Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Happy Valentine's Day, BABY!


February 15, 2007
This brand new baby humpback whale is only a matter of a few hours to a couple of days old. It may have even been born on Valentine's Day. Notice how clean (no whale lice) and white this little guy is? Be that as it may he is already trying to learn the delicate art of the breach. Time and again he musters up all of his strength to try and clear the water, but he is still too small to get it right just yet. It won't be long though, and soon the sky will be the limit. As a special treat mom brought this little babe under the drifting boat for a look at a very different mammal...US!

A Valentine's Day MUGGING!


February 14, 2007
Last year on Valentine's Day I had the treat of a lifetime as I watched Orcas kill and eat a minke whale in Antarctica (see Feb 2006 blog). I didn't think it could ever get much better, but this year the treat was just as sweet. Two and then later three sub-adult whales decided to spend a good part of the morning by surrounding me and totally interacting with the boat. I didn't even get my toes wet as I simply held the housing over the side and glimpsed this incredible ballet through the lens of my camera. Only upon reviewing the images afterwards did I really know how special the morning had been. How sweet it is!



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Maui Madness!

February, 2007
I am back on Maui again! After spending all of January in Antarctica I get to return to my former home here in the islands to once again be with and film perhaps the most photogenic whale on the planet...the humpback whale! And just what makes humpbacks so special? Well my friend, just let me try to show you with a few images. Did you know that they can leap almost all the way out of the water? Yep...babies, mothers, bulls, old and young alike all seem to find great joy in breaching. They do it in sunshine, they do it in the rain, at night, when it is windy, when the water is glass-flat, it seems that they really don't need much excuse to hurl their bodies skyward. Here are just a few examples taken over the last two weeks or so...


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Thursday, February 08, 2007

Reflections of Antarctica


February 8, 2007

So why would any sane person brave huge seas in the Southern Ocean to visit a continent that is the driest, coldest, and windiest on Earth? So many friends have asked me why in the world I would want to go to this frozen place, what could possibly be the draw? And yet I find my mind drifting, just as the huge tabular icebergs are doing this very moment. Antarctica isn't just a place, it's a symbol for a way of life. Far-away, wild, untouched, unowned, and unconquered. Perhaps one of the last places on this planet you can say that about. How could you not be drawn to such a place? For my part I know that I will return, this place has captured my imagination, as well as my camera. Thank you for making the journey with me through the following images. I hope you enjoy them!

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Magic leopard moments!

January, 2007

Sometimes it all just comes together perfectly. It is these rare moments where I am truly interacting with an animal in its own element that makes all the long hours of carrying around all that silly camera equipment worthwhile. This adult leopard seal approached and continued to circle our inflatable Zodiac time and again. She was especially interested in the motor, and each time First mate Magnus would drop the engine into gear she would swim right up to the moving propeller to get a face full of prop wash. What must she be thinking? She was as interested in us an we were in her...just who is watching whom here? Hmmm....

Antarctic sunsets and sunrises

January, 2007

Of course it is not EVERY sunset or sunrise here in the Antarctic where the light is incredible, but it happens often enough to keep me up late and getting up early to follow the light. All of the images here were taken between midnight and 3:00AM! I can't help but recall the old addage of "early to bed and early to rise..." Just what does that make me? A grumpy, sleepless photographer until that magic moment when the sky lights up and the colors just keep getting better and better. Besides, you can always sleep when you go home!


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Chinstraps on the loose!

January, 2007

Chinstrap penguin colonies are a sight, sound, and SMELL that is not easily forgotten! These gregarious penguins gather in the tens of thousands at some of their breeding areas, such as here at Baily Head on Deception Island. While walking among the colonies it is almost impossible to hear yourself think as chinstraps are all screaming "kauk, kauk" and beating each other with their flippers! They are very curious and will always come and check you out if you simply sit down beside the colony. Their curiosity seems to always get the better of them...

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Antarctic humpback whales

January, 2007

After being hunted to near extinction in the 20th century by steam-powered whaling ships, the humpback whale is slowly making a recovery here in Antarctica. The operative word here is slowly, as the humpback whale population is still only at a single-digit fraction of what it was prior to commercial whaling. Incredibly enough, Japan is returning to whaling humpback whales this year with a quota of 50 to be taken this season. It is hard for me to imagine wanting to slaughter one of these magnificent creatures after watching it play, swim, and breach surrounded by huge icebergs and snow-covered mountains. The irony is that the very ice and snow may be in danger as well as the animals that live surrounded by it...

Shagadelic Baby!

January, 2007

These blue-eyed shags are busy raising their own chicks here on the Antarctic Peninsula. These members of the cormorant family are easy to identify in breeding season by their bright blue eyes the orange nasal coruncles ("knobs") on their upper beak. The bright blue eyes really shine when they catch the light just right...



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Feeding gentoo penguins


January, 2007
As the third largest penguin species on the planet, the gentoo penguin parent has to work VERY hard to feed two chicks. It must be like raising a teenager who is constantly eating you out of house and home! As I look back over my penguin images from this last trip to Antarctica I have come to realize that this is the way I most often see and photograph gentoo penguins...being fed! As the chicks get larger they become AGGRESSIVE to any adult who might be returning from the sea with a meal. No wonder the adults finally just abandon the chick to find its own way... guess you might say they are simply "fed up"!


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