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Sitka, Alaska Day 2
papaross
Registered Users Posts: 131 Major grins
On day 2, we went back out to sea. I took more pictures on this day and had less to show
than any of the 5 days we were there. Most of the takes were of whales, all of us waiting
for that WOW photo of the perfect whale shot.
The sound of 6 cameras clicking almost made a musical tune.
I’m not sure any of us got that WOW photo.
One thing we learned was humpback whales don’t breach.
Only killer whales do that, and they were farther out to sea.
These are my 2 Whale of a Tale shots.
Oops, I mean tail.
Sea otters were plentiful.
A few years back, they were on the endangered species list.
I thought it interesting that they use the kelp, (which is everywhere),
as a “rope” to hold onto to keep from being sweep out to sea.
We did find a “flock” of Puffins floating on the water.
It seemed one of them wanted to preform and began
dancing on the water. (3rd one down.)
We arrived at an island called St Lazaria.
The base of the island rose out of the sea as a cliff of solid rock,
then turned to fertile field and forest at the top.
It was impossible and, I believe, illegal to land.
And sea was unbelievably calm in the 3 days we ventured out.
St Lazaria, is, I believe a bird santurary. There seemed to be hundreds of thousands of birds.
These are called Pelagic Cormorant's. Thank you Capt. Dan.:thumb
This is an American Black Oystercatcher. It is not on the endangered species list,
but is considered threathened. One species became extinct in the 20th century.
Another species is on the endangered list in New Zealand. Thank you Wikipedia.:bow
More Puffins! :snore
As the surf ebbed and flowed, many of these starfish were attached to the rock cliffs, just at the sea level.
At one point on the island, the cliffs disappears, revealing the above view.
And finally got a closeup of a sea otter.
Some of our group have great closeups of this white seal, but this is the best I got.
Since, I’m sharing this thread with friends and family, I had to show it.
While heading back, it was still the middle of the day, we ran into many fishing boats.
Arriving back at Sitka Harbor.
About 5:30, we went back out to sea on a large sighting seeing boat (this is not that boat) that served dinner,
i.e., a single slice of pizza. I wasn’t particularly looking forward to this “tourist” thing, as they were covering
almost the same route we had done that morning on our small personal boat. But the light was fantastic.
And the fishing boats were still out.
Nothing real special here, but I still like this shot a lot. Enough to show two perspectives.
We ran into a school of humpback whales.
Fascinating, as the whales whipped their tales to stun fish before they became a meal. I thought the light on the water was beautiful.
Rainbow in the whale’s air blowing.
On our way back to port, I took a few shots as the day ended.
If you missed Sitka, Alaska Day 1, please visit!
Stay tuned for Day 3!
than any of the 5 days we were there. Most of the takes were of whales, all of us waiting
for that WOW photo of the perfect whale shot.
The sound of 6 cameras clicking almost made a musical tune.
I’m not sure any of us got that WOW photo.
One thing we learned was humpback whales don’t breach.
Only killer whales do that, and they were farther out to sea.
These are my 2 Whale of a Tale shots.
Oops, I mean tail.
Sea otters were plentiful.
A few years back, they were on the endangered species list.
I thought it interesting that they use the kelp, (which is everywhere),
as a “rope” to hold onto to keep from being sweep out to sea.
We did find a “flock” of Puffins floating on the water.
It seemed one of them wanted to preform and began
dancing on the water. (3rd one down.)
We arrived at an island called St Lazaria.
The base of the island rose out of the sea as a cliff of solid rock,
then turned to fertile field and forest at the top.
It was impossible and, I believe, illegal to land.
And sea was unbelievably calm in the 3 days we ventured out.
St Lazaria, is, I believe a bird santurary. There seemed to be hundreds of thousands of birds.
These are called Pelagic Cormorant's. Thank you Capt. Dan.:thumb
This is an American Black Oystercatcher. It is not on the endangered species list,
but is considered threathened. One species became extinct in the 20th century.
Another species is on the endangered list in New Zealand. Thank you Wikipedia.:bow
More Puffins! :snore
As the surf ebbed and flowed, many of these starfish were attached to the rock cliffs, just at the sea level.
At one point on the island, the cliffs disappears, revealing the above view.
And finally got a closeup of a sea otter.
Some of our group have great closeups of this white seal, but this is the best I got.
Since, I’m sharing this thread with friends and family, I had to show it.
While heading back, it was still the middle of the day, we ran into many fishing boats.
Arriving back at Sitka Harbor.
About 5:30, we went back out to sea on a large sighting seeing boat (this is not that boat) that served dinner,
i.e., a single slice of pizza. I wasn’t particularly looking forward to this “tourist” thing, as they were covering
almost the same route we had done that morning on our small personal boat. But the light was fantastic.
And the fishing boats were still out.
Nothing real special here, but I still like this shot a lot. Enough to show two perspectives.
We ran into a school of humpback whales.
Fascinating, as the whales whipped their tales to stun fish before they became a meal. I thought the light on the water was beautiful.
Rainbow in the whale’s air blowing.
On our way back to port, I took a few shots as the day ended.
If you missed Sitka, Alaska Day 1, please visit!
Stay tuned for Day 3!
0
Comments
Lets trade envy now because these shots are just superb....make sure to straighten out your horizons...in camera raw, it is super easy withe the leveling tool.
My Photo Blog -->http://dthorpphoto.blogspot.com/
How did you post process this picture???...I noticed there are many pixels missing or pixels are just pure white. I first noticed it on the blue jacket of the deck hand. As I looked around the picture more carefully I really started to notice through out the picture
Maybe you were trying to mask something for editing
My Photo Blog -->http://dthorpphoto.blogspot.com/
I uploaded the wrong photo to smugmug. Although I proofread my thread, I didn't catch it until after the post.
Pictures 1, 2 and the picture we just talked about. Looked in the background where the horizon shows and use that as a guide.
My Photo Blog -->http://dthorpphoto.blogspot.com/
Looking forward to Day 3.
Stephanie
Having been on that boat with you I know how tough it was getting things lined up in the cross hairs, especially those darn tiny Puffins.
Great job getting the action.
I particularly like this shot....
I would darken the brightest area of the clouds, but find this a great find at a time when most were shoving cameras back into their bags and warming up after hours on the windy deck
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