At Sea and Isla Santa Catalina
How to fill a new day after a glowing, sperm whale in the sunset? Start with a fickle humpback whale, and leave it behind. Anthropomorphically speaking, this whale was an attention seeker. As our engine rpm’s increased to leave, the whale squirted from the sea, sailed through the air and crashed back into the water with a great spray and splash. Cheers erupted all around as we hollered Encore! Nothing happened. Okay, maybe there are other sea creatures ahead, so we revved up to leave once again and as before, the whale was spat from the sea, sent temporarily flying and collapsed with an audible belly flop-clap and spray. We’re seeing a pattern here.
We are nearing the end of our two week Remarkable Journey, this whale is presenting the final exam; what is your shutter speed? Are you using exposure compensation? How about that ISO? Of course there is always the option of coming out from behind the viewfinder and enjoying a good whale breach, that way they’re always in focus .
We have been looking forward to our walks on Isla Santa Catalina all day. The late afternoon coolness and light are enticing for everyone, from leisurely desert amblers to gear clad photographers. From stalking the stately cardon cactus to seeking and peeking under shrub and cacti for the endemic rattle-less rattlesnake, we all found a niche to fill our want for wild. A snake was found, and duly photographed and admired from a safe distance. It never winked (it can’t, no eyelids!) and we left it coiled in the shade, right where we found it.
The evening was anticipated with great delight. We stayed on the island for sunset admiring and photographic opportunities, and then the silliness started. Getting comfortable in the rocks we set up cameras on tripods, set long exposure times, low ISO, aperture at f8 and away we went with cactus painting in the moonlight. The banter was an assorted chatter; wait, I’m not focused, what’s your shutter speed now? Is the moon here yet? What’s that noise in the bush? Don’t fall on the rocks! Bump up your ISO. In the end, we had a great time shooting cardon cactus painted with moonlight with the big dipper hanging upside in the corner. A Zodiac whisked us back to a hot shower and a late dinner and we shared our photographic fun with our travel companions. Time to download; it’s a new day tomorrow.
The Humpback Whale, by Shirley Hill
A humpback whale is a wonder,
Its tail-lobbing antics make thunder,
They hop and they fluke,
Resembling a cuke,
Driving Ralph to envy the plumber.
