Whales, Seabirds, etc.

There's something I love about being on the ocean, though some trips are easier than others. In this particular case, the boat was incredibly rocky, to the point where I'm amazed I got any shots at all which were useful.

But... I did. During the ten hours we spent on the water, I took over 2300 pictures and got rid of the crappy ones, leaving me with 200 remaining pictures.

I also got sunburned, which almost never happens, but oh well.

I posted nineteen of the pictures, which you can see via this link. The picture on the right is a tail breach from a humpback whale. The one on the left is a Greater Shearwater, a fun bird to photograph, even under rough riding conditions.

Shearwaters are pelagic birds, meaning that they're ocean dwelling and only come to land to breed. They have tubes on their beaks which actually help them process salt water.

Whale watches are fun, but my preference is for sea bird cruises -- this was a mix, but I prefer it when it's mostly birders. Birders are, as a whole, more polite than those who go on whale watches and are eager to make sure that everyone gets to see.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with these photos and the weekend was fun, despite the sunburn and the big rocky boat.