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Humpback  Whale Breaching

Image # 1D2_06858-60

Atlantic Ocean off the coast near Bar Harbor, ME

 

Canon 600L/f4 IS

ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/4000 second

Manual Exposure

Gitzo 1329/Arca Swiss B1/Wimberley Sidekick

This was definitely one of the highlights of this trip.  I had seen a humpback whale 'breach' only once before - on a trip in Hawaii many years ago, and that was only from quite a distance away.  During this excursion, there were 3 separate episodes where one of the whales breached, crashing back into the water.  Working with the big 600mm lens on a tripod, on the bow of a very crowded and rocking boat, wasn't the easiest thing in the world, and I missed getting any acceptable shots during two of the three times it breached.  But 'the third time's the charm,' as they say, and I was able to get a nice series of 7 images during the final breach.