CaptKK Loc: Edmond OK

Hope your whale watching was successful. Fast and continuous shutter for sure! We were there last month. We purchased a Nat Geo winning pic from a local professional photographer. She also highly recommended plus1 on exposure settings especially early in the morn. I had some trouble with wide open aperture because with the boat moving the whales were not always inside my focal area and my camera would focus on a wave or splash and the whale would be slightly out of focus....so I closed it down as much as I could while maintaining a fast shutter. I’m jealous!! Go out as many times as you can.

tennis2618

Put the lens and extender on before you leave the dock so you are ready. Make sure you are on the fastest continuous shooting. Be patient and watch for the start of a breech and then aim and push the trigger. At least one of your shots will be very good. If you are shooting manual make sure you have settings set as you suspect you need before you are actively shooting--at that point you want to be ready. You can make any adjustments after this breech and before the next (hopefully there will be a next).

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

I would go with 1/1250 or higher, otherwise agree with the rest

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

That is why a 100-400mm works so much better.
200mm is too long for the short end.
Whales will come close regardless.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

We took several whaling tours in Maine. The only lens I used was my wider one, because I took photos on board the boat, but we never did see a whale.

alamomike47 Loc: San Antonio, Texas

Like it! While living in Hawaii I could see the whales out the picture window. Great joy!

alandg46 Loc: Boerne, Texas

This is of a breaching humpback at Juneau. I shot it with a D500 with a 200-500mm F5.6 at 1/2500, f5.6, ISO 400, at 200mm. Shorter would have been better. With the boat pitching so much even in a relatively sheltered place it was very hard to stay framed.

The other problem was I was almost paralyzed by the sight of a 50 foot 30 odd ton creature leaping out of the ocean and so close. It was an almost overwhelming experience.

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alamomike47 Loc: San Antonio, Texas

Great

rspmd23 Loc: NYC , now in Westlake, Florida

Just got back. Shot almost everything at 200. Wish I had my 80-200 with me, but I think I did ok. I’ll load them this evening and post if I have some worthy ones.
It was great , whales galore. Shot at 1650/sec, f5.6 early then up to f11 as it got lighter. Auto iso.
Used a monopod which was a blessing for that beast !
Thanks all. Going out again in a few days with the wife.

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

On our Alaska trip two years go, my problem was the opposite. The whales were far enough from the boat that even with my 70-300, it wasn't close enough. I could have used another 100 or 200 mm on the top end. After I put the camera down and went inside the boat's cabin, THAT was the time that a whale breached RIGHT NEXT TO the boat! Damn.

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

You've already been out but I'll answer anyway as there has been some info presented here that is good, but also some that is not so good. I am a whale watching guide in Juneau, Alaska leading a tour for cruise ship passengers which we call a Photo Safari. Coming up on my sixteenth summer, about 60 trips a year.
Unless the water is calm, and it can go either way here, you don't want to brace yourself against the boat. Better to use your body as a shock absorber, knees bent a little and breathing calmly. You don't need super fast frames per second. My first few years I would burn 8 or 9 frames every time a whale dove. Way too many shots that are almost al the same. Now I mostly shoot single shots shots, 3 or 4 for every dive, but, I keep the camera on high speed shooting mode while doing this just in case the whale breeches or something else totally dramatic happens. Some have said to over expose about a stop. NO, NO, NO. That may seem right when the whales are just swimming around and doing normal dives, but if the whale does a breech or ten breeches or a tail slap, the white foamy water coming off their body or the splash when they land, is going to over expose. You have to plan for that and leave room in your exposure. I have a hundred over exposed breech shot because I didn't plan for that. I always underexpose while whale watching. I've been burned too many times.
There is more but this is enough for now.
...Cam

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rspmd23 Loc: NYC , now in Westlake, Florida

Cam. Our photo pros also recommended negative exposure comp which I did.
Thanks

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

Glad to hear that. Whale watching is so cool. Come to Juneau sometime. You will see some of the same whales.
...Cam

scubadoc Loc: Sarasota, FL

I don’t know, but that photo appears to have a stop overexposure, if you look at the background and water, as well as the foam dripping off the whales body, it does not look like an underexposed photo. Great photo nonetheless.

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

You are right. Most of the water is just on the edge but that bit, lower left, is definably over exposed. It shows that problem. On the histogram everything else is well controlled, but that pesky foam is just on the edge. On this new sample (same shot) I pulled back the whites as much as I could to still keep the shot looking good, but there is just no detail in that corner. Fortunately, I get to shoot about twenty breeches a summer so I can try again.
...Cam

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