Humpback Whale Tail, North Pass, Alaska-Image #2920

My friends, Rich and Lori, invited my wife and I on a whale watching tour during their stay in Juneau. They hired one of my favorite whale captains, Jayleen Beedle. We headed out last Sunday evening, July 12th, for a four hour tour. The whales were spotty, with maybe six individual humpbacks hanging out in the North Pass area. There was no showy behavior, just tails and backs. Finally toward the end of the tour, the humpback whale known locally as “Flame” started tail slapping. There were three episodes of tail slapping that lasted less than 20 seconds each. The wind blew the spray off the tail and the backlight on the spray makes this photo work. My photography lesson of the day: 1) Always go,  2) Hold out to the bitter end…never give up, and 3) Be ready! This whale image ended up happening in less than a minute of elapsed time in a four hour shoot. Thanks for visiting.  Camera: Nikon D800,  Lens: 40-400mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom,  Digital capture, ISO 2000 – Copyright Mark Kelley 2015