“Shop the Shot” is a regular series on ALC where we highlight some of our favorite images taken by photographers from all over the world and reveal the gear and settings used to create them.
Photographer: Mike Nelson
The Story:
This photo of a Humpback Whale “Lunge Feeding” off the coast of Rockaway NY is the product of quite a few unsuccessful attempts, that kept giving me clues on how to finally get the shot. I like to think of myself as an avid and competent fisherman ( but I’m clearly biased ). Over the past few years whale and Dolphin sightings in the coastal waters around NYC have been becoming increasingly more common. So like any responsible photographer I started bringing my camera along on my fishing trips. After several months of observing the whales and not catching any fish, I was able to dial in the camera settings and lens combo I would need to get the shot.
This day in particular, I noticed that this whale was feeding very aggressively, and since the fishing was pretty slow I decided to follow him around and try to get a few shots. As with any type of nature photography, you have to anticipate where your subject will be in the future, then put your self in the correct spot before it happens. The catch is that you can’t see your subject for minutes at a time. Humpback Whales can actually hold their breath for upwards of 30 minutes, so anticipating where a whale will surface takes a bit a skill and a whole lot of luck. Additionally the “Breach” only lasts about 2-3 seconds so you need to be very fast on the trigger as it is easy to miss. So after a couple of hours of following the whale around and countless failed attempts I was finally able to nail the shot I was looking for.
The Gear:
The Settings:
Shutter 1/1250
App 6.3
ISO 320
