Tag Archives: tail

Tail Slapping

AE7I3648.jpgWhile we did not get a lot of breaching from the humpbacks, there was a lot of tail slapping going on. We would see something off in the distance and head that way to see if we could get close before the whale got bored and decided to do something else. Thankfully, they often didn’t. Getting good shots of the slapping proved to be harder than I thought. The splash they cause is impressive but you don’t know why when you look at the shot. For all the viewer knows, it could just be a whale sticking its tail up in the air.

AE7I3552.jpgFortunately, I did get lucky with some shots when close in with the whale really throwing its fluke around. The drama of watching all of this is hard to portray in the photos and sometimes it was one of those experiences when it was better to stop trying to get the photo, to put the camera down and to watch these huge creatures throwing themselves around in the ocean in front of you.

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Interesting Landing Technique

AU0E8322.jpgThis guy landed at Half Moon Bay while we were there.  I have to admit I thought I was taking pictures for the accident investigation at first.  However, he maintained this pose all along the runway until he turned off and apparently had done it earlier.  I guess he had a lot of elevator authority.  However, whether it is a good idea is a very different question.