thetradewindsgallery

sunrise blow

Taken in the waters off of Maui just as the sun was rising

Taken in the waters off of Maui just as the sun was rising
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NIKON D4S

Aperture 71/10 ISO 400 Shutter 1/1000 Focal Length 2400/10

upload_date

Jan, 2017

Views

2305

Likes

+671

Awards

Contest Finalist in Early Mornings Photo Contest

Peer Choice Award

Contest Finalist in The Marine Wildlife Photo Contest

Featured

Staff Favorite

Peer Award

+293

Absolute Masterpiece

+41

Superb Composition

+40

Top Choice

+31

Magnificent Capture

+27

Outstanding Creativity

+24

Superior Skill

All Star

Genius

Virtuoso

Emotions

Impressed

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Top 20 rank

Top 30 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

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Top 10 rank week 2

Top 10 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

This shot was taken of the shores of Maui, HI

Time

The photo was taken about 7:20 a.m. just as the sun was coming up over the mountain. The west side of the island was still in shadow so when the whale blew the mist traveled into the sunlight.

Lighting

This was all natural lighting with a lot of luck being in the right place at the right time.

Equipment

The photo was taken with a Nikon D4s with a Nikon 80-400mm AF-S lens handheld while I was on a zodiak boat.

Inspiration

The Hawaiian Islands inspired this shot. I have been going to Maui for several years trying to get some really good whale shots but I always tried to get them from the shore. I tend to get seasick but found that I can handle the small boats much better than the large tour boats so I spent three days bouncing around on the ocean looking for shots. It was a fantastic 3 days! I'm looking forward to going back.

Editing

This photo was cropped about 10% and I added just a little saturation to bring out more of the orange that was seen at the time.

In my camera bag

I don't have a "normal" equipment list. It all depends on where I am going to take photos. When I go to Hawaii I always pack two camera bodies, a Nikon D4S and a Nikon D800. All of the lenses I take are made by Nikon and include an 80-400mm AF-S, a 200-500mm f5.6, a 16-35mm f4, a 24-120mm f4, a 1.4 teleconverter a 20mm f1.8 for underwater photos and a 16mm f2.8 fisheye for underwater photos. I also carry an Ikelite underwater housing for the D800 along with two strobes, an Induro carbon fiber tripod and monopod along with several ND filters.

Feedback

If you want to get good whale shots while in Maui stick to the smaller boats. I don't want to be an advertisement but Ultimate Whale tours is who I used. The majority of the captains on their boats are also photographers and understand lighting in a photo. The smaller boats are more maneuverable and faster so they can get to the action faster and put you in the best position as a photographer. You will want a good zoom lens and a camera with a fast frame rate if you are wanting to shoot photos of the whales and not miss anything.

See more amazing photos, follow thetradewindsgallery

thetradewindsgallery

thetradewindsgallery

sunrise blow

Taken in the waters off of Maui just as the sun was rising

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow thetradewindsgallery

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