Wildlife photography can lead to wonderful moments in life and I had my good share over the last 19 years. One of the most touching happenings this year took place in Canadian / American waters near Eastport, Maine in September and I like to share some very emotional moments with my photos.
We just had arrived for a visit in Eastport and wanted to explore the small town and check out the possibilities and schedule for a whale watching tour by boat for the next day. The office of Eastport Windjammers looked inviting and when we asked for boat departures the friendly lady in the office just said, the boat is leaving in 10 minutes. I asked, do I have still time to pick up another lens from the car? She agreed and called the captain to wait a few more minutes. I ran to the car and picked up quickly the Z 100-400, which was the right choice for this adventure. And so an unforgettable whale watching tour took its course shortly after…
The captain (who told me he was in his other job actually a school teacher) and the tour guide on board were very knowledgeable, shared lots of information, and found pretty soon an area where humpback whales and fin whales were present. The crew stayed in contact with other whale watching boats and they all helped each other and reported any sightings. Not all whales have been so close to the boat as the one above and so I cropped some of the pictures below. It’s just amazing to see these giants surfacing, forcefully exhaling air from their lungs, and finally diving down again into the ocean.
Not all wildlife encounters were gigantic. This little Harbor Seal enjoyed itself in the clear water near an island.
On the way back to Eastport, just a few yards away from the pier, the captain stopped the boat and our guide pulled an ”educational lobster trap” onto the deck. There were indeed a few lobsters in it and so we learned a lot about lobster trapping, size regulations, baiting, and the economical challenges a lobster man is facing. It is hard work and our respect for all the lobster men deepened even more!