Breaching Humpbacks and Orcas in Alaska

The Whales are Back

 

  Cruising through Alaska's Inside Passage on a small cruise ship gives me a wonderful opportunity to photograph whales. The usual suspects of the whale watching world up here at Humpbacks, Orca, and Dall's porpoise. Every once in a while a minke whale joins in the feeding frenzy but they are quite rare to see. We are coming into the thick of whale season here in the Northern feeding grounds. Nearly 22 hours of light provide almost unlimited growing potential to the phytoplankton that start the marine food web. As the phytoplankton photosynthesizes and grows in number, the zooplankton (like krill) are able to sustain a huge population, which in turns feeds the humpbacks. They have to eat enough to sustain themselves only off of their food stores in their blubber once they head back south to the tropical breeding grounds. 

 

Orca Tail Slap

   The orca and porpoise rely less on the season, and are able to stay here in Southeast Alaska year round. We are spotting orca more and more since their food source, salmon, are beginning to make their way closer and closer to their natal streams where they were born. Here the salmon will continue to spawn the next generation, if they can run the gauntlet of salmon fishermen and hungry orca and safely reach their streams. We do spot transient orca pods from time to time. These are the mammal eaters with huge ranges across oceans. I am still hoping to see a transient orca hunting a sea lion or porpoise. So far no luck on that front.

 

Orca Leaping High Out of the Water in Alaska

  All three of these whales can be quite photogenic and great for whale watching. The small Dall's porpoise cut through the water just under the surface leaving a rooster tail behind their dorsal fin. Orca, with their stunning black and white contrast, can breach and tail slap with ease. But it is the humpbacks which really can put on a show. Imagine a whale the size of a city bus leaping out of the water into a full breach, before crashing back down again. And sometimes they will do this over and over again.

    

 I've always been a fan of whale photography. It is very hard since the whales only spend a fraction of their life at the surface and you are never sure where they will pop up next. But with a few tricks, like locking in the focus, shooting on burst mode or continuous, and using a very fast shutter speed, the results can be awe inspiring. I think their is a direct connection with how difficult the photography is with how rewarded you feel when you nail that shot.