Tale of the whale

 

 

When it comes to capturing a photo of a breeching whale, I am like the Man of La Mancha — so far it’s been an impossible dream.

But all is not lost. Along the way a couple of memorable shots have made the quest rewarding nonetheless.

This time around it was definitely better to be lucky than good.

Captain Lani of Catamaran Kahanu (www.catamarankahanu.com) out of Port Allen on Kauai’s west coast took us out on a two-hour whale-watching excursion.

There’s a big difference between whale-watching and whale photography. For a two-hour tour, the catamaran was ideal. However, even though it was gorgeous clear day, the boat was good for watching but not very stable for folks with long telephoto lenses — aka me.

It was quickly apparent that a really active whale, willing to breech several times, was going to give me any chance of snapping a memorable photo.

That didn’t happen. Only a couple of whales decided to show themselves. Nothing very close. Nothing for a photography buff with a camera in one hand, holding the rail with another.

Then in an instant it all changed as Captain Lani pulled up behind a whale as I was standing on the side.

Poof. In an instant, the seas calmed. The boat stopped, and the rail was a thing of the past. I was in shooting mode.

Click. Click. Click. The tail came up and the whale was gone.

The preview showed a perfectly centered fluke. Whether it was in focus had to wait until we were back in Port Allen.

Voila. A beautiful humpback whale tale — flukes and all.

A couple of years ago, Capt. John Yeager of Alaska Charters & Adventures took us off the Wrangell Island in southwest Alaska.

A few whales came up for air, but no breeches and no tails. Yeager steered the Timber Wolf back to port.

Suddenly our dull day turned spectacular as we came upon two or three humpbacks bubble feeding right up against the rocks.

The boat was steady and the whales burst from beneath the surface arching on their backs, swallowing the herring hat were corralled by the bubbles.