DPReview.com is closing April 10th - Find out more

What Lenses Should I Take for Whale Watching via Sailboat?

Started 4 weeks ago | Discussions thread
JeffryZ Senior Member • Posts: 2,579
Re: What Lenses Should I Take for Whale Watching via Sailboat?
2

How close you get to whales will vary though boats will try to get close if they can. I have done whale watching off San Diego (not on a sailboat). The general experience is first try to find the whales (all the charter groups let each other know if they spot some). Calmer waters makes that easier- windy weather makes it harder to spot their water disturbances and bounces the boat around more. Once spotted, the whales have a pattern. They will bob up and down maybe spouting but just showing their backs and then briefly disappear for a bit as they cruise along. Then they will eventually decide to dive- if you see their tail (fluke) that is when they are going under and it will be a while before they resurface again. Breeching is rarely seen here- jumping out of the water to look around. That is more commonly observed in their breeding grounds in the Sea of Cortex in Mexico. Powered boats do shut off their motors (or at least idle them) when the whales are near and drift along so they don't disturb them. Might have some dolphins tag along with your boat on the way in or out from port. I also observed humpback whales off Alaska though it was raining which made pictures more difficult. I had a 70- 200mm on a crop sensor Nikon D7100 in Alaska. Uncropped at 200mm:

-- hide signature --

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Wayne Gretzky.
http://www.pbase.com/jeffryz/galleries

 JeffryZ's gear list:JeffryZ's gear list
Nikon D500 Fujifilm X-T4 Nikon AF DX Fisheye-Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8G ED Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II Tokina AT-X Pro 11-16mm f/2.8 DX +5 more
Post (hide subjects) Posted by
Keyboard shortcuts:
FForum PPrevious NNext WNext unread UUpvote SSubscribe RReply QQuote BBookmark MMy threads
Color scheme? Blue / Yellow