Orca photos

[Toller_08]

Last week my mom, Grandma and I went to Vancouver, BC for a day of whale watching. A bus picked us up at our hotel and took us out to a little town called Steveston, and we left from there. They told us the tour could take anywhere from 3-6hrs or so, depending on where the whales were and how long it'd take to find them. We lucked out and found them pretty much as soon as we got onto the water... I think we were out all of 15mins before the first couple were spotted. Then we got to spend a little over two hours with them. They were hunting pretty seriously that morning, and so there were no breaches or anything like that to photograph (they weren't in a playful mood)... and even if there were, I'd have probably missed them anyhow, LOL. Whales are so hard to take pictures of! They move so quick, and I tried to track them as they headed under water and totally missed the mark each time. They never ended up where I thought they'd go. But it was still an awesome experience! I've been obsessed with them forever, and to see them in real life was amazing. I wish I lived close so I could see them more often. I'll definitely go again one day! But next time I'll take a longer camera lens. Anyhow, onto some pictures!

Here's a Bald Eagle we saw on the way out... far away, because my lens was too short, but it was neat to see them in person as well.

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[Toller_08]

That's all!

 

[CharlieDog]

I love Orcas. And I love that theyre nicknamed the sea wolves

 

[Romy]

Awesome! Those are some great shots. They are frickin' intimidating in person, aren't they?

Did they mention whether that is a resident pod or a transient pod?

 

[maxfox426]

Wow!!! Those are some really neat shots!

My husband and I are taking an Alaska cruise next month. I hope I get to see some orcas, too! I LOVE orcas!

 

[Laurelin]

I am sooo jealous! We did the Alaska cruise and saw no orcas (but a TON of humpbacks). Maxfox I hear that August and later are better for orcas, while the earlier months are when you see humpbacks the most.

It was really cool seeing all the humpback whales though. I would love to go back and see orcas.

 

[Izzy's Valkyrie]

Wayyyy cool! My dad just got back from two weeks in Alaska and was sad he didn't see any orcas. Jealous!

 

[Whisper]

Oh, what gorgeous shots! Orcas are so beautiful. I'm so envious!

 

[Toller_08]

Thanks everyone! It was an amazing experience. I think everyone on the boat was a little upset when the Captain said it was time to leave, haha. I could've stayed out there all day.

Awesome! Those are some great shots. They are frickin' intimidating in person, aren't they?

Did they mention whether that is a resident pod or a transient pod?

These were Southern Residents. We saw J pod and L pod together... K pod was in the area as well somewhere, but we never did see them. Apparently the day before my tour all three resident pods were there all at the same time (which they call superpod). There's a huge salmon run happening right now and so the 3 pods have been hunting and eating together a lot these last couple weeks.

And yes, they can be a bit intimidating in person! Especially when there was more than one together right up beside the boat. They're huge!! I was expecting them to be huge... but it still took us all a bit by surprise. Next time I go see them I want to be in a much smaller boat though, so I guess I couldn't have found them that intimidating, LOL.

 

[xpaeanx]

Oh thats awesome! I bet you had a blast! I'm slightly jealous!

 

[SizzleDog]

WOW, very cool!