Pete Thomas Outdoors

Australian surfer shares waves with acrobatic dolphins in magical event captured by photographer

Surfers don't typically like to share waves, but when the other surfers are breaching dolphins, they're more than welcome.

The accompanying images by Matt Hutton, who allowed them for one-time use with this story, show Trent Sherborne sharing perfect waves with the real masters of the surf.

The somewhat rare event–dolphins are known to occasionally share waves with surfers, but usually stay beneath the surface–occurred off Kilbarri, Australia.

Hutton, who was testing his new lens, said Sherborne rode two waves with acrobatic dolphins, and seemed to be the only surfer to be so fortunate.

"He was a lucky surfer to not only ride one wave but two with these dolphins," Hutton said. "I was watching for about two hours and he was the only one that I saw that managed to get a nice wave with the dolphins breaching."

Hutton, who had just purchased a new 70- to 200-millimeter lens, with an extender, was traveling back from Perth, in Western Australia, to his home in Wickham. He stopped in Kalbarri for a couple of days and decided to practice a little surf photography.

"After an hour of shooting a pod of dolphins started to follow the surfers in on the big waves so I took the opportunity to try to capture some amazing photos, which I think I was lucky enough to do," Hutton said. "The surfer has come forward saying it was a magical experience and something he will never forget."

Sherborne was one of the hundreds of people to comment on Hutton's Facebook page, in reference to the top image showing the dolphin at head-level.

He wrote to Hutton: "Mate, that's a sick shot and it's me on that wave with the dolphin! I remember that wave clearly–obviously you don't get to eyeball a dolphin like that every day!"

–Pete Thomas

–Note: Matt Hutton's images are protected by copyright laws. He allowed their use for this story

–Note: A different version of this post appears at GrindTv Outdoor

Photographer enjoys rare close encounter with narwhals

Daniel Botelho recently embarked on a mission to locate and photograph the legendary "unicorn of the sea": the narwhal.

It was a North Pole adventure even he realized was likely to end in failure, because narwhals are famously shy around boats and people, and very few underwater photographs of the strange-looking mammals exist.

But Botelho, who was working on a project for Disney and gathering material for an upcoming book, did more than photograph narwhals. One of them, a female, became curious of the photographer and followed him as he swam through the frozen waters of the high Arctic.

"I always knew it would be very tough to get close to a narwhal whale," Botelho said. "It is notoriously hard to get close to one. But while all the staff could only stand a half-hour in the water, I took advantage of my cold resistance and stayed for three hours, and suddenly something happened that no one would ever consider: a narwhal whale made friendship with a man."

It was a magical encounter, to be sure, and while the photographer thought he might have ruined one of his images by inadvertently sticking his swim fin into the frame (immediately above), he later discovered that this gives the image perspective by showing the proximity of the diver to the mammal—"and that it was following me!"

(Note: This is a reprint from a Pete Thomas post on GrindTv Outdoor.)

Narwhals, which can measure to about 20 feet and weigh 3,500 pounds, are amazing for many reasons. But they're most famous for their single long tusks, which look as though they're protruding from the mammals' foreheads. The spiraling ivory tusks, which are evident only on males, are actually a single tooth that sprouts through a narwhal's upper lip.

The unicorn-like tusks can measure to about nine feet and are sometimes used during jousts with other narwhals.

Scientists are not sure why male narwhals grow these tusks, but speculate that they're used to impress female narwhals and, possibly, to wage battle with rival males during the mating season.

Narwhals, which are related to beluga whales, feed on cod and other fishes, as well as shrimp and squid. One of their primary challenges is the constantly changing ice; it sometimes closes around them and they often have to swim long distances beneath the ice to find another patch of open water.

Botelho's group camped on the ice and dove in 28-degree water. They wore dry suits with warm clothing beneath, but the water still seemed brutally cold.

"In order to get the whales relaxed, I spent three hours in a row in this water," Botelho said. "But my face was uncovered and I had ice-burn blisters. After three hours the expedition leader called me back because we needed to get back to camp, and when I started to move a female narwhal came straight to me, bumped my leg, and started to follow me.

"She followed me until the time I left the water, and people around me were amazed, including the [native] Inuits. They are very mystic with narwhals and they know how shy they are, so having a narwhal touching me was like magical to them … I cried."

Incredibly, before Botelho climbed onto the ice with his face and hands burning in pain, he reached out with his camera and captured a self-portrait with the narwhal just a few feet away (bottom image).

It just might be the only photo of its kind.

--Photos are by Daniel Botelho and protected by copyright laws.

--To view more photos, visit Daniel Botelho's Facebook page

--Find Pete Thomas on Facebook and Twitter

Have you ever seen a shark fly? Check out this amazing cloud

As cloud formations go, the one shown atop this post may be the coolest to have come around in some time... or the most ominous-looking.

A great white shark, in what looks to be attack mode, silhouetted against the sun.

Was the image photoshoppeed?

We're not sure. It was posted to Reddit on Sunday by a user named Iamkraze, who commented:

"Took it from a friend's Facebook page. She seemed a lot less enthusiastic about it. I told her to share it, but I don't think she's a reeditor. The world had to see this shark."

That was followed later in the thread by this comment from MintyGr33n:

"It was taken before a point in Ultimate Frisbee. We literally stopped play so I could get my phone and take a picture. Just hadn't gotten it up to Reddit in time."

Naturally, the shark cloud inspired lots of comments, including this one, in reference to the thriller, "Jaws": "We're going to need a bigger plane."

Another stated: "We're going to need a bigger sky."

One person stated that the shark cloud looks as though it's attacking a fleeing penguin.

Another followed: "It’s amazing how random moments can mean so much."

It is, indeed.

Surf photographer Camila Neves suffers spine injury as boat is nearly swamped at Teahupoo

Recent large swells at Teahupoo in Tahiti produced scores of spectacular wipeouts, but the worst--and saddest--involved a Brazilian photographer on a boat that was nearly swamped by a giant wave. Camila Neves, who can be seen in the middle of the green boat in the accompanying video, tumbled backward and slammed into the bottom of the vessel when it became vertical as its captain tried to motor over the building swell.

 

I emailed Neves on Monday and received a response, from someone else, saying that she remained hospitalized in Papaeete with three broken vertebras. Her accident presumably happened after the epic May 15 swell.

The incident received very little publicity and the Google-translated Tahiti Infos story, which claimed the accompanying footage as exclusive, is jumbled and difficult to understand.

It did, however, quote Stephané Bernardin, who captured the accident footage from a different boat.

Bernardin said: "We were at the end of the bowl with a boat next to us who almost got eaten by the wave…. I've seen similar episodes on the [Internet], but there live was the first time. Impressive."

Some in the big-wave surfing industry might have anticipated an accident like this, because Teahupoo is circus-like during a big swell. Photo boats and jetskis jockey for prime angles to shoot face-to-face with gargantuan barrels.

Below is a photo taken by Neves before the accident, during the May 15 swell. It shows Alain Riou in front of a cavernous Teahupoo barrell. Here's hoping Neves will recover and get back to shooting reasonably soon.

Dazzling new Death Valley Dreamlapse time-lapse video

 

Stargazing has been taken to brilliant heights, showcased in a new video released this week by Sunchaser Pictures.

Death Valley Dreamlapse 2, above, was shot by Gavin Heffernan and his team of producers, who traveled to Racetrack Playa in Death Valley National Park in mid-March and over the course of three days caught some stunning time-lapse shots of the night sky.

Heffernan said the new video includes "plenty of wonder and amazement, including some insane star trails, a beautiful milky way pass over the lakebed, and an incredible pink desert aurora."

He added that "no special effects used, just the natural rotation of the earth's axis."

The crew tried out some new time-lapse techniques, such as moonpainting the foreground landscapes, and also some experiments merging regular time-lapse footage with star trails. Sunchaser Pictures also offers up a cool, behind-the-scenes video on their Vimeo page.

They were also in luck and caught an amazing pink aurora (seen at 1:36 and 2:22), which was caused by a Coronal Mass Eruption solar event on March 17.

Heffernan suggests that viewers should "watch in HD with headphones on and the volume cranked, if you can."

-- Kelly Burgess

Restrictions on using remote-controlled aircraft in California wildlife reserves?

In support of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Pete Thomas Outdoors, on Thursday or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's weekly California Outdoors Q&A column:

Question: I am a conservation advocate and an avid wildlife photographer. Over the last several years, I have been photographing birds and landscape views of Southern California’s wildlife areas. I am interested in expanding this documentation with video, and in particular aerial video taken from a remote-controlled electric helicopter. While I am very aware of the need to not disturb or harass local wildlife, I am wondering if there are regulations that restrict or prohibit the use of RC-aircraft in or around the perimeter of ecological reserves and conservation areas? (Bill K.)

Answer: There is no general prohibition against using radio-controlled "vehicles" in wildlife areas (California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 550). However, in ecological reserves, prohibitions against: 1) disturbing any bird, mammal, etc.; 2) operating vehicles; and 3) operating any type of aircraft or hovercraft without permission may apply (CCR Title 14, sections 630(a)(1) & (a)(4) and (a)(17)). There is also a provision that prohibits the use of any motorized, hot-air, or unpowered aircraft or other device capable of flight or any earth orbiting imaging device to locate or assist in locating big game mammals beginning 48 hours before and continuing 48 hours after any big game hunting season in the same area (CCR Title 14, section 251(a)). In addition, a permit could be required if there are concerns your aircraft will " … herd or drive… or disrupt animal’s normal behavior patterns, which includes, but is not limited to breeding, feeding or sheltering …"

Please contact the Regional Manager for the area you intend to visit for information on the application of these laws. For a list of contact numbers available, please go to www.dfg.ca.gov/regions/.

Q: My husband and I are residents of both Humboldt and Sutter counties. We occasionally dive for abalone in Humboldt where we live. If we don’t consume them right away, we freeze them whole in the shell as the local game warden advised us years ago. I also work for a nonprofit hospice in Sutter County and they are having a fundraiser in May at a private house, where many of our staff will prepare appetizers for 100 guests. I want to prepare abalone appetizers from three abalone that we already have tagged and frozen from last season. The event is being professionally catered for the meal and dessert and so they are selling tickets, but no one is paying for or making money from the abalone I want to cook. The abalone is such a minuscule part of the meal. I just want to make sure I am allowed to bring it to an event like this and I was not able to find anything specific about that in the regulations. Please advise. Thank you. (Amy M., RN)

Skimboarder jumps over the sun in amazing photo sequence

The photo sequence atop this post speaks for itself: Skimboarder Bill Bryan is depicted as jumping over the sun during a recent session in large shore-pounding surf.

Photographer Robbie Crawford shared the sequence Monday on his Facebook page with a vague caption that reads: "Not many people can jump over the sun… But Bill Bryan can…"

As of Wednesday afternoon it had been shared more than 350 times.

Because people might be curious about the location and technical aspects of this photo session, I asked Crawford to share some details and here's his response:

"The photo was taken in Laguna Beach at one of the heavier shorebreak spots in California. I shot this image with a GoPro HD2 on 10 shot in 1-second burst mode.

"I had been working with Bill Bryan a lot over a couple months and we were coming up with some pretty cool angles. On this particular evening the tide was rising and there was starting to be a really heavy surge where head high waves would break just feet from shore.

"As the sun was setting I said to Bill he should try to jump the sun. So I set up with the sun directly in front of me and Bill Bryan being the amazing athlete that he is did it on his first or second try. He's one talented human."

--Pete Thomas

--Note: Find Robbie Crawford and Bill Bryan on Instagram

Ravenous bald eagles swoop into Washington State for annual salmon feast (video)

 

Bald eagles have arrived by the thousands in northwestern Washington State to feast on spawning salmon, and Meg McDonald has captured this annual spectacle beautifully in a compilation of photographs and video footage.

(McDonald's amazing footage of endangered Southern Resident orcas frolicking in Puget Sound was featured here last month.)

The eagle footage was captured on the Nooksack River, which is not as well-known as the nearby Skagit River in terms of bald eagle-related tourism.

That's largely because the Nooksack is not nearly as accessible as the Skagit, which flows adjacent to State Route 20. (There are roadside viewpoints on the Skagit and several outfitters offer boat trips for viewing and photography.)

But as viewers can see, the Nooksack is plenty popular among the majestic raptors, which, as shown by McDonald, skirmish quite a bit among themselves during these incredible feeding events.

December and January are peak months for viewing on the rivers and their tributaries, but some eagles stay into February before migrating back to Canada.

Diver's out-of-cage great white shark encounter is photo opportunity of a lifetime

When one of Daniel Botelho's images last appeared on this website it was a spectacular depiction of a giant mola mola, captured while searching for blue whales off San Diego.

(Editor's note: This is a reprint of a Pete Thomas post on the GrindTv Outdoor blog. All images are protected by copyright laws.)

More recently the photographer traveled to a remote island off Mexico to photograph great white sharks without cage protection, and returned with a series of captivating images he hopes will help dispel perceptions of white sharks as blood-thirsty killers.

Botelho was on an assignment for Disney but also served as safety diver during an odyssey to Guadalupe Island, during which passengers--only one at a time--were allowed to venture out of submerged cages and swim freely with full-grown white sharks.

"White sharks are like the Lion King," the photographer states on his Facebook page. "Predators, yes, but not psychopathic man killers."

Asked to provide more details, Botelho messaged back to say that he has been diving with white sharks since 2006, but this was his first time in the gin-clear waters of Guadalupe Island, which is located 165 miles west of Baja California.

Of his role as safety diver he said: "The safety diver is the guy that takes care of everybody in the water, a bodyguard of the guests, and that doesn't mean to be brave; not at all, it is much more about keeping a relaxed and peaceful interaction with the animals."

Three divers were outside of the cage at a time. Botelho, the expedition leader, and one guest. Botelho said he logged nearly 24 hours outside the cage during a two-week trip. He experienced no close calls with predators that can weigh up to 5,000 pounds and bite an elephant seal in half.

"The sharks are like dogs; you need to keep them calm," he said. "As dogs, they can get excited with wrong moves and unstable attitudes, so the trick is to keep the right attitude, transmitting tranquility and peace to the animal, so it can come really close but not try to touch the diver.

"This is the definitive proof that great white sharks are not man-eaters; people can live and interact with great white sharks, as long as they have the understanding of how the animal reacts and how to build a positive interaction with this magnificent creature!"

White sharks are specialized feeders and do not regard humans as prey, and most attacks on humans occur at the surface and are believed to have been cases of mistaken identity.

Still, they're wild and extremely powerful creatures, which is reason for pause when considering an out-of-cage experience.

Botelho said the divers sometimes had as many as six great whites around them at a time, all making close approaches, as if curious about the intruders.

"It was one of the best dives of my life and the experience as safety diver out of the cage was incredible," Botelho said. "It is much more than just taking photos; I learned so much more about how to 'read' and interact with those apex predators."

He labeled the 24 hours he logged outside of the cage during the final seven days of this odyssey as his own personal "Shark Week" and from now on for the photographer, the TV version will never quite compare.

--Pete Thomas

Fishing guide explains amazing humpback whale image

Matt Thornton is a British Columbia fishing guide, but late last month while targeting halibut he captured a very unusual image showing a young humpback whale breaching alongside his boat.

The image has been shared by just about every Facebook page pertaining to marine mammals, and is even entered in a National Geographic photography contest. But beyond a brief caption there was little information about the photo, in part because Thornton had been busy fishing and difficult to reach.

But in a telephone interview Thursday he explained that he captured the image with one lucky camera shot (no motor drive), and that the whale calf exploded out of the water so close to the boat "that we could have touched it with our fishing rods."

Thornton, who works for Tofino B.C. Fishing Charters, was with two clients near Vancouver Island when they noticed that another boat had stopped to watch a larger humpback whale slapping its fins on the water.

Thornton motored over for a closer look, grabbed his camera to shoot photos of the larger whale, and before he could do that the smaller whale breached, just the one time. "It was literally 10 feet from the boat; so close that it splashed us," Thornton said.

He wasn't the only one quick on the trigger. One of the clients used an iPhone to capture the event on video, which has not been widely shared. Here it is: