Juneau whale watching pics w/ bubble netting

[Deb0702]

A beautiful day for whale watching with Harv & Marv

 

 

I was little worried about seeing whales during low tide, but we saw lots & lots of whales.

In the background is a boat just like ours..

 

 

Smaller boats let you get down to whale level

 

Really a gorgeous day!

 

More to come..

[Deb0702]

The water and sky was so blue

 

Not easy to keep things in focus on a moving boat

 

 

When the gulls drop from the sky start snapping photos!

 

Open wide!

 

 

We never dreamed we'd be so lucky to see bubble netting.. what an awesome sight!

[amyk757]

Wow, great pictures!!! Thanks for posting them.

[vmom]

Fantastic pictures! In the picture there the whales are all gathered close with there mouths open, is that what is referred to as "bubble netting" ?

[Deb0702]

Fantastic pictures! In the picture there the whales are all gathered close with there mouths open, is that what is referred to as "bubble netting" ?

 

Yes, exactly. Our captain said that this is the only place in the world where humpbacks do bubble netting. A group of whales get together and surround a school of fish (herring, I think) blowing bubbles and driving the fish into a tight ball. When the moment is right the leader signals and they all push to the surface with their mouths open taking in huge gulps of fish. The gulls see what is happening and follow the action. When the fish get close to the surface the gulls swoop down to join the feast. :)

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures! We got to see some bubblenetting in Juneau and on our Kenai Fjords cruise. Amazing!

[tutuwahineLV]

Beautiful pics!! :D Harv n Marv do a wonderful job. Went on an excursion with them the first cruise of the season last may... wouldn't hesitate to go out with them again.

thanks for sharing your pics

[Greyshadowfax]

WOW! Incredible photos! I hope we are so lucky when we go in a couple of weeks!

[Linsuesue]

We are going with Harv and Marv next year, and those pictures make me thrilled that we booked with them. I've never seen so many whales in 1 shot. Thanks for posting those, and what kind of camera did you use?

[PennyAgain]

Excellent photos! I have never, ever seen so many whales in one situation.

 

Good for you!

[LEtue]

I was about to say the same thing! So many whales together :D

 

You must have been thrilled!!!!

[believer33323]

Great Pic's. We also went with Harv & Marv's in June. We were not so lucky getting so close but still had a wonderful time. Did you get that close or are you using a telephoto lens?

[Deb0702]

Yes we did use telephoto lenses. Whale watchers are supposed to maintain a distance of 100 yards. At times we were certainly closer than that, and other times further away. :)

[blakey]

Fantastic photos!!! We've booked with Harv and Marv, sure hope we get the same show. But if we don't, I'll just keep coming back to look at your pics. Thank you.

[4cats4me]

Yes we did use telephoto lenses. Whale watchers are supposed to maintain a distance of 100 yards. At times we were certainly closer than that, and other times further away. :)

 

Your photos are absolutely AMAZING! We were so fortunate to see bubble netting the day after you and had the same beautiful weather. It was such an amazing day. It made me sorry that I am not a photographer, as I dearly would have loved some pictures other than those I tried to take on my iPhone LOL -- but your pictures made me so happy so see:) THANK YOU!!!

[believer33323]

Yes we did use telephoto lenses. Whale watchers are supposed to maintain a distance of 100 yards. At times we were certainly closer than that, and other times further away. :)

 

Thanks, What size lens was it?

We were told about the 100 yards rule. I wasn't sure though if they came up close to you without the skipper knowing.

We spoke with one group that told us the whale came up right close to the boat and opened it's mouth wide. So close they could even smell the very bad breath they have. Now that's close.

[Janer1999]

Thank you so much for posting your pictures. We are going with Harv and Marv is September. :)

[epixx]

Our captain said that this is the only place in the world where humpbacks do bubble netting. :)

 

Your captain apparently has never been to Stellwagen Bank off Massachusetts. Here are photographs of the humback whales bubble net feeding there:

 

http://captainjohnboats.blogspot.com/2011/06/june-16-2011.html

[Deb0702]

Thanks, What size lens was it?

We were told about the 100 yards rule. I wasn't sure though if they came up close to you without the skipper knowing.

We spoke with one group that told us the whale came up right close to the boat and opened it's mouth wide. So close they could even smell the very bad breath they have. Now that's close.

 

We actually had 2 cameras going. One was a Canon t2i, the other was a Canon PowerShot. I can definitly see the difference in the quality of the photos. The telephoto lens was 75-300mm. We also talked to a group the day of our whale watch who were close enough to smell their bad breath.. they described the smell like pulp in a paper mill only worse, lol.

 

Your captain apparently has never been to Stellwagen Bank off Massachusetts. Here are photographs of the humback whales bubble net feeding there:

 

http://captainjohnboats.blogspot.com/2011/06/june-16-2011.html

 

Good to know.. I won't be repeating that factoid again! :)

[azdmelani]

These are blocked at my office, I am making a mental note to look at these from my personal computer!

[cherylroslyn]

These are blocked at my office, I am making a mental note to look at these from my personal computer!

yeah me too.....i hate that....all I see ar red X's...........

 

 

 

I hate it when work interferes with cruisecritic........the nerve of them........

[gottagoacruzn]

Yes what great pictures they are. Can't say enough about Alaska!!!

[SweetpeaOne]

Wonderful pictures. Thanks for sharing.

[azdmelani]

Deb, truly stunning pictures!

?

Out of curiosity, what camera are you using?

[lgerrish]

Thank you for confirming my excursion! We leave in a couple weeks for our cruise to Alaska on the Carnival Spirit and hadn't decided which tour to do in Juneau. LOVE the photos of the whales and can't wait to snap a few myself.

 

Thanks for sharing!