New photo opportunity for me - Whale Watching
Jan 30, 2019 14:08:10 #
Terrific series Don, #4 looks like Orcas??, with the one dorsal fin and white belly. 
Jan 30, 2019 14:08:41 #
SpyderJan wrote:
Great set Don. These are magnificent shots. That 80-400 on the D500 seems to be a really good combination.
I've used that combo now for close to two years and really like it. Although it's a little on the heavy side, I can still hand hold for the most part. As I get older the shutter speed goes up...thanks for viewing and your kind comments SpyderJan.
Jan 30, 2019 14:14:15 #
jak86094 wrote:
Really nice shots, Don. I’ve seen those huge pods of dolphins surrounding our boat on the way to Catalina, and they are everything you’ve stated and more. If you enjoyed this trip, look into whale watching out of San Diego to see the Blue Whales, probably during the Summer. They are truly leviathans. Thanks again for the great images. jak
Thanks for the info jak. I'll checkout San Diego when the Blues are running. Dolphins are kind of like BIF, just a lot of fun to photograph. Appreciate your comments.
Jan 30, 2019 14:29:10 #
marsdad wrote:
Terrific series Don, #4 looks like Orcas??, with the one dorsal fin and white belly.
I have to agree they do look like Orcas, but they are bottlenose dolphins. I believe the water distortion makes them look a lot bigger. We had a number of naturalists aboard and they would have started yelling if they saw Orcas. Im told orcas show up in our waters when the whales start their migration north with their calves. Thanks for viewing and commenting.
Jan 30, 2019 14:37:04 #
[quote=DJD]Last Sunday (Jan 27) I went whale watching on a picture perfect day in So California...sunny, flat seas, near 80 degrees (Dana Point). We saw gray and humpback whales, mile long pods of various dolphins, and an elephant seal. I wasn't sure if I'd get anything worth showing, but a few came out OK. Most of the posted shots are dolphins as they are fun to photograph. They are very active, not timid and somewhat comical. Underwater shots were taken standing from the bow of the boat. Luckily the water was exceptionally clear. Viewed best with download. Thanks for viewing.
Great set of shots!
Great set of shots!
Jan 30, 2019 15:55:18 #
Jan 30, 2019 16:33:18 #
Jan 30, 2019 16:44:25 #
Jan 30, 2019 16:46:20 #
DJD wrote:
Last Sunday (Jan 27) I went whale watching on a pi... (show quote)
These are all FANTASTIC Don! Thank you so much for sharing your adventure with us, they are wonderful
Jan 30, 2019 17:05:59 #
Jan 30, 2019 17:28:50 #
Jan 30, 2019 18:58:00 #
These are, each and every one, absolutely incredible. So fabulous! Thanks for sharing!
Jan 30, 2019 21:14:18 #
Dick B wrote:
All wonderful shots, can you share exposure info and lens used?
Dick, I was using a Nikon D500 with a Nikon 80-400 lens. Since I was shooting in manual, my setting varied throughout the day. I generally shot at 1/2000 since I was hand holding (as I said prior, the older I get the higher the shutter speed). To compensate for shooting darker areas (dolphins under the water) and then going to surface shots, I set my ISO to auto from 100-800. My f stops varied from f5.6 to f10. A lot of this was just guess work, but checking the histogram, I figured I was in the ball park with exposure. Thanks for viewing and your comments.
Jan 30, 2019 22:09:12 #
Would you please explain how you got the underwater shots while standing on the bow of the boat!? I'd love to do the same sometime. Thx
Beautiful shots, btw!!
Beautiful shots, btw!!
Jan 30, 2019 22:36:27 #
photocurt wrote:
Would you please explain how you got the underwater shots while standing on the bow of the boat!? I'd love to do the same sometime. Thx
Beautiful shots, btw!!
Beautiful shots, btw!!
The boat I was on was a catamaran. The bow had an open space in the middle that looked directly down into the water. I was on the front railing with nothing blocking my view of the water below. Dolfins love to bow-ride boats. Since this was a catamaran they would swim directly underneath me and eventually go ahead of the boat. All I had to do was find them in my viewfinder then using backbutton focusing hit the shutter button. I did crop a bit to get some parts of the boat out of the picture. Fortunately the water was very clear. Thanks for viewing. Appreciate your question and kind comments.
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