This past summer, I was fortunate to revisit Alaska. For those of you who have never been there, add it to your bucket list and place it pretty high. Of all of the great memories I had there, our whale watch cruise was something I will always remember. The weather that day was quite miserable. The tour that we had signed up for started with a hike to Mendenhall Glacier and finished with the whale watch cruise. I was pretty excited as it was led by a local photographer and the boat we took was designed for photographers. The boat had windows that went outward and up, so that you could lean out of the window and have your camera stay dry.
I’ve been on whale watches before, but not like this one. Shortly after we left, we found 13 humpback whales (at least that is what we counted) that were participating in a bubble net feeding. This feeding is unique to humpback whales but is only practiced by certain humpbacks in limited locations in the world. Bubble net feeding is a foraging behavior used to capture small schooling fish. Humpbacks have an elaborate way they use the bubbles to manipulate prey. The bubble blowing whale seems to know where the fish are because it changes depth of bubble deployment depending upon how deep the prey is positioned in the water. The process begins with the whales at the surface, diving as a group. Once the group is under water, one whale within the group initiates a series of vocalizations known as feeding calls. As the prey come close to the bubble wall, the bubble blowing whale encloses the wall of bubbles around them, creating a cylinder with the fish trapped inside. For more information click this link where you find an expanded description of the feeding.
This image shows four humpbacks starting their dive. The spray from other humpbacks can be seen in the background. I will further expand on the challenges of photographing this type of feeding in a later post. Suffice to say, it was quite an experience.
Wow!!! Very nice picture!
Victoria (Sweden) recently posted..Som en tavla
Holy WOW Len! What a great shot here!!! You captured it at just the perfect moment, so well done man!
Dave DiCello recently posted..Like he never left
Nice capture Len!
Curt Fleenor recently posted..Water Slide
What a great shot. Wow!
How very cool! I definitely need to go to Alaska!
Rick Louie recently posted..Into the Forest
Great job in timing this shot Len. I don’t recall seeing so many whales diving at the same time.
Great shot Len! I’ve read a bit about this phenomenon before, and you captured it well – awesome work!
Brian Furbush recently posted..Discover // Getsemani
WOW Len what a great capture and sharp from front to back. Incredible shot.
Edith Levy recently posted..Window to the Mediterranean
This is something I would love to see in person! Great image Len!
Jim Denham recently posted..Pushing Buttons
wow Len this is awesome, I would love to go on a tour like this!!
Jim Nix recently posted..Southwest simplicity
Whale Tales!
Really cool shot man. That must have been amazing to see!
Great capture. We came down the Inside Passage to the northern end of Vancouver island with our eyes peeled for Whales. Zippo!
LensScaper recently posted..Last leaves of Autumn
This must have been a fantastic experience! It’s nice to see a shot of more than the usual single fluke – great capture!
Mark Summerfield recently posted..St. Mary of Sorrows Catholic Church, Fairfax, Virginia
What a great experience and shot, Len. A lifetime memory!
Jimi Jones recently posted..It’s About Time
I was blessed to get to go on a few whale watches when I lived out in New England. Awesome stuff
Eden recently posted..Setting Up Shop
How interesting Len. Thanks for sharing. Great image!
This is superb. I love whales and have always wanted to photograph them. What a fantastic capture. You should be proud of this one. Well done!
Adam Allegro recently posted..Exploring my Roots – A Taste of Padula
Very cool to get that line up!! Alaska is awesome!
A Creative Adventure/denise ippolito recently posted..LaHardy Rapids Blur
Oooo, wow, I love this shot Len. GREAT composition and timing here to really capture the perfect moment, my friend. I feel a need to let go with a “fan-flippin-tastic!” here on this shot!
Toad Hollow Photography recently posted..BC Forest Discovery Centre
What an awesome moment!
Justin recently posted..A Beautiful Building