Do you know what this is? The color pattern might make you think it is an Orca, a so-called killer whale. In fact this is a Dall's Porpoise, a beautiful little creature found off the West coast of the US as far north as Alaska. We were lucky to see a small pod of these little guys off the coast of Alaska. They are about the size of a typical porpoise, but incredibly fast. By the time you see them, they are gone before you can get a shot off. They can reach speeds of 34 mph in short bursts, and surface only briefly.
So what do you do? The best approach is to take your best guess as to where one might surface, and as crazy as this might sound, start shooting BEFORE you see one. Sure, you will get a lot of images of empty water, but once in awhile you will luck out and actually catch one, or part of one, breaking the water's surface.
While this image does not show the entire body, it did capture part of the black and white color pattern, the small dorsal fin, and a beautiful arc of water spraying off the fin.
For me, what makes this shot appealing is a combination of the color of the water, the water spray, and the beautiful warm light of early evening giving a golden glow to the fin and the white area under the water.
It is another example of how important it is to be prepared and do your best to anticipate action when photographing wildlife and birds.
TECH SPECS
1/1250 sec. at f/6.3, ISO 800. Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II lens set at 147mm on Canon 7D Mark II body. Handheld.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "Luck is preparation meeting opportunity. If you hadn't been prepared when the opportunity came along, you wouldn't have been lucky." -- Oprah Winfrey
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