Humpback Whale calf breaching

[MichaelDanielHo]

Photographing breaching whales is always an exciting event for me but catching a breaching Humpback calf flying towards me, with its eyes wide open, is truly a treat. I caught this amazing sequence of shots last year in Maui, Hawaii, when I was on a photo shoot there. Visit my website to see more exciting wildlife shots.

http://MichaelDanielHo.com

 

[Joel_W]

I've seen this very shot dozens & dozens of times. Yet each time it just amazes me how such a massive animal can launch themselves out of the water. Nicely composed and exposed. Must have been a real thrill to see it in person.

 

[Trever1t]

I have had Humbacks breach, spyhop, roll about within literal inches of my boat hundreds of times yet they're body shape still confuses me....I can't tell top from bottom! Nice shot, sure is a beautiful sight to see, even if you've seen it a hundred thousand times. I don't know what part of Cali you live but up here we had quite a good showing of Humbacks and an occasion Blue too.

 

[charlie76]

Wow...really...that must have been an amazing exprience

 

[fokker]

Nice capture, though the quality in the photo is quite bad, pixelated and a lot of compression artefacts visible.

 

[Josh220]

That's an awesome shot! I go to one of the islands every summer, but I will be heading back to Maui next winter to see this in person. Do you have any recommendations for the focal length necessary for the boat trips? I have a 70-200 and a 1.7x teleconverter- I am wondering if that'll be enough... I don't really want to pack a 200-400.

 

[BirdWatcher]

Amazing shot. The image is so sharp you can clealy see the water drops and eyeball. First breaching shot I have seen with the whale's eye wide open. Awesome capture.

 

[MichaelDanielHo]

That's an awesome shot! I go to one of the islands every summer, but I will be heading back to Maui next winter to see this in person. Do you have any recommendations for the focal length necessary for the boat trips? I have a 70-200 and a 1.7x teleconverter- I am wondering if that'll be enough... I don't really want to pack a 200-400.

Hi Josh. Thanks for your comment. I go to Maui every year for photos shoots as well. I'd recommend going out on a zodiac if you can. A 70-200mm lens may be a bit short. 70-300mm or 100-400mm with a 1.3X, 1.5X or 1.6X cropped sensor will work great. Visit my website under Equipment page to see how I use my equipment and gear. http://MichaelDanielHo.com

 

[ScubaDude]

Perfect timing and the exposure was spot-on. Kudos. I, too, see a lot of compression artifacts.