[mattb123]

I think a gimbal would be overkill on a monopod but maybe with that big lens it would be ok? Try it out and see if it's an improvement over a ball head.
Monopods seem to do fine on sand, especially if it is wet. It might get gritty in the telescoping part if you aren't careful. Rinse sand and salt off with fresh water afterward.
If you are worried about sinking into the sand you can get "snowshoes" for tripods and put one on the mono to keep it afloat. Certainly not necessary.

[fwcetus]

Would you care to share some of your imagery, that you would have captured over this time.

Hi, Martin.

OK, I will do so. Just please give me a bit of time (just a few days perhaps) to look through the "archives" of images here to find some worth sharing. [Please be aware that fully 99% of my pics are ID photos of individual whales, taken for research purposes while also doing my narration duties on whale watch boats (which was actually what I was being paid for), and that I didn't take thousands and thousands of "action" or "touristy" shots (although I do indeed have some of those) - but I ~will~ select some worth sharing here in this thread.] So, please carry on in the meantime... [And thank you in advance for your patience...]

[Kerrowdown]

So, please carry on in the meantime...

Fred, just marking time here, pending their arrival.

[aslyfox]

Hi, Martin.

OK, I will do so. Just please give me a bit of time . . . So, please carry on in the meantime... [And thank you in advance for your patience...]

waiting patiently

no holding of the breath

plenty of time

won't be leaving on the trip until February of 2018


take your time

[RollsUp]

now I just need to figure out how, living in Kansas, I am going to simulate taking photos of whales from small boat rocking in the water so I can practice my technique

any thoughts

Any nearby stores that sell waterbeds?

[aslyfox]

Any nearby stores that sell waterbeds?

don't know but there is a couple of places 90 miles away with "lazy rivers" and inner tubes

who knows

[fwcetus]

Would you care to share some of your imagery, that you would have captured over this time.

Hi, Martin.

OK, I will do so. Just please give me a bit of time (just a few days perhaps) to look through the "archives" of images here to find some worth sharing. [Please be aware that fully 99% of my pics are ID photos of individual whales, taken for research purposes while also doing my narration duties on whale watch boats (which was actually what I was being paid for), and that I didn't take thousands and thousands of "action" or "touristy" shots (although I do indeed have some of those) - but I ~will~ select some worth sharing here in this thread.] So, please carry on in the meantime... [And thank you in advance for your patience...]

"Tracer" does some people watching -


Back in the late 1970s and up to the first few years of this century (i.e., back in "Ye Olde Film Days of Yore"), my whale watch shooting utilized Pentax film SLRs (e.g., KX, Me Super, Super Program, Super A, and LX) and a variety of MF K-mount lenses (e.g., both VS1 70-210/3.5 versions, Pentax A 70-210/4, AT-X 100-300/4, VS1 450/4.5, etc.). Most of the resulting photos ended up as prints, and were utilized and shared mostly in photo album format (with only a few of the prints ever have been scanned into electronic form). However, starting in 2005, and up to 2010 when I retired, I have used Pentax DSLRs (primarily the *ist DS and then the K20D during those years) and a variety of AF K-mount lenses (e.g., FA 100-300/4.7-5.8, FA 80-320/4.5-5.6, AT-X 80-400/4-5.6 II, DA 55-300/4-5.8, F 300/4.5, etc.), and I therefore do have a lot of digital images available from 2005 until 2010.

So, let me begin... Humpback whales can be told apart individually by several characteristics, but the one feature that is used most often for ID-ing them (and also most often for naming them) is the variety of natural pigmentation and scarring marks on the ventral (i.e., lower) surface of their flukes. Naturalists, researchers, and captains pay careful attention to these markings (as well as other natural and acquired field marks, such as the shape, scarring, and pigmentation on the dorsal fins) to record and to pass on the identities of the whales that they have seen. [It is a wonderful coincidence that humpback whales show such individuality in their markings (and this is not so true for most species of whales) AND that humpbacks usually lift their tail flukes into the air when diving (and this is not true for many species of whales).]

"Iris" and "Fracture" -


The ventral surface of humpback flukes can vary from nearly all white to nearly all dark, and everything in between is possible. As an informal convention, we often classify the coloring and markings on the flukes into Type 1 to Type 5 categories, where Type 1 means "nearly all white", Type 2 "mostly white", Type 3 "close to half-white and half-dark", Type 4 "mostly dark", and Type 5 "nearly all dark". First, as some examples of what most of my whale photography has been focused on, I picked out some flukeshots of a few identified local humpback whales. So, the images in my first whale pic gallery (link just below) are of samples arranged in the order of these categories, so that you can get an idea of the variety of field marks "worn" by individual humpback whales. [I'll get to other types of pics in subsequent posts and other galleries.]

In order not to hijack the thread (at least, not too much, anyway), I will be putting most of my shared whale watch photos in PF member galleries (or online on one of my web sites), with only a few pics in any one post here. So, I just put the example Type 1 to Type 5 flukeshots in a PF member gallery, "Type 1 to Type 5 Flukes" - please visit there and examine at least a few of the individual flukeshots to see the variety of distinctive details available in humpback whale flukes.

"Leukos" -


Nowadays the names for newly individual whales each year are decided (by nominations with explanations, followed by voting) by whale watch naturalists and captains entirely online. However, for much of the history of New England whale watching, the new names were nominated and voted upon at an annual "Whale naming Party" held each spring. I have been lucky enough to have had several whales named using my suggestions, but the first one (from the early 1980s) was "Leukos" (flukeshot above). Among that particular year's newly ID-ed whales, Leukos had the lightest tail flukes, and so I suggested "Leukos" (from the Greek word for "white" or "light"). I have had the chance to see Leukos several times during my whale watch career, and, while she (and she is a known female) has been sighted several times since my retirement, I have not personally seen her since lately (during any of my now very infrequent whale watch trips).

---

Last edited by fwcetus; 08-22-2017 at 07:43 AM.

[aslyfox]

very grateful you are sharing your knowledge and your photos

speaking as the OP, I have received info on the breathing/diving patterns of grey whales:

" the spout of a grey whale may rise to 12 feet and is visible for miles. Normally, greys take 2 - 5 breaths at approximately 15 - 20 second intravals ; then dive for 3 t0 5 minutes . To aid in deep dives, the flukes, (tail) is often raised after the last breath in the series. An extended deep dive usually lasts 8 - 10 minutes then the breathing pattern repeats"

also sky hopping and breeching is described.

any such info on other whales - blue, fin, hump back, Ocras ( Killer Whales ) and more photos would be greatly appreciated.

breathing and diving patterns

do they sky hop

do they breech

other than humpbacks, do any other whales " bubble feed " ?

thanks for all of your help.

[fwcetus]

very grateful you are sharing your knowledge and your photos

speaking as the OP, I have received info on the breathing/diving patterns of grey whales:

" the spout of a grey whale may rise to 12 feet and is visible for miles. Normally, greys take 2 - 5 breaths at approximately 15 - 20 second intravals ; then dive for 3 t0 5 minutes . To aid in deep dives, the flukes, (tail) is often raised after the last breath in the series. An extended deep dive usually lasts 8 - 10 minutes then the breathing pattern repeats"

also sky hopping and breeching is described.

any such info on other whales - blue, fin, hump back, Ocras ( Killer Whales ) and more photos would be greatly appreciated.

breathing and diving patterns

do they sky hop

do they breech

other than humpbacks, do any other whales " bubble feed " ?

Well, first, I have no ~direct~ experience (and only some indirect "experience" from videos, photos, and the written word) on gray whales. My only direct experience has been with whales off New England (and there are no grays except for those in the North Pacific Ocean). My most ~direct~ experience has been with humpback whales (most of all), with finback whales and minke whales (secondary to humpbacks), with right whales (only limited experience since 1986 and 1987), with sei whales (seen once in a while, but generally only in certain years), and with blue whales and orcas (both seen only rarely close to shore in this "neighborhood").

Spouts of humpbacks are pretty similar to what you described for grays, while finbacks and blues make taller (maybe 20 feet) and narrower spouts, I would say. While all baleen whales do have two blowholes, most baleen whales make single spouts as the two exhaled airstreams merge under most conditions -- two exceptions to this generality are found with right and bowhead whales, where the two nostrils are a bit further apart and maybe angled outward a bit, so that they do usually make double spouts (I don't know if you might possibly see rights off of Baja or not, while bowheads are only in Arctic waters). Minke whales are small enough that their (single) spouts are quite faint except in colder weather.

The number of spouts and the frequency of spouting varies a lot, regardless of species, and this is true for all species, so that the spouting info you quoted might be somewhat "typical" for many species under certain conditions, but will actually vary a lot for any species, depending upon what any given individual whale is doing at the time.

Spy hopping does occur in many species of large whales -- I have seen it most in humpbacks when they approach whale watch boats to do some "people watching".

I would say that breaching is probably most common in humpbacks, fairly common in grays and in rights, less common in minkes, and rare in blues, finbacks, and seis.

Humpback whale breaching -





Tail breaching and lob tailing (which are separate behaviors) are fairly common in humpbacks, but can be seen in rights and (I believe) in grays, and are rare in the others (in my experience).

Speaking of tails, humpbacks and rights often (but not always) lift their tail flukes in the air when making a terminal dive, and blues sometimes do this as well, but finbacks, seis, and minkes only rarely do so.

Flippering is seen frequently in humpbacks, sometimes in rights, but is rare for several of the other species. [Dunno about flippering in grays.]

Feeding varies a lot from species to species, and this also varies greatly depending on what the prey species are. Rights and seis feed on small zooplankton by slow "skim feeding" at or just below the surface, but most other species employ more active feeding styles to corral and engulf their very mobile larger prey. Humpbacks, finbacks, and minkes feed on small schooling fishes when available or on krill when available, and the feeding behavior is usually quite an active behavior, but does vary a lot in the specific techniques employed depending on the nature of the prey.

Here in Massachusetts Bay, "our" humpbacks, feeding on schools of small fishes (most commonly sand lance), commonly use bubble net feeding, bubble cloud feeding, and fluke kick feeding, surfacing frequently as they drive the prey to the surface, at least when the prey are fairly close to the surface, but feed more "out of sight" when the prey are deeper (surfacing only to breathe) -- Massachusetts finbacks and minkes don't usually bother with such "tricks'" as humpbacks use -- since finbacks and minkes are a lot faster, they basically outrun their prey, lunging at concentrations of them, and they may sometimes be seen swimming in large circular patterns when corralling their prey.

Blue whales feed almost exclusively on krill (which humpbacks, finbacks, and minkes may also do when krill is available), and the feeding behavior used with krill often involves lunging at swarms of the krill.

Humpbacks, finbacks, blues, and minkes all have extensive throat grooves or pleats on their "neck" areas that greatly expand when engulfing large quantities of prey (fish or krill) and the water the prey is swimming in, before forcing the water out through the baleen plates "strainer" so that they can swallow the fish or krill. Grays have just a few of these grooves, so this is less obvious when they feed. Right whales have none of these grooves, so that their plankton feeding is a more "subtle" behavior.

There are many behaviors to be seen on whale watches, but one never sees them all on any one trip. Furthermore, whales are not always active -- on some whale watch trips, whales may be seen resting or logging (actually seemingly sleeping at the surface, sort of like logs floating just at the surface) (interesting, but not for too long - LOL) -- on some trips whales may be seen traveling, which is more active than resting or logging, but not as varied or as interesting perhaps as some of their more active behaviors.

[aslyfox]

fantastic info

you are hereby awarded " Bonus Points "

remember that " bonus points " are useable at your favorite diner for the purchase of coffee or other beverage when you add an adequate amount of the local currency


once again thanks

[jddwoods]

Well, first, I have no ~direct~ experience (and only some indirect "experience" from videos, photos, and the written word) on gray whales. My only direct experience has been with whales off New England (and there are no grays except for those in the North Pacific Ocean). My most ~direct~ experience has been with humpback whales (most of all), with finback whales and minke whales (secondary to humpbacks), with right whales (only limited experience since 1986 and 1987), with sei whales (seen once in a while, but generally only in certain years), and with blue whales and orcas (both seen only rarely close to shore in this "neighborhood").

Spouts of humpbacks are pretty similar to what you described for grays, while finbacks and blues make taller (maybe 20 feet) and narrower spouts, I would say. While all baleen whales do have two blowholes, most baleen whales make single spouts as the two exhaled airstreams merge under most conditions -- two exceptions to this generality are found with right and bowhead whales, where the two nostrils are a bit further apart and maybe angled outward a bit, so that they do usually make double spouts (I don't know if you might possibly see rights off of Baja or not, while bowheads are only in Arctic waters). Minke whales are small enough that their (single) spouts are quite faint except in colder weather.

The number of spouts and the frequency of spouting varies a lot, regardless of species, and this is true for all species, so that the spouting info you quoted might be somewhat "typical" for many species under certain conditions, but will actually vary a lot for any species, depending upon what any given individual whale is doing at the time.

Spy hopping does occur in many species of large whales -- I have seen it most in humpbacks when they approach whale watch boats to do some "people watching".

I would say that breaching is probably most common in humpbacks, fairly common in grays and in rights, less common in minkes, and rare in blues, finbacks, and seis.

Humpback whale breaching -





Tail breaching and lob tailing (which are separate behaviors) are fairly common in humpbacks, but can be seen in rights and (I believe) in grays, and are rare in the others (in my experience).

Speaking of tails, humpbacks and rights often (but not always) lift their tail flukes in the air when making a terminal dive, and blues sometimes do this as well, but finbacks, seis, and minkes only rarely do so.

Flippering is seen frequently in humpbacks, sometimes in rights, but is rare for several of the other species. [Dunno about flippering in grays.]

Feeding varies a lot from species to species, and this also varies greatly depending on what the prey species are. Rights and seis feed on small zooplankton by slow "skim feeding" at or just below the surface, but most other species employ more active feeding styles to corral and engulf their very mobile larger prey. Humpbacks, finbacks, and minkes feed on small schooling fishes when available or on krill when available, and the feeding behavior is usually quite an active behavior, but does vary a lot in the specific techniques employed depending on the nature of the prey.

Here in Massachusetts Bay, "our" humpbacks, feeding on schools of small fishes (most commonly sand lance), commonly use bubble net feeding, bubble cloud feeding, and fluke kick feeding, surfacing frequently as they drive the prey to the surface, at least when the prey are fairly close to the surface, but feed more "out of sight" when the prey are deeper (surfacing only to breathe) -- Massachusetts finbacks and minkes don't usually bother with such "tricks'" as humpbacks use -- since finbacks and minkes are a lot faster, they basically outrun their prey, lunging at concentrations of them, and they may sometimes be seen swimming in large circular patterns when corralling their prey.

Blue whales feed almost exclusively on krill (which humpbacks, finbacks, and minkes may also do when krill is available), and the feeding behavior used with krill often involves lunging at swarms of the krill.

Humpbacks, finbacks, blues, and minkes all have extensive throat grooves or pleats on their "neck" areas that greatly expand when engulfing large quantities of prey (fish or krill) and the water the prey is swimming in, before forcing the water out through the baleen plates "strainer" so that they can swallow the fish or krill. Grays have just a few of these grooves, so this is less obvious when they feed. Right whales have none of these grooves, so that their plankton feeding is a more "subtle" behavior.

There are many behaviors to be seen on whale watches, but one never sees them all on any one trip. Furthermore, whales are not always active -- on some whale watch trips, whales may be seen resting or logging (actually seemingly sleeping at the surface, sort of like logs floating just at the surface) (interesting, but not for too long - LOL) -- on some trips whales may be seen traveling, which is more active than resting or logging, but not as varied or as interesting perhaps as some of their more active behaviors.

Awesome shots! I may be visiting Cape Cod & Nantucket in October. Is that a good time for whale watching in New England?

[K-Three]

A little different perspective,
My whale watching experience has been from a WA State ferry, The ferries will go out of their way to avoid the orcas, but won't chase them so the passengers can get close images.
The best I ever got of them from a ferry was almost 3-years ago now. K3 w/18-135, I wish I had a longer lens with me at the time.
On this trip, we sailed right through a pod of them, and they were all around us. But it was impossible to know when and where they would surface or do anything. It was pure chance and luck I got anything usable at all.
I've since added the 55-300HD to my carry everywhere kit. But my ferry trips and the whales have not crossed this well again.
I have a 50-500 Bigma and a DA 300 I've tried to use on the ferries, but I really need extra support with those lenses. The ferries are pretty stable, and Puget Sound is very sheltered water, but a tripod or monopod on deck transmits the engine vibrations up to the camera. Also, based off my experience, you need to be able to switch directions and alignments quickly as the action moves around you.
My recommendations:

• As much lens as you can comfortably/competently hand-hold
• TAV 1/500+, ƒ/8
• no tri/monopod
• Take your head out of the camera occasionally and enjoy the show, without worrying about getting the shot.

Have wonderful trip, and good luck with whatever options you take.

[sassinak]

Now that it's come up in the previous post, I would like to ask - between the 18-135 and the 55-300 which would people choose to equip if they only had the one body?

Not to hijack the thread or anything but I'm also going whale watching in Monterey next month and this question kept niggling in the back of my mind as I've been reading (some really useful stuff on here BTW, thanks folks!)

[aslyfox]

Now that it's come up in the previous post, I would like to ask - between the 18-135 and the 55-300 which would people choose to equip if they only had the one body?

. . . hijack the thread . . .

as the Original Poster, I say that

you can only " hijack " this thread if you promise to post some photos of your experience

pretty please

good luck on your trip

we eagerly await the details of your success

can you not carry both lens safely?

perhaps you can safely change out lens when you are out there and get the benefit of both?

have you considered renting an extra camera body and have each ready?

I plan on having both my K 3 and K 5 II with me if I can on my boat trips. not sure which will have what lens yet though

I have and will use LensRental.com https://www.lensrentals.com/ from Tennessee before

[ I am renting a HD Pentax-D FA* 70-200mm F2.8 ED DC AW in September from them so I can see how badly I might want to get one. ]

they can ship equipment to a UPS store or street address where you could pick it up in the locale you are visiting. You just return it via UPS when you are done

contact them by phone or email and they can fill you in

be sure to get the highest protection plan they offer just in case

( I am sure there are other rental companies as well that might do the same )

[jddwoods]

Now that it's come up in the previous post, I would like to ask - between the 18-135 and the 55-300 which would people choose to equip if they only had the one body?

Not to hijack the thread or anything but I'm also going whale watching in Monterey next month and this question kept niggling in the back of my mind as I've been reading (some really useful stuff on here BTW, thanks folks!)

Based on my experience from a whale watching boat trip in Alaska a few years ago, I would think you would be best with the 55-300. I had my DA* 200 on my K-5 on that trip and felt I was trapped at one focal length. So when marine creatures surfaced they could be too far or too close. If you are referring to Monterrey California, you will not only see whales but seals, California sea lions and sea otters as well. This is my suggestion for the best lens while on the boat. I would not leave the 18-135 behind. You may very well need it and should bring it especially if marine creatures come close to the boat.