Category: Animals

Kayaking with Seal Pups

Kayaking with Harbor Seal Pups
Kayaking with Harbor Seal Pups

I keep a kayak down at one of the local marinas so that it is convenient for me to put it in the water. No loading/unloading from my vehicle. No taking the kayak rack on and off. Having it be convenient makes it easy to get motivated to go paddle even if the weather is less than ideal.

I was out paddling in Budd Bay in January 2017 when I noticed a group of seal pups following the kayak. A friend told me the secret of how to get their photo … since when you turn the boat, they follow behind. You paddle backwards, they move around “behind” the boat and you can get their photo. There were 7 of them, but this was the best photo I got … they kept diving and swimming in and out of the frame.

I carry a Nikon point and shoot in my life jacket pocket. It is an AW120 and is waterproof … or at least water resistant. This is my second one. I dropped one in the bay when I was removing a sweater.

I wish it captured in RAW, but it’s small and handle to have with me. This is one time that I was real glad I had it.

Camera: Nikon AW120
Lens:   Built in set at 12mm
ISO 125   1/320th sec   f/4.5
0

Momma Grizzly with Cubs

Mom bear and cubs in Chilkoot River, Haines, Alaska
Mom bear and cubs in Chilkoot River, Haines, Alaska

In September 2015, my sister and I went to Alaska to visit our Aunt. While we were there, we spent time during the day touring the area and trying to find birds. We found this mother bear and her two cubs instead of birds.

We were along a road and there were a lot of other folks stopped taking photos too. I made sure that there were a number of obviously slower individuals between the bear and us (JUST KIDDING!!!). A nature tour showed up just then and the guide explained that the bear was a regular and that as long as we stayed on the road, she would ignore us.

The sockeye were running and this was the bear’s regular dinner site. We didn’t see them catch any fish, though.

Camera: Nikon Df
Lens: Nikon 28-300mm set at 300mm
ISO 5000   1/1000 sec   f/13
0

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

Up ↑