# A Whale Of A Time!!!!



## JacaRanda (Jan 15, 2015)

I wish I was posting my on shot here, but thought I would share someone else's fortune.

For some unknown reason, there has been a significant increase in whale activity along the Pacific coast this year.  The variety has also increased.  There have been sightings of Pilot, Blue and Gray whales along with Orcas.

This was taken off the coast of Redondo Beach Tuesday.
Humpback Whale | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Wifey and I have gone whale watching twice in the last few years and not seen much more than dolphins and sea lions.  Good thing is they give the tickets back when there are no sightings of whales.  We hope to go again this weekend.  Please wish us luck if we do.  I would get all poopy pants if I can come back and share a shot like this of my own.


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## weepete (Jan 15, 2015)

Good luck mate, we get a few basking sharks just off the coast in Scotland, I remember seeing a few as a kid in the more remote areas. We have quite a few harbour porpoises that kick about in shore too that I've seen when I was out fishing. 

I'd love to see an orca in the wild though, that would be awesome.


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## Mr.Photo (Jan 15, 2015)

weepete said:


> I'd love to see an orca in the wild though, that would be awesome.



You mean like this?


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## Designer (Jan 15, 2015)

JacaRanda said:


> This was taken off the coast of Redondo Beach Tuesday.



Is he an acquaintance of yours?


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## bribrius (Jan 15, 2015)

wish you luck!


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## JacaRanda (Jan 15, 2015)

weepete said:


> Good luck mate, we get a few basking sharks just off the coast in Scotland, I remember seeing a few as a kid in the more remote areas. We have quite a few harbour porpoises that kick about in shore too that I've seen when I was out fishing.
> 
> I'd love to see an orca in the wild though, that would be awesome.


 
Oh, then you will love this. Killer Whales Draw California Crowds Out to Sea  - NBC News


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## JacaRanda (Jan 15, 2015)

Designer said:


> JacaRanda said:
> 
> 
> > This was taken off the coast of Redondo Beach Tuesday.
> ...


 
He is actually an acquaintance of a friend fellow photographer.  My friend sent me the link today and now Greg G Gentry and I follow each other on Flickr.  He is using a T3 and the Tamster 150-600 on that shot.  I would downgrade to a T3 for that.


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## snerd (Jan 15, 2015)

I can't even imagine such a site. If I was there, and he breeches, I'm filling my britches!


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## Gary A. (Jan 15, 2015)

JacaRanda said:


> I wish I was posting my on shot here, but thought I would share someone else's fortune.
> 
> For some unknown reason, there has been a significant increase in whale activity along the Pacific coast this year.  The variety has also increased.  There have been sightings of Pilot, Blue and Gray whales along with Orcas.
> 
> ...



Wow ... we don't get many Humps around here ... but often enough so that their appearance isn't considered an anomaly ... but not enough to be common. There are always tons of Grays, but they rarely breach as much as Humps (Grays tend to spy-hop). There is a pod of Blues to the west of Catalina ... they've been there for many many years. BTW- there are two schools of thought on Dolphins. One school says that they're not whales and one says they are whales. But most agree that Dolphins and Porpoises are Toothed Whales (Odontoceti a suborder to Cetacea). I call Dolphins whales, lol. Orcas from the San Juan Islands (Washington) will regularly migrate down to Fort Bragg in Northern California. But normally the southern Orca pod doesn't travel to Central or Southern California, (but roving pods do appear in SoCal but not regularly). The Pilot sightings, like the Orca sightings off SoCal are anomalies. The Gray's are regulars as they migrate along the coast annually during their migration from Alaska down to Baja California. The only official California mainland Whale Watching (counting) facility is in Palos Verdes at Pt. Vicente.






Pt. Vicente Lighthouse snapped from the Whale Watching facility.


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## JacaRanda (Jan 16, 2015)

Gary A. said:


> JacaRanda said:
> 
> 
> > I wish I was posting my on shot here, but thought I would share someone else's fortune.
> ...


 
Thanks for the info Gary.  It's time that are start venturing further North in pursuit of - everything  .  I made a run for the border to the Salton Sea, and now need to go beyond El Dorado park in Long Beach. 

I have heard about these for a while now.  Steve Wolfe, Feb 2012 Featured Photographer


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## Gary A. (Jan 16, 2015)

That photo in Steve Wolfe's blog is in San Pedro. I used to live on the Peninsula, so if you want a tour, let me know.






Ignore the red circle. This image is from a test I did the Bigma. The photo above is at 50mm the image below is at 500mm.


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## pgriz (Jan 16, 2015)

About 15 years ago, my family and some friends went up to a place called Essipit (Quebec vacations, whale watching, outfitters, camping Essipit for a week-long vacation.  We would see the whales (several different species and sizes) from the shores and we could hear them around the clock.  One day, one of my friends and I decided to check out the kayaking rentals that we saw advertised in the lodge, and we signed up for a double, but by ourselves.  When we were appropriately suited up (water temperature there is about 40F, not very conducive for immersion without a wet suit), we headed out.  Another group was there being taken on a kayak whale-watching trip, and the guide suggested we tag along.  We paddled out about a mile from the shore and the water was almost glass-smooth.  We could hear (and see) the whales in the distance.

About 1/2 hour into this, we noticed that some of the sounds were getting louder, and sure enough there was a pair of whales that popped up about 1/2 mile away.  We, of course, were thrilled to see them so close.  The next time they surfaced, they were closer.  And closer.  And closer.  By this time, we could see the size of these beasts and their species - two blue whales.  Starting to get a little worried, because the line of motion seemed to be aimed directly at us.  Then, each surfaced maybe 30 ft. in front of our kayak, with a massive exhalation of breath, and the bodies arc forward, it seemed, forever.  They were going underneath us.  Now the scale is that these guys were about two bus-lengths long.  We were holding our breaths (literally) worried that they might just surface where we were.  Fortunately, they came up maybe 100 ft. behind us.

Over the next half hour, they circled all around and at one point one of them rolled on the side as it passed us, and the fin came out of the water (gently) towering maybe 10 ft. or so above the surface, close enough that I could have touched it with my paddle.  Several times, we were surrounded by the upwelling of water from one of their fluke thrusts.  During this time the whale -watching boats noticed this activity around us and came closer, but the whales seemed to stay near the kayaks.  One of the kayakers was actually lifted out of the water when the whale surfaced directly below him, but fortunately the motion was quite gentle, so he sent out of the water probably only a foot or so.  Somehow he managed not to flip over. 

I did not have a camera with me that day to document what happened, but the following year, I bought a real sea kayak and started doing kayaking seriously.  Haven't yet been back to paddle with the whales, but that was a "peak" experience. 

This was the view from near the lodge we were staying:


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## JacaRanda (Jan 16, 2015)

pgriz said:


> About 15 years ago, my family and some friends went up to a place called Essipit (Quebec vacations, whale watching, outfitters, camping Essipit for a week-long vacation.  We would see the whales (several different species and sizes) from the shores and we could hear them around the clock.  One day, one of my friends and I decided to check out the kayaking rentals that we saw advertised in the lodge, and we signed up for a double, but by ourselves.  When we were appropriately suited up (water temperature there is about 40F, not very conducive for immersion without a wet suit), we headed out.  Another group was there being taken on a kayak whale-watching trip, and the guide suggested we tag along.  We paddled out about a mile from the shore and the water was almost glass-smooth.  We could hear (and see) the whales in the distance.
> 
> About 1/2 hour into this, we noticed that some of the sounds were getting louder, and sure enough there was a pair of whales that popped up about 1/2 mile away.  We, of course, were thrilled to see them so close.  The next time they surfaced, they were closer.  And closer.  And closer.  By this time, we could see the size of these beasts and their species - two blue whales.  Starting to get a little worried, because the line of motion seemed to be aimed directly at us.  Then, each surfaced maybe 30 ft. in front of our kayak, with a massive exhalation of breath, and the bodies arc forward, it seemed, forever.  They were going underneath us.  Now the scale is that these guys were about two bus-lengths long.  We were holding our breaths (literally) worried that they might just surface where we were.  Fortunately, they came up maybe 100 ft. behind us.
> 
> ...


 
That is fascinating and what a thrill.  I must admit, I am still a big chicken and would probably never want to be that close in something that small.  However, since enjoying wildlife photography (mostly birds) in the last 3 or 4 years I am doing things I never would have previously.

A bear and a mountain lion are kinda sorta on my wish list.


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## JacaRanda (Jan 16, 2015)

Gary A. said:


> That photo in Steve Wolfe's blog is in San Pedro. I used to live on the Peninsula, so if you want a tour, let me know.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
Gary I will try to give you as much notice as possible before coming up that way.  Would be fun


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