We saw humpback whales in Alaska on a number of occasions.
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| This photo is from Wikipedia. I give it to provide some context for the body parts I was able to photograph. |
Our first exposure was in Kachemak Bay near Homer on our way out to Gull Island. Our pilot spotted a whale and it breached a number of times. I learned that trying to photograph the breaching whales was a real trick, as you have no idea when and where the whale is going to come out of the water. I did get a photo of the enormous splash from the breaching whale and of its tail just before submerging.
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| This photo captures the tail-end of my most thrilling whale experience. It was a gigantic whale and the splash was enormous. This photo is with a 500 mm lense from quite a distance. |
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| The tail of the whale in Kachemak Bay. |
On our eight hour boat trip into Kenai Fjords National Park, outside Seward, we followed a number of humpback whales. I don't recall that any of them breached, but we did see the spouting water and the roll of their bodies in the water.
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| The fin of a humpback whale in Kenai Fjords NP. |
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| A closer view of the fin. |
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| A small spout from a nearby whale. |
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| A good view of the blow-hole. |
We saw a few from the Island Princess as we cruised along the coast of Alaska, but none of those views were as good as those mentioned above. I would really like to do some more whale viewing to see if I can get some better pictures.
It is thrilling to think of the huge body that goes with that splash or that tail. Incredible to think these animals were swimming around in the water around our boat.
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