Friday January 23, 2009 by artylicious

Oh look at those puppy dog eyes, aahhhhh!
We went on a whale watching trip yesterday and saw these sea lions crowded onto a navigation buoy. They were quite happy to pose for the camera, but don’t worry, the boat wasn’t close enough to worry them, I had a long lens on the camera.

I have so much respect for wildlife photographers. The brown pelicans fly just above the water and they were flying faster than the boat so trying to capture them was a case of positioning the camera just ahead of them then pressing the shutter as they come into frame. I can’t tell you how many out of focus wing tip shots I have. Thank goodness for digital cameras!

Whale watching can be a boring business – staring out to sea, looking for the tell tale sign of something that looks like a plume of smoke from the blow hole, or the glimpse of a back.

Then you’re up close and personal with the largest mammal on the planet and it’s all worthwhile.

We found a feeding fin back whale, second largest whale – only the blue whale is bigger. His fin doesn’t look too good, I’m not sure if it’s damaged or if it’s supposed to look like that.

If you’re ever in the area (Orange County, California), I can recommend Dana Wharf Whalewatching.