Thanks for the nice comments everyone, we had a wonderful wildlife encounter with these amazing creatures.
For Chris:
The Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort operates three high-speed catamarans;
- Tangalooma Jet (350 passengers)
- Tangalooma Flyer (200)
- Tangalooma Express (120)
On our various stays at the resort we have travelled on all 3 vessels, all offering smooth and comfortable rides.
I think that the main whale watching vessel is usually the larger “Jet” which has 3 decks the upper one being completely open to allow for port, starboard, forward and aft viewing. Hopefully you will embark on the Jet.
Unfortunately, we had the Flyer where the 2nd (top) deck is only open to port, starboard and aft, although you can squeeze into the cabin behind the Captain to peer forward, through glass windows.
Our cruise was on the Wednesday where we managed to see 5 whales, whereas the cruise on Monday sighted 20, with “only” 4 sighted on Tuesday.
The boats are not allowed to chase the whales nor can they move in closer than a minimum distance, 100m I think? Also, I think that the protocol is to avoid moving the boat such that the whales are “trapped” between Moreton Island and the vessel.
Therefore, on your way out, if you are on the Jet I would try to get on the Port (left) side of the upper deck towards the front so you can take forward looking and port side photos if the whales appear at those locations – it really is a question of luck; they can appear anywhere, or not at all.
Our Flyer was quite crowded, some 2 to 3 deep at the railings once the whales were spotted. A lot of passengers had mobile phone or point and shoot cameras, which they held out with extended arms, making it quite difficult to shoot through the array of criss-crossing limbs for a clean shot.
When a whale or a pod was spotted, our boat would sometimes stop and drift, or move forward slowly to keep them visible from the side of the vessel. For us, Port side was shooting into the Sun, with starboard (right) giving deep blue seas. All my shots were into the Sun which was quite tricky for metering.
I set the Mode to Manual Exposure, using a shutter speed of 1/2000 sec, aperture of F5.6 to F5 with film speed set to ISO400.
Focus mode was set to AI Servo and I shifted the drive mode to 3 fps for quick bursts of the action when it occurred.
I recently upgraded to a Canon 7D and this was my first outing with it. I set the auto focus mode to the central 9 AF sensors but sometimes the lower 3 grabbed onto the seas between the whale and the boat so on reflection, it might have been better to select a single, centred AF point. If you use all AF points, the danger could be that the focus point could lock onto a wave top or a splash in front of the whale so the whale might be out of focus; you really need to lock the AF point onto the whale’s body.
I used the 70-200mm lens and most of the shots were taken at the 200m end. On the occasion where two of the whales swam under the boat you would need a wide angle lens to fit them in. Having said that, I’m not to sure what detail you would record, their bodies lying under the surface of the sea? But, if the whales came close to the vessel and surfaced, you would definitely need a wide angle to fit them in.
It was nice to embark and disembark at Tangalooma, avoiding the longer voyage too and from the Port of Brisbane.
The swaying of the boat due to the swell made if difficult to keep the whales centred in the frame when the action happened. I would avoid auto metering as the meter will be fooled by the white spray in bright sun light and as the boat bobs, it could meter off the dark body of the whale or reflected sunlight from the sea surface and this might skew your exposure. Next time I might try auto bracketing?
A lot of time was spent waiting for the action and once it happened, framing the whale, centring it and then trying to avoid the tangle of extended limbs left limited time for getting a clean shot.
Don’t forget to put the camera down and look at the whales if they come up close; the direct visual contact and appreciation of these amazing aquatic creatures without the camera glued to your cheek is a wonderful experience and not to be missed.
Hope that helps, clear skies, steady seas and lots of pods to you!
Cheers
Dennis
