FeedingFrenzy Humpbacks

Very neat photo! I like the stopped water, and how the rocks in the BG angle the same direction as the whale. Good catch of the action. Thanks for sharing.

Hi Bill,
Great action captured here, on my monitor it looks just a little too dark.

Very nice capture of the action here Bill, the whale stands out well against that dark bg and the pano comp works well here.

thanks for your feedback, Much Appreciated !

The Adventure leaders(Brad & Chris ) were Knowledgable, patient and approached each encounter with Stealth and Understanding to the animals, which provided Great opportunities, to Experience, See & Capture,.... most photographers would not encounter!

Bill

Beauty, Bill! I like it as-posted...dark and moody and very central-west-coast feeling. That being said, perhaps a VERY slight brightening might improve this already-excellent image, as the foliage and splashing water do come across a bit darker than our eyes are accustomed to. I really like this frame, and your choices in composition and presentation.

Hi Bill,

An impressive scene - with some pretty impressive animals. I like the streaming water coming off the baleen plates and the viewer gets just enough of a view of the greatly expanded lower jaw/throat to pique their interest.

I like the lighting on the foreground water and the whales themselves, but I do find the background a bit too dark (both aesthetically and in comparison to what the scene looked like when we were there). While the dark background does help make the whales stand out a bit more, I'd still brighten up that background just a tad.

One perpetual challenge in presenting shots of whales - and particularly humpbacks when feeding - is that most viewers don't know what they're really looking at. Most would probably understand that the main subject here is a single humpback with its mouth open, but the lower jaw and upper throat of the 2nd whale on the right side of the image would most likely result in most viewers thinking "Huh, what's that - and is it part of the first whale or something else?" This isn't a criticism of your shot at all, but I've found with many whale shots (and when presenting the shot in a place that doesn't lend itself to explanation of the various body parts) it's best to use simple shots that show only unambiguous views of the subjects. So in this case, while I like the inclusion of the second whale (and even the faint bubble ring), I think it might distract many viewers (who would be wondering what it is).

Cheers...

Brad

Hello John, Ken, Brad, Thanks for your feedback! The encounter was fast developing, mostly below the surface, ( from the Bubble-Ring inclusion) the anticipation and excitement while preparing for the Burst & Charge at surface was Amazing! Very dark subjects with extreme water splashing is a definite challenge to capture both differing exposures. The background has been brought into closer view by the 400mm and I really don't remember the Bg. very much at this time, with my focus on the Anticipated Emergence.
This Adventure is my First Encounter with Humpbacks , although I did do some homework beforehand to observe other photographers images & experiences with whales. While viewing my Whale Captures from this Adventure , I was confused about what I was experiencing & seeing in these Images. I completely agree with Brads information on explanations of this developing scene and his experience and knowledge has helped me very much to better understand the complexity of these Amazing and Beautiful creatures!:)

Cheers

Bill

I really like this photograph as presented Bill. Great action behavior you captured in a wonderful scene, nicely composed.

Sweet One!