So, it has happened… I am officially… unemployed. Having chosen the 12 month pay cycle, I have received my final paycheck (it’s always nice to get paid when you don’t work!). Pretty crazy. Thank you to all of my absolutely incredible coworkers. I have learned so much these last three years and appreciate all the support and guidance you have given me. I will be thinking of you when you start up again, what is it, next week?!

After a week of high winds, big swells, and no swims with the whales, the weather has broken, the winds have died down , and we have had two fantastic days. Thank you for all of the good vibes that have been sent this way… it must have worked. Yesterday, we had a nice long swim and look at a mom, calf, and escort (male), which was amazing. The baby played around it’s mom’s face, and she would slowly lift her up to the surface to breathe, then she would play some more. The male escort was a little jealous of our presence and swam around the two of them, always keeping an eye on us, and would go just out of range and flail his tail to say to us that he was the dominant one here. We never felt threatened though and his movements weren’t aggressive. Today, we had a great swim with three adult whales who were curious and kept coming back around to the boat. At one point, we were swimming back to the boat to let the next group into the water, and I looked down, and the three whales were coming directly at me and swam about ten feet below me. It was incredible. I was so surprised.

I’ve been doing a lot of my shooting with my fisheye lens, which gives a 180 degree view, and the last two days have tried my 12-24mm lens (with it set on the 12mm setting as I haven’t been able to get the piece to turn the lens inside the housing to work… that’s on the list for things to do tonight). With these lenses, the animals appear farther away than they actually are, so I’m going to try tomorrow to a. get even closer if possible, and/or b. try a closer zoom. I’d like to get some nice shots closer in of the whales if possible. We’ll see how that goes.

The weather is supposed to stay nice for the next week, possibly two so that is fantastic. Mom and James (my brother) will be arriving here next Wednesday, so I’m hoping the winds will stay down. I’m so excited for them to come!

Harlequin leatherjacket

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Chicken, the cat

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