Pixtus - Photography Forum, Photographers, Photo Tips

iamvietness · **whale watching -** 06-02-2011, 04:17 PM

Heading off to San Diego this summer and decided to go on a 2.5 hour whale watching cruise (Whale Watching). was hoping someone could provide some tips on taking the pics (certain settings) as well as which lenses to take along.

here's what i own: Canon 7D, 50/1.4, 8-16, 70-200/2.8IS, 85/1.8, 17-50/2.8. was hoping to travel light but i think i may have to bring the 70-200 just for the boating trip alone (and possibly pick up a TC for extra reach?)

TIA and any help is great appreciated.

J Eddington · 06-02-2011, 04:46 PM

It all depends upon the whales and the weather. I would say your 70-200, that is what has been most successful for me. Sometimes you even need a little more reach. Most times out of SD the whale keep their distance. We have gone 3 or 4 times from SD. But all it takes is for them to come close to the boat and then you need a shorter lens :)

brad · 06-02-2011, 04:47 PM

I did a whale watching tour many years ago out of Plymouth, Mass and all I had was a Point and Shoot ... got one decent shot when we were lucky and a whale came right along side us... I mean, like a few dozen feet...

You will probably want a long lens.. the 70-200 will probably be enough.. the TC might be a good addition as well since it will be sunlight and you won't have to worry about losing that extra stop.

The biggest piece of advice is to be ready, though. If you get lucky and find a pod of playful ones... or especially one with juveniles, you never know what will happen... we had one young one that decided to start really playing.. was doing full breech jumps, completely clearing the water... if I'd had a real camera with a 70-200, I would have come home with something to hang as a 30x40 on the wall.

brad · 06-02-2011, 04:55 PM

Went and scared up my one good shot from that trip...

Quote:

Originally Posted by brad

How about a shot from a trip on which I wish I'd had any camera other than the 1 megapixel (yes, I said 1 megapixel.. as in less than most new cell phone cameras) point and shoot Kodak that I had... this was shot on a Whale Watch tour out of Plymouth, MA in Summer of 1998

Simplycandid · 06-02-2011, 05:00 PM

70-200 for sure.

iamvietness · 06-02-2011, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brad

Went and scared up my one good shot from that trip...

still a good shot with a 1mp camera lol.

iamvietness · 06-02-2011, 05:11 PM

thanks for all the advice so far. i'm trying to be super prepared since i have 6 weeks before my trip =)

venchka · 06-02-2011, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J Eddington

It all depends upon the whales and the weather. I would say your 70-200, that is what has been most successful for me. Sometimes you even need a little more reach. Most times out of SD the whale keep their distance. We have gone 3 or 4 times from SD. But all it takes is for them to come close to the boat and then you need a shorter lens :)

Janice,

You have been there and done it. Would a monopod help or get in the way?

J Eddington · 06-02-2011, 08:01 PM

For me it would get in the way (I stake out the bow). Part depends upon how full the ship is. It might work well if there were not a lot of people around and you were not wedged in on the bow.

What I have found when you board the boat, the first person you see ask the rules. Some make you sit, until they leave the harbor. Others let you move around. I have picked all kinds of spots to shoot from on the boat. The best is the bow. If that is where you want to be claim it fast! You can see 180 degrees and see both sides. Where if you are on one side most times you can only see down that side. I we went on two Whale watching trips out of MA last fall, the whales were everywhere. It all depends on the day & where the whales are.

BethG · 06-08-2011, 12:52 PM

My suggestion is to take the earliest tour you can. We took a great tour (in Puerto Vallarta - Bandaras Bay) that began at 9:00 with a lecture and didn't really get out onto the water until about 9:45. The tour was awesome, we saw lots of whales because the guy that owns the tour company is a marine biologist and knows how to spot them. The next day we had arranged a private charter to go fishing. We left at 5:30 a.m. and saw more whales than you can believe! They were everywhere. The whales mate and bear their young in Bandaras Bay and it's an unbelievable sight! We saw spouts and fin slapping for miles and even some breaches. Females slap their fins on the water to tell the males they're ready to mate and then katy bar the door!

We had a great tour/fishing trip...can you tell?

I put my camera on sport mode (I know...I know but when we went (a few years ago) I'd only had my camera for a few months) and used a 70-300. I propped it on top of a storage area on the boat. There would not have been room for a monopod on our boat as it only held 132 people. You definately need a zoom for whale watching. You might also want a polarizing filter so you can see more than the backs of whales on top of the water.

scottbuckel · 06-08-2011, 05:59 PM

My advice is much the same as others, stake out the bow of the boat. This is pretty difficult photography, your moving up/down/left/right and your subject is as well.

I also would suggest that it is very easy to get sea sick when looking through a telephoto lens. I was on a trip with a friend out of Long Beach a year ago and they got very sick having never been seasick - and it was a very calm day!

Scott