Bubble Feeding Whales

We were puzzled Scott ! Great to see this back and congrats on a well deserved EP!

Hey Scott,

I'm with Vincent - great that you took the time to re-post this - it's such a great addition to the gallery. A wonderful spectacle captured (and processed) very well. I like the re-crop and while it's a shame about the one on the far left, this is still a great shot!

Cheers...

Brad

I don't believe I commented the first time - so thanks for giving me another chance.

This is beautiful and stunning and must have been an unreal experience. I've never been so close to whales (aside from humpback dying on the beach - which you can find in my gallery) and I can only imagine what it would be like to see in action. You have captured it beautifully and stunningly.

- Luke

Thanks for the comments, and yes Luke, seeing it in person was unreal. I had been on whale watching trips before in the tropics and always left feeling it wasn't really worth it. You usually see one whale all alone off in the distance. In Alaska it is a whole other story. I could of sat in the boat and watched this for days. The grace of these animals is just unbelievable. Seeing 15 of these massive things rise from the water like this and then retreat without making hardly a sound and leaving nearly no waves is just not something you are prepared for.

I will post some more photos from this trip in a couple of days. Some from a little further away, and one from where all 15ish of the whales surrounded our boat and actually went underneath us. There were only 6 of us on the boat, and three went for the life jackets! (I kept taking pictures :) don't worry)

Thanks for putting it back up! This is such a special moment and I agree this crop is an enhancement. I am looking forward the the coming images.

It's an awesome shot: colors, sharpness, action, setting, clouds, birds, and water all work together to make this very special.

If the sky had been empty the additional space wouldn't have helped, IMO, but with the birds there it works well.

Max

Great shot. I really like the layers and contrast of this one. Also like the subtle colors.

Extraordinary photo Scott! This is something I've always wanted to see and you captured it beautifully, thanks for reposting and I look forward to seeing what's next.

Terrific image indeed

Amazing Photo Scott!
EP well earned

I would love to see this behavior in person myself someday.

Ken Archer

A cracking shot/image Scott and a scene I personally would love to witness one day. Main crit already covered, however this is certain a great spectacle and I am very pleased you reposted it.

BTW Where was it taken?

TFS
Steve

Thanks for the comments everyone. Steve - it was taken near Juneau. If anyone is there during bubble feeding time, I recommend taking the tour with Harv and Marv (that is the name of the company). Small boats with very few people on them, so you are close to the water level and not fighting a crowd like the bigger boats. The whales only do this for a few weeks a year, and only in the northern pacific, so it is a bit of luck as to wether or not you see the action, but I really enjoyed how their tour was run.

As a plus they have underwater mic's so you can hear the whales sing too. It is really interesting, right before the group surfaces to feed one whale sings to signal the charge. So with the mic you know when to raise the lens and start scanning the horizon. You just have to hope you were already on the right side of the boat to catch a nicely framed shot. For this one I was actually on the wrong side and had to spin around and rezoom in time to catch the action. We actually saw people on other boats not even notice some of the action because they had no warning as to when it was happening and the whales are so quiet. For one burst we had a boat of 50 to 75 people waving at us as we were pointing trying to get them to turn around. Sad for them, funny for us.

Incredible photo! I would take a tad off the bottom.

Good suggestion Joe, the water at the bottom isn't adding anything to the image, and in fact is not in focus, so removing it is definitely addition by subtraction. Here is the small tweak

Great action here, details are excellent, the gulls add a lot to the dynamics . Wish there was some more space around on the sides.

SCott, the original is really nice and the re-post just excellent.
Congrats on the WP!
Sandy

Outstanding image all the way around, good timing and reaction to get this. Must of been thrilling to see this in person. I happen to like the original and would not change a thing. Well done and congratulations on the WP, way to go.

I just saw this in the Weekly Picks. Congratulations on a superb photo, and it must be a thrill to see this phenomenon and record it so beautifully. As always, I enjoy the stories that go with photos of nature-as-it-is-happening.

By chance, I just saw an article in the June issue of Popular Photography, "Hunt for Whales" by Jon Cornforth. It includes a small photo of bubble feeding in Chatham Strait, in the same vicinity as yours. It's good, but your Larger Photo stands out by comparison, both the whales and the birds above.

Dave Thomas, Leesburg, Virginia

Wow! I'd love to just see this (much less make an amazing photo of it!).

This is an awesome picture! I'm so jealous, I wish I got this shot. The birds flying over them make this look even more amazing!