Have you ever made images you treasured so much that you didn’t want to publish them?
I’ve been hanging on to these images for almost a month now, so I think it’s time to finally let them go.
It all happened when I was out on my boat one lovely calm afternoon. It was a glorious day and I was off sightseeing in the San Juan Islands, on the USA side, and the Gulf Islands, on the Canadian side.
The body of water between them is called Boundary Pass and it’s one of my favourite places to go, especially after I got my dream Orca photo there earlier this year.
I spotted a couple of whale watching boats, so I headed over to Saturna Island to see what was going on and for the longest time I couldn’t figure out what they were watching. Until a humpback came up with it’s enormous blow.
Because they stay underwater for a long time, when they come up and release their air it is under so much pressure that it can spout 15 feet into the air. And it’s quite loud too.
The whale watching boats continued on at around 3 knots and the whale would pop up every five minutes or so. They must have had a pretty good idea of how fast the whale likes to travel. I was staying on the outside well out of their way hoping the whale might come out to the middle. You never know. But I don’t like to get too close because I don’t want to harass them.
I got a few photos from a distance like this one…
… and this one…
(You can click the images to view larger versions.)
Then, at exactly 5pm, the whale watching boats left. I guess the tour was over. I figured I would keep going at 3 knots and see what would happen. Well, nothing happened. I lost the whale.
But then when I looked behind me I could see the tell tale spout from the whale’s blow way back where I was when the other boats left.
Strange that the whale stopped travelling as soon as the whale watching boats left.
I didn’t see see the whale again and after 15 minutes went by I figured he was gone. After all, they can stay underwater for half an hour so he could be anywhere.
It was a beautiful glassy calm evening, so I decided to just cut my engine and enjoy the peace while having dinner.
Another 15 minutes went by when I was just about blown overboard when the enormous whale came up RIGHT BESIDE ME!! It scared the bejesus out me when the silence was broken by the loudest blow I have ever heard.
For a second I was stunned and then I dropped my sandwich and grabbed my camera and made this image as his tail went under.
I was in a 17 foot boat and this was a 40-50 foot animal that weighs 80,000 pounds. That’s 40 tons!!
Then he came up even closer.
I made the image above at 235mm, that’s how close he was to me.
You can see in this graphic how much of the animal is actually in this photo.
It’s a good thing I couldn’t see underwater because it might have freaked me out!!
I was just floating there with my engine off and he came to me. There was not another boat for as far as I could see in any direction. Maybe he thought I might be dinner, I don’t know, but he came to check me out for sure.
I would like to think it was his way of saying thank you for giving him some space earlier in the day 🙂 He gave me a little bit of a show, and then he was gone.
Best boating day of the year!
Awesome photos Anne! What a great thing to see that close to you. Good that they gave you enough of an opportunity to drop the sandwich and pick up the camera!
Thanks Michael! I know, I was pretty happy that he came up a few more times before taking off!
Really nice Anne. They say, good things come to those who wait, and that certainly paid off for you!
Thank you very much Russ. I guess it’s only a matter of time then. There seems to be a lot of waiting with photography 🙂
Lucky you ANNE. I was in Alaska many years ago and was on a boat with several people and a professional photographer. We left out of Anchorage and saw many humpbacks and went further out and saw a pod of Orcas-AMAZING.I think they knew we were watching and I think they actually performed for us. Did not see any breeching though.
GREAT photo Anne.
Thank you very much Arno. I have never seen a bunch of humpbacks like they see in Alaska. I would love to witness that one day. Thanks for your visit and comments, much appreciated.
What an experience Anne! Great photos and way to go dropping the sandwich with enough time!
Thanks Monte! I froze for a second but then I moved faster than I think I ever have!!
I can hear your excitement in your “voice”, and I can see that you are trying to share the excitement of your experience with us, but I guess that, as long as we don’t personally live such an experience, we can’t really feel the way you felt.
Your pictures are very nice, indeed (although, honestly, they don’t compare with that great picture of the orca you took previously, with the mountain and the island in the background), but I would think you are a bit disappointed for not having been able to take that great shot of the head (and eyes) of the elusive beast, which probably explains why you felt the need to show us the comparison drawing.
Still, you are quite blessed to have been able to experience that. I live very close to Sechelt Inlet and Salish Sea, where dolphins and whales also come and visit us from time to time, and where I take my kayak out when I can but, after 2 years and a half, I still have to encounter those big mammals. Until now, I have only been closed to some sea lions and eagles, but I know that many people envy me for that (think about those living in the Prairies!).
I hope one day soon you will be able to take that dream photo of an humpback whale. Until then, I keep in mind that lovely picture of the orca in front of a huge white mountain and a small island. That’s something to be proud of, really!
Marc
Disappointed??? No way!! After 12 years of boating in these waters this is the first time I have ever seen a humpback while on my own boat and the first time I have ever had the opportunity to photograph one. The graphic was as much for me as it was for the readers because I didn’t see the head let alone the eye. I only saw what you see in the images. The water was black and I couldn’t see anything under the surface. As far as the merits of a photograph go, yes the orca image is a better photograph, but I have had many opportunities to photograph orcas. Still it took me years to pull of that image of the orca with Mount Baker! But, as you know living on the other side of the Salish Sea, a humpback is not something you see every day, let alone one that is only a stone’s throw away.
Thanks for your comments Marc!
Wow, whales are so stunning!
They certainly are! Thanks for your comments Matt!
Wow, wonderful set of images Anne! I sure hope to be able to go up there sometime! 🙂
I hope you do too Rachel, it is gorgeous up here in summer time. Thanks for your visit and comments.
Anne I did a bit of that when I lived in Seattle – never got tired of seeing the tail fluke. Beautiful captures here.
Thanks *big grin*
Thank you very much Maria 🙂
Great writing, Anne, to go along with the great photography!
Thanks John, I really appreciate that 🙂
2nd pic, looks like a bird landing or taking off..
pretty.
Interesting perspective. Thanks Kaz!
Great images, Anne, and what a wonderful experience (and well told) We’ve had similar experiences with humpbacks up on the Central & North coast – including once having a humpback surface, in pea soup fog, DIRECTLY in front of our boat as we were travelling along a tricky passage – so close that we went into reverse and gunned the engine hard to avoid running into the whale!! That was scary for sure. Closer to home, I’ve only seen humpbacks once in the Strait of Georgia, and that was at quite a distance. Congrats on being so well prepared that you were able to capture the experience so effectively – I know that it’s definitely not just about being “lucky”!
Thank you so much for your comments Laurie. I honestly think it was about him thanking me for not pestering him 🙂 haha. It was a very special evening indeed. Especially since I was sitting there with the engine off and it was so peaceful when he surfaced.
OMG !!!
🙂
That. Is. STUNNING!
How lucky and amazing to have gotten those shots 🙂
Thank you so much Tim, it was pretty amazing!!
These are absolutely gorgeous! I am in awe of your experience and so appreciate your decision to maintain a distance in order to be respectful of the whales! So often, you can hear the whales in the distance but never get close enough to see them so it’s incredible to think that this one ventured so close to you!
Thank you very much Mary. I know, I can still hardly believe it happened, but he came to me in an ocean with only one boat in it!! Maybe he thought I was a big seal 🙂
A great tale, and a great tail photo too. I assume you dropped your sandwich in the boat and not overboard. Please don’t feed the whales. 🙂
haha, no I didn’t give him my sandwich! Now I have to think back and wonder if it was a salmon sandwich? Maybe that’s why he came!! Thanks for your visit and comments John!
What a great experience! Even without photos. I envy you. Such large and gentle animals, to be so close Very exciting!
It was very exciting William and although I might have been a tiny bit disappointed if I didn’t have my camera that day, like you say it was an amazing experience. Thanks for your comments!
What a fantastic experience and with photographic proof, doesn’t get any better than that, great photos. Thanks for sharing the photos and the behind the scenes story.
Thank you very much Gordon, I’m glad I could share it with you.
Beautiful images Anne.
Thank you very much Joe!
What an amazing experience you’ve shared here with us, and terrific photographs Anne! Don’t you just love the west coast?
Hey Toad, yes I do love the west coast! I have salt in my blood I think 🙂 Thanks for your comments!
Your whole experience with the “whale of a day” is exciting to read about and see just how close that big mammal was to you. I envy your new lifestyle! How blessed you are to be living the dream and how blessed we are that you are sharing it. I have learned so much from your newsletters, photos and articles. Thank you.
Hi Stephanie, thank you so much for your kind comment! It really means a lot to me that others are learning and being inspired by my experiences. That is the most I can ask for I think 🙂
Hi Anne,
Once again, great photo’s! When we were in Tofino Semptember 2010, we went out whale spotting one evening in a Zodiac. Just the skipper and the two of us…rather special, at sundown too. The humpbacks were there for sure, several of them. But at a certain distance. I had a camera with me, but the boat wasn’t still for a single fraction of a second, and it being almost dark, it was hard to take photographs. Nonetheless, an unforgettable experience that I wouldn’t have liked to miss! We heard blows, and saw tails and huge backs…no heads. But thinking of what we did see, and what I couldn’t properly photograph still makes me deliriously happy!
Thank you for sharing your beautiful photographs!
Hilde
Hi Hilde, I totally understand, I am also deliriously happy whenever I see wildlife even if the conditions are optimal for photography. The experience is the most important thing. I find when photographing wildlife from the boat, I have to have a very fast shutter speed around 1/1,000 second, which often requires that I pump up the ISO to 800 or more. Better noisy than blurry I say. Thanks for your visit and comments.
Hi Anne,
Incredible story about the whale coming and visiting you. I love it when animals present themselves. I’ve had similar experiences in the wild and I find that when you stop, be quiet and just observe is when it happens most. You seem to earn their respect and curiosity. I love your photos and have viewed your website on numerous occasions to gain some inspiration-and the whale story and photographs certainly are inspiring.
Thanks for sharing.
Layna
What an experience! I don’t know if I would have had the presence of mind to take pictures! That is an not your everyday happening, what an adrenaline rush. Great pictures, he probably wondered what you were doing….maybe smelled your sandwich. They are very intelligent mammals. Certainly something to remember always.