselves, I had my heart set of photographing a breaching whale. We were in luck on this particular cruise with two whales breaching a number of times whilst they crossed the bay with plenty of photo opportunities, however I considered this one of my best shots of the day, especially with the whale's eye open and in view.Editing
The only post processing on this shot was an auto balance and sharpen in photoshop elements.In my camera bag
I normally carry two Canon camera bodies an 80D and 90D together with two telephoto Canon lenses a 100-400mm 1:4.5-5.6 L IS USM and 15-85mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS USM as well as a macro 100mm 1:2.8 L IS USM. I also carry a canon flash and tripod on short hikes.Feedback
Be patient, you never know when a breach will occur. It is also hard to anticipate where the breach will happen, close in or in the distance so you need to maintain attention the whole cruise and act quickly when that magic moment happens. I would also suggest using a telephoto lens with the camera set on a high speed with an aperture somewhere between f7-f10 and the ISO set on auto. Breaches occur so quickly you do not have time to be playing around with settings. You may need to do numerous cruises over a number of days to see a breach and get the shot that you are happy with but just seeing these magnificent creatures up close will leave you in a happy place.
