Whales

Going with a whale photo today, seeing as it’s about this time of year when the first humpback whales arrive at their winter destination from their long journey south from Alaska.

Of course, I’m referring to Maui, and sometime next month we’ll be planning for another week on the island in February to pay a return visit for these amazing creatures.

Until then, and in honor of the earlier arrivers back to Maui, I’m doing a Facebook fan drive for my website Maui by Photo that will benefit the Pacific Whale Foundation. The result will be my wife and I donating up to $1,000 to PWF at the end of October. Checkout the Maui by Photo page on Facebook to become fan, and by doing so, help increase that donation amount.

I realize it’s still about 2 months until whale season returns to Maui, but I chose this shot for the set of photos I used to place an order of MiniCards from moo.com last week. While you’re able to choose up to 100 different photos, I opted to start small with about 2 dozen.

This shot was a crop from a larger photo, since it would be almost impossible to purposely compose and correctly time a shot like this on your own. That is, unless, you speak whale and find one that wants to cooperate.

The beautiful thing is that since I shot this with my 12.2MP Canon Rebel XSi, there is still enough detail and resolution to make a crop like this which retains ample clarity and detail without looking too blurry. Certainly not something you can say about digital cameras from as recently as a few years ago.

And while I won’t be seeing any whales next week when I make it back to Maui for the Maui Photo Festival, I have no doubts that I’ll have plenty of other magnificent subjects to shoot while I’m there. After all, I wouldn’t be visiting the island for my 5th time in 3 years if I could take the same photos in my own backyard, would I?

A playful whale calf having a fun time entertaining onlookers.

Well, the holidays have come and gone, and I don’t have many projects planned for January right now. There was the thought of going back to the forest preserve where I took these Autumn photos and get similar ones for Winter. Well, a freak warm spell over the last week or so pretty much erased all the record snowfall we had, leaving me with nothing.

But I’m not too concerned, as February is going to be another busy time for me. The last two weeks of the short month will be spent on Maui, one of my favorite places to shoot. And when I say busy, I mean busy. Here’s just a quick look of all that I’m planning to cover while on vacation.

The Stars
Seeing the stars at night has to be one of the most exciting parts about going to Maui for me. Well, maybe that’s going a little too far, but trying to capture the heavens above paradise has been hit or miss in the past.

The first year, I had total beginners luck, while recent attempts were spoiled by some cloudy weather at night. How about this year? We’re heading up to the top of the Haleakala Volcano, which means we should be well above any clouds and making for some even more stunning astrophotographs.

The Whales

Last year was an amazing experience shooting the whales, but again, that was luck. It was the end of whale season, and the ones like you see here were just a few procrastinators. This time, it’s smack right in the middle of the most active whale watching part of the year, so there should be a ton of chances to expand on my limited photos so far.

Beaches
What’s a trip to Maui without time at the beach? We plan on visiting a few new beaches every trip, so it will be good to get some more shots.

As I’m learning, beaches aren’t the easiest thing to shoot, either. Sometimes, there isn’t a single cloud in the sky, which sounds like a perfect opportunity. Well, too much sunlight just drowns out all of the colors in a photo. Too many clouds? Still working on those conditions, too.

Shots like this one, I try to take advantage of a few passing clouds, looking for that quick moment when the sun is hidden so I can snap away.

Gearing Up
I only have a few new things I need to get together before our trip. I have my eyes out for a new tripod, but getting a new one isn’t a necessity right now. I do need to get my Canon EOS 20D cleaned, which I found a local shop I need to call. There is also the manner of renting a telephoto lens and possibly an extender for my Rebel XSi, which will allow me to capture amazing whale photos from the lanai (balcony) of our ocean front room.

More details on the new gear as they come in.