In March of 2020, we took our daughter and son-in-law to Maui, for his first visit to Hawaii. Staying in a condo complex that had become our favorite, we were able to get a unit right at the beach, where the sea wall was a part of the lanai which overlooked the small, secluded bay on which the complex was located. When we first arrived and walked through the unit to get our first look at the ocean and bay, as if on cue to welcome us, a mother and baby whale began breaching about 400 yards offshore. Needless to say, my son-in-law was thrilled. During the week, we had many more whale sightings around the island and across our bay and the waterway between Maui and Lanai, but none as impactful as our last sighting.
While on that trip, we also continued to hear more and more information about the spread of this Novel Coronavirus – Covid-19. We became increasingly concerned about the expanding pandemic and what that might mean for our return trip to mainland. As a physician I was also spending more vacation time on what had become daily phone calls with the hospital teams, developing Covid-19 care plans for our patients and staff.
On the day before our return to Arizona, I was sitting out on the Lanai trying to soak in the last bit of the ocean view, when the first of a group of whales rounded the point of the bay. By the time I saw the fourth whale of the group, I was running to grab my camera and managed to capture this image. I was stunned by what I was seeing, as all of the whales in this small pod surfaced at the same time, with spouts appearing in unison. They continued past the opening of the bay, but never again surfaced in the same pattern.
I still look back in awe at that moment, beautiful and stunning on its own, but in the context of what was going on in the world at that time, it was a fitting lesson or maybe prophecy, delivered powerfully from marvels of natural world. One week later, the state of Hawaii closed its borders to vacation travelers. Masks and social distancing became the new normal.
Type of Critique Requested
- Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
- Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.
- Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.
- Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
I wish I had more time and experience to have readjusted settings some, but it was one of those exciting moments. I did see your recent webinar and now when out looking for animals I follow your recommendations.
Technical Details
Nikon D300s with Nikon 18-200 mm f 3.5-5.6, at 200 mm, ISO 200, f / 8.0, 1/250 sec. Processing with LR
