<< Previous Next >>

Tailslap


Tailslap
Photo Information
Copyright: Pieter van der Horst (sAner) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1490 W: 72 N: 1427] (4744)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2005-09-13
Categories: Mammals
Camera: Canon EOS 350D, Canon EF 28-135 IS USM, Hama UV 72mm
Exposure: f/9.0, 1/400 seconds
Photo Version: Final Version, Original Version, Workshop
Travelogue: Tour de Canada
Theme(s): Whales, Orca's, Sharks and Dolphins! [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2005-10-03 5:49
Viewed: 2953
Points: 40
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Hi All,

I think some of you were right to call the original picture a bit hazy and blue. I think I was too fast too upload it and was still a bit dazed by the jetlag. :) I corrected
the colors and this is the result. Do you like it better?

Thanks for all the previous comments. Your critiques really helped out!

Original text:
This morning my gf and I returned from a FANTASTIC trip to Canada. We went to British Columbia and Alberta and we had a blast! We experienced awesome weather, saw some great wildlife and were able to shoot some of the most stunning scenery ... The next couple of weeks I think I will only be uploading Canada shots. We have loads and loads! :) It was great in Canada and we were truly overwhelmed by the beauty of the West coast. If you're able to, you should really visit this part of the world.

In our first week in Canada we went to the beautiful Vancouver Island. We camped just outside the city of Victoria and from there we did a whalewatch safari with a company called Prince of Whales. We were on the water for 3 hours and saw a Humpback Whale and two pods of Killerwhales (or Orcas); 45 in total. It was great!

The two pods we saw were known as J-pod and I-pod and each individual is recognised by experts (through photo idification). Some of the females are 90 years old and the two pods worked together to hunt on Salmon. Orcas are the top of the foodchain and do not even have to fear white sharks.

In the picture you can see an Orca slapping it's tail on the water. Some experts say Orcas do this because they are aware of the boats and want to impress or even scare the humans. Others say it's just playful behaviour or part of the fishing technique. Whatever the reason is; it was great to get it on camera.

The orca or killer whale is a toothed whale that is an efficient predator, even attacking huge young blue whales. Their only enemy are human beings. Orcas live in small, close-knit, life-long pods and have 1 blowhole. The killer whale belongs to the family of dolphins and is the biggest dolphin. Orcas grow to be about 27-33 feet (8-10 m) long, weighing more than 8,000-12,000 pounds (3.600-5.400 kg).

----------------------------------------------------
You may hit me as hard as you can! Seriously; just write what you think, positive or negative. I can use the lesson and I can really take the criticism. Thank you very much for taking the time to look at and criticize my photo. It is highly appreciated!

Shutter Speed: 1/400
F-stop: f/9.0
Focal length: 135mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Compensation: -2/3
White Balance Mode: Daylight
AF Mode: AI Focus AF
Weather Condition: Clear & Sunny
Time: 13:04:20
Tripod: no
Flash: no
dew77, odin, carper, wallhalla15, pompey, red45, annagrace, scottevers7, liquidsunshine, Fisher, marhowie, PDP, aido has marked this note useful
Only registered TrekNature members may rate photo notes.
Add Critique [Critiquing Guidelines] 
Only registered TrekNature members may write critiques.
Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To annagrace: HazesAner 1 10-04 12:43
You must be logged in to start a discussion.

Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • dew77 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4774 W: 294 N: 4020] (13209)
  • [2005-10-03 6:24]

Hello Pieter!
I think this one is better.Moment you caught is great.I liked colors of water,lighting,details and composition a lot.Thanks for sharing...:-)

I liked lighting,POV,details,colors and composition .thanks for shering.

  • Great 
  • carper Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2009 W: 122 N: 2581] (8424)
  • [2005-10-03 12:45]

Ja, eerlijkheid gebied te zeggen dat deze inderdaad beter is. Goed werk,
gr. Jaap

Hi Pieter. Very good shot. Great POV and very good details. Excellent colours.

Hello Pieter,
Indeed this version already looks much better and less hazy than your previous one. I did some fiddling with this image in Photoshop and I think there is still room for a little improvement. I made a duplicate layer and selected the land part of the image. With curves I lightened the image and with some adjustment to contrast and saturation I enriched the colours to give an impression that is was less hazy. I blended the images together with 80% Opacity, unfortunately I reached my workshop limit for today. I'll try to post it tomorrow. Best regards, Mike

  • Great 
  • pompey Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 146 W: 4 N: 745] (2768)
  • [2005-10-03 15:25]

Good shot Pieter, excellent capture and great note. I am sure there is a joke here somewhere about Ipods but can't think of it for the moment.

  • Great 
  • red45 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2705 W: 74 N: 8864] (30243)
  • [2005-10-03 17:53]

Hi Pieter!

This version looks more natural, but I also liked blue mood of recent version. As I wrote before - great place - great picture!

Great capture, Pieter, and I'm glad you made it home safely from Canada. What a wonderful trip you must have had, I'm anxious to see more pics from Canada. I'll be heading there myself in two weeks but to Montreal, doubt I'll get many nature pics there!

Why is the background hazy? Was it just fog lying over the water. I love the tail slap and the water droplets suspended. Excellent post!

Alli

Nice shot Pieter!
Original shot had blue "mist" on it, and I think this one looks much better - much more natural.
You've captured superb scene here and whole photo has lovely mood.
VERY WELL DONE & TFS

A great moment to witness and capture, Pieter.
This is definitely better than your original post, more colour in the background. It's a shame that the haze has lightened the background. I sonder if a filter on the lens would have made a difference? I have several photos from my Italy trip where have in the distance has lowered contrast and saturation, so it's not the lens ;)

Hi Pieter,
Man I am so envious. Great job! You stopped the action perfectly. I really like the backround in this. It is just hazy and OOF enough to make it perfect for this composition.
Scott

Nice capture, a closer view could have been good.
Well done.
TFS.

A good photo of a very interesting scene. I like the composition you chose. Well done!

Hi Pieter,
Good to see you back, and I'm glad you had a good trip.
Great moment to capture and to see.
I missed the first post, but really like this one. Thanks for posting.
I'll mail you later with some of my latest football shots and some of a Dutch legend I photographed a couple of weeks ago (not football related)!!!

  • Great 
  • Fisher Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1540 W: 309 N: 2234] (8915)
  • [2005-10-15 13:20]

Hi Pieter,

How did I miss this one.?
Excellent shot and well done on the composition and details. Interesting note on the Orcas. Excellent work.

Mike

Interesting capture from your trip Pieter. Short on time today, Thank You

Hi Pieter,
A very good shot !
Thanks for the note.
Well done.
Nico

  • Great 
  • PDP Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor [C: 2821 W: 344 N: 3779] (11769)
  • [2006-04-04 8:36]

Hello Pieter, a classic shot, nice moment. i would like to be a little closer in but i guess it's hard to swim with a camera :-)

  • Great 
  • aido Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor [C: 1044 W: 156 N: 1218] (4046)
  • [2006-06-18 16:09]

Hi Pieter,
I'm going to plan a visit to BC, especially as I have some friends there, this really is something I have to see. I'm a big fan of a photographer called Bob Talbot, who has published a lot of whale and Orca images (I have one called 'Homeward Bound' on my wall). This is great, excellent timing and nicely framed to show the expanse of water. Also the contrast between the foreground and background really makes the whales stand out. Great work.
Regards,
Adrian

très belle prise , cette baleine est superbe.amicalement Thomas

Calibration Check
















0123456789ABCDEF