Are you noticing a trend here? Yes, I love my wildlife photography in summer here in British Columbia.
My favourite thing to do is go out in my little boat Snoopy and photograph the marine wildlife, should they choose to visit me.
You can’t just chase them down.
Usually I’ll see them off in the distance and go towards the general vicinity, cut the motor, and watch from a distance. But the really great shots only happen if the wildlife chooses to come to me.
One of the animals that will often choose to visit is the Pacific White Sided Dolphin. Not that I see them very often, but when I do see them, they will almost always choose to come and visit.
They are astonishingly fast and agile and they LOVE to bow-ride. So I don’t necessarily have to stop the boat. I usually slow down to only 5 knots or so and let the dolphins come and play with Snoopy.
In fact, if I stop, they will often take off after the next boat that goes by. If I keep moving a bit, they’ll stay with me and jump alongside.
To make these photos, IÂ set a fast shutter speed of at least 1/1000 second on continuous high speed, hold up my camera a foot away from my face and shoot willy nilly. Seriously!! I’m not kidding.
Remember, I’m driving the boat at the same time and if I’m still moving, I can’t leave the helm. The dolphins are so fast that if I even try to look the viewfinder it will be too late.
So I just hold up my camera and point it in the dolphin’s general direction and hope for the best. Out of hundreds of shots, I’ll get a handful that actually have a dolphin in the frame.
Of course I would get better results if I went on a whale watching trip where I wasn’t responsible for driving the boat. But then I’d have to put up with all the other people 🙂
Photographing the dolphins the way I do is so much fun, I am always laughing out loud the whole time and leave with a big smile on my face. So it’s worth the hundreds of shots that don’t make the cut for the few that do.
Getting excited. Am on the road from Tucson, Arizona where I live, to Gibson’s BC. FIRST time. Before though Portland Oregon for a few days, Japanese gardens for sure, then Victoria for 3 days, butchart gardens absolutely. Then Gibson’s. Yeah!
Hi Irene, great to hear from you. You are going to love your time in Gibsons, it’s a beautiful spot. I’m sure you like getting away from the Arizona heat this time of year too! Thanks for your visit and comments.
Those are fantastic Anne. I was up in the San Juans last Friday. Not much sea life to be seen from the ferry but beautiful anyway.
Hi George, glad you enjoyed the San Juans. I have done lots of boating in that area and it is indeed beautiful. Next time you’ll have to take a whale watching trip to see more wildlife 🙂 Thanks for your visit and comments.
Hi Anne,
Great Photos. Thanks for sharing these fanatic pictures.
Glad you enjoyed them Gopinath! I appreciate your visit and comments 🙂
Hi Anne,
Thanks for introducing with the awesome Vancouver Island and sharing these amazing pics. Will try to visit this island during my next tour to Canada.
Hi Jennifer, it’s a beautiful part of the world over here so I hope you get a chance to see it one day.
I’d love to see dolphins up close like that. What a thrill!
Hi Lisa, great to hear from you! It is a real thrill to see the dolphins. I highly recommend a whale watching trip if you’re up this way. Thanks for your comments!
Gorgeous photos! AND if you ever need help with the boat, I’m available and pretty good at reading the water. Gosh, I miss boating, but when we went full-time we couldn’t keep all our toys and the boat, canoe, and wave runners were sold ☹
Super excited to hear about an upcoming Elements video course. I enjoyed your Lightroom course and will definitely be signing up for the Elements course.
Hi Ingrid! Always great to hear from fellow RVers! And you’re a boater and photographer too 🙂 We have a lot in common! We too got rid of almost everything we own, but I couldn’t give up the boat. I put it in storage in the winter months and bring it out during the months we are on Vancouver Island. Thanks for your visit and comments.
Spectacular pictures with fine detail especially since they were shoot from the hip. What lens were you using?
Hi Clarence, for most of the pictures I was using my 24-105L lens. It has a nice range for subjects that are fairly close. A few of the photos at the end I made while my 24-105 was getting fixed (it needed a new weather seal) so I was actually using my cheap little 50mm f/1.8. I hardly ever use that lens, but it’s super sharp! Thanks for your comments 🙂
Fantastic! Just my kind of day. Thanks for sharing.
It’s always a special day when I see the dolphins!! Thanks for your visit and comments Mary-Lela.
Beautiful! I love the way the water stream off their dorsal fins. Can’t you make Ray pilot the boat?
Ha, funny you should mention that because I’ve discovered that NO, I cannot make Ray pilot the boat! 🙂 I’ve tried. He doesn’t want to go anywhere near the helm. I can talk him into going for a boat trip about once a year, and that’s good enough for him. I don’t think I’ll ever understand how people cannot absolutely LOVE boating! ??? It’s the best thing in the world!!! But I can’t complain since he willingly fixes everything, even the boat! Thanks for your comments Pat.
These are way cool, Anne!
Thank you so much Chris!!
Amazing shots and all hand held while piloting a boat? You are a super star photographer.
Woo hoo!! I wondered when someone would see my star quality 🙂 haha. Thank you Linda!!
Anne, these shots are amazing!!! Thanks for sharing your “backyard” with us!
Thank you Debby, I’m so glad you enjoyed the photos! This is a really wonderful place to be.
I agree with Kaz, it’s amazing when you can just go your backyard and shoot these beautiful animals and have a great time.
Yup, I agree too! I mean, I love to travel and see other parts of the world. But to have such beautiful things right in your backyard is really special. You don’t need to travel to make great photographs. Thanks for your comments Angelito!
Pictures and area=AWESOME!
Thank you so much Janet, much appreciated!
envious!
Hi Kaz, this is a beautiful part of the world. Well worth visiting if you ever get the chance. Thanks for your visit and comments!