Saturday, December 20, 2008

Like A Fish Out Of Water


I think I mentioned that I went to the beach for sunset tonight. Little did I know I was going to get a picture of something I'd never shot before. Seconds after the sun actually set, I noticed that there were dolphins cavorting offshore. The shot above was actually something I shot right before I noticed them, so I wasn't intending to photograph the dolphin, he just snuck into the shot. But that's not the unique shot

Apparently, the dolphins were hunting, and they herded a whole school of fish in towards shore. Well, the birds got wind of what was going on, and they started joining in the fun. Suddenly, the water seemed to boiling with fish and birds. I just started shooting like a madman, and I actually got a fish up out of the water. Look at the lower left in the shot above. He's up, out of the water, and gasping for, um, water. But there he is! This is already a crop of a larger shot, so I didn't want to zoom in too much closer, but you can see him quite clearly. I had plenty of shots of disturbed water, but this appears to be the only one you can see the actual fish in. Pretty cool, eh?

And this was just another pelican shot I found that I liked. It's easy to get them in the air, but hard to get their wings in an attractive and recognizable position.

7 comments:

  1. Very nice. Talk about being at the right place at the right time with the dolphin. I always enjoy seeing the shots you take around the water.

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  2. Ernie, those are cool pictures. A beach sounds nice about now, as I'm up here in the frigid midwest suffering with a chest cold. And I appreciate being able to listen to the music you take the time to share out.

    Best,
    Chuck

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  3. the pelican shot is beautiful! :D

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  4. Oh, no! That's... that's awful!

    Oh, wait. It's Nature. Never mind.

    Seriously, great shots. In fact, seriously great shots. I wish I had your ability. Even if I had a better camera, I doubt I'd have anything like your knack.

    In the Navy, I saw dolphins dancing one early morning. I think we were in the middle of the East China Sea, our regular haunt. I'd have missed the whole scene had the Boatswain's Mate on watch not alerted me. So, why weren't you there, camera in hand?

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  5. Beautiful shots! Makes me pine for warmer climates. Out here in Utah it's been snowing for a week straight, with more on the way. We will have a white Christmas! Thank you for sharing the sunshine AND the music.

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  6. i'll join your other snow-bound commenters, midwest chuck and anon from utah, in thanking you for the lovely beach photos, even as we shovel out yet again ...

    cheers, gina (near boston)

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