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Fin. Water. Light.
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Fin. Water. Light.

by Brad Hill

Gallery: WildlifePosted February 23, 2011200 views4 comments
Fin. Water. Light.

Subject: Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) surfacing in calm waters
Location: Johnstone Strait region (northern Vancouver Island), BC, Canada
Camera: Nikon D3s
Lens: Nikkor 600mm f4 VRII lens - handheld from sailboat. VR on and in "Normal" mode.
Exposure: 1/1250s at f5.6. ISO 1600. -0.67 stop compensation from matrix metered exposure.
Crop: This is about 80% of full frame image horizontally (more cropped from top & bottom)

What? No long commentary this time? Thought you might be getting bored of reading - but if you want, the full commentary - plus all the contextual information about this shot (field notes, all camera settings and processing details, conservation, etc.) can be found at:

http://www.naturalart.ca/galleries/latest/.

The "moral of the story" is under the "In the Field" tab below the image...

Comments and feedback greatly appreciated...probably better to view larger version prior to doing so...

Cheers...

Brad

Comments

4 comments
Comment posted by Jerry Imprevento on February 23, 2011 at 6:57 PM
Did the exhale add too much to the image? This is just a clean, beautiful capture...If you have a frame of him with his head breaking the water, maybe you can post that at some point. Was this early morning or late afternoon?
Registered on September 11, 2010, 29 Posts, 78 Comments
Comment posted by Brad Hill on February 23, 2011 at 7:00 PM
Hi Jerry,

I have shots with the exhale (spout) too, but just liked the simplicity of this shot. I'll post a shot or two with the exhale down the road (haven't processed them yet or I would do it right now). This was shot in the evening - about 8 PM local time just as the sun was getting low...

Glad you like the shot...

Brad
Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments
Comment posted by Jorne de Bruin on February 24, 2011 at 5:21 AM
Lovely clean Orca image Brad, really like the pano format and the simplicity of the shot. Would love to see the one with an exhale too :toast:
Registered on June 26, 2008, 178 Posts, 2136 Comments
Comment posted by Dan Walters on February 27, 2011 at 4:06 PM
Love the dorsal fin and the way the head is just about to break the surface.
Registered on October 30, 2005, 405 Posts, 3693 Comments