Our second day out started off very slow, no Sperm whales in sight and none to be heard on the hydrophone. On top of that it was breezy with lots of clouds and rain on the island. We gradually worked our way north to within four miles of the north end of the island, then, suddenly, the whales arrived.
Below are some pictures from this wonderful day with Sperm whales, to see more, please go to:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/d3YVpderSovcYsWp7
Mother and calf, no adult males are here this time of year.
The encounter only lasted about 3 minutes, two in range for decent photos (20 ft or less). I'm shooting a 10-17mm Tokina wide angle fish eye. I'm swimming flat out to try to keep from being left behind. After a couple of minutes full out I get winded and start to run out of gas. As our guide Izzy describes, it's like chasing a Ferrari with a donkey cart.
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About a half hour later I was in the water with another large female approaches, since we were dropped in her path..I'm glad that an open jaw is not a threat display!
This is from about ten feet away. She is really impressive!
Starting a shallow dive. They put up their flukes when headed deep to hunt squid.
As I run out of gas, and I worked hard to get in shape for this trip, she passes me. That's our guide Izzy getting a shot once I'm out of the way. A whale sized whale, I'd say.
An hour later, it's my team of three's turn again and here comes our next encounter, closing fast. You lie flat in the water to be as innocuous as possible so you can get a close inspection. She's just noticed me in this shot.
She surprises me by rolling onto her left side as she closes fast.
Fortunately, rolling on her side made it easy for her to make a sharp turn to my left side with the same motion she uses to smoothly dive.
She's turned and it's time for me to put my donkey into a gallop to try to keep up with this Ferrari.
I love the lighting on this. Sunny conditions with the sun at my back. I got some excellent coaching for shooting Sperm whales from Izzy and Chris and applied them. Shot Tv, shutter priority, ISO 800, 1/200 sec, gave me f10, so excellent depth of field with my 10 mm lens setting.
As she continues her turn, here's a shot with Izzy getting a shot. At this point I went into my top speed as was able to keep pace with her for 3 minutes before I was totally winded and legs exhausted. I shot 40 frames but I'll only put a couple more here.
Kicking hard, I'm just pointing and shooting and breathing as fast, hard, and deep as I am capable of.
In the frame! Completely winded, I had to stop and make my way back to Jerry and Izzy for pickup. I slept really well last night. This encounter was unforgettable. What an incredible, lucky day!!
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