Photographing Whales

I am going on a whale watching cruise early next week and would like to know if anyone can advise the best settings for my Canon EOS 400D. I'm thinking that I'll be best using the 300mm lens. Not sure of the settings though.

Take a WA with you and stow it in your vest. Two things to really worry about are wind and spray (obviously rain too).

Often times a good captain can get you very close to whales depending on their skills. So take both long stuff and shorter zooms JIC.

Get filters to protect your lenses.

I basically live for photographing whales. It's started as a passion of mine and it has become an obsession. You can see some of my shots on my site http://www.whalesighti​ngs.com

I've been experimenting with different settings on my camera as well and I'm still trying to figure it out. For the first few years I used the Sports setting, but I started to feel like I was cheating so I tried the Tv mode. Using this mode I found my shots came out to dark. Keep in mind though that I didn't (and still don't to be perfectly honest) understand the ISO part. This season I've tried something new. So far I've been shooting in Av mode (at 7.1) at 400ISO. Depending on how bright and sunny it is I've also adjustment my exposure up or down. I've found I'm getting my best results in Av mode. My main challenge is shooting on overcast days. Still haven't quite figured that out. I am still learning about the many different options I have though so if you know more than I do about this you already have an advantage over me.

As for lenses, my lens is a 75-300mm and the 300mm part is awesome, but every once in a while the whales get so close to the boat that the 75mm is useless. I'd only get a close up of the blowhole or dorsal fin. I've been thinking of looking for a new lens with a bigger range.

Hope this helps! Please post some shots when you can!

Sounds like in this case and environment the only viable solution is to have two camera bodies, one with 75-300/100-400 and one with 24-70/17-40 or so.

I was recently in Monterey on a whale trip and had a conversation with a guy who shoots weekly on the boat I was on. He was using a 100-400 and had a second body with a shorter lens for those times when the whales come close. Some of his work is here: http://www.bigsurphoto​.com/.

I was shooting with a 300 and 1.4t/c on a MIII which was great when they were far from the boat. I didn't think to bring my other body with a shorter lens, since that was my first time to to that. I shot in AV at f5.6

Definitely use filters, and perhaps even a rain cover. Carry a microfibre cloth. If the wind is up you will get sprayed.

Here's a couple of mine. The clipped fin shows the downside of 400mm+ when they get too close.

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