| On my first whale watching trip off the Gold Coast, | | | | the screen goes black with the word ...processing.... on |
| Qld, Australia, I merrily snapped loads of pictures of | | | | it. |
| whales, or so I thought! | | | | After about 15 minutes of getting virtually no photos |
| We had a great morning, it was near perfect whale | | | | with whales in, I finally worked out how to adjust one |
| watching conditions. Calm water, a little wind, clear blue | | | | of the settings. I then started getting shots. Not the |
| skies and a pod of 3 whales that were very | | | | action shots I really wanted, though. |
| interested in us. They seemed really interested in try to | | | | When I got home, I checked the manual! I could have |
| entertaining us - or was it the other way around? | | | | used the burst functions to take action shots! |
| So back to the whale photos - I'll give you the | | | | So here are my tips on how to take pictures of |
| background. | | | | whales with the camera you have. I am assuming you |
| I have a quite respectable compact digital camera - a | | | | are not rushing out to spend a fortune on a new |
| 7.2 Megapixel Sony Cyber-shot to be exact. | | | | camera just to take pictures of whales! |
| It has plenty of great features and I use quite a few. I | | | | - Know your camera and test out the settings you |
| normally carry the booklet with me that describes how | | | | might use, before you go on the whale watching |
| to set it up to do all these great things. | | | | cruise. |
| Except this day, I didn't have it with me. The one day I | | | | - Bring the manual with you just in case. |
| wanted to take pictures of whales! | | | | - Make sure the batteries are charged |
| The most annoying thing is, I have done this before. I | | | | - Empty the memory stick, better still take a couple of |
| went on a trip to see the Hector's Dolphins in | | | | memory sticks |
| Christchurch, NZ and had the exact same problem. | | | | - Put the strap on the camera - you are on boat and |
| My camera takes great still shots on the settings I | | | | you don't want to lose it and your memories |
| normally use. I can do super close-ups, I can do beach | | | | overboard |
| photos, buildings, trees, flowers, views and great people | | | | - If you have a filter use that to protect your lens |
| shots! | | | | against the inevitable spray that will find its way right to |
| Try to capture photos of whales or other animals that | | | | your lens - boat spray and whale spray! |
| are moving. Not a chance. | | | | These tips are just as valid for video too. Get used to |
| You know the shots where they are in and out of | | | | the settings and test it out before you go. |
| water and you have to catch them in a nanosecond. | | | | Remember you can always erase your tests, but you |
| I focus, I press, I wait. | | | | cannot recapture those great whale photos after the |
| Almost without fail the dolphin or in this case the whale | | | | whale has gone. |
| has gone back below the water! And then I hear it and | | | | |