This just happened a few hours ago:

Group of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), with one defecating

You know? I really seem to have a knack for getting poo-ed on by whales.

Whale Poo-ed Again

My time between trips is always a mad scramble to download and backup files, attend to miscellaneous errands, catch up on correspondence, get camera stuff sorted, unpack and re-pack, get some sleep(?), etc.

Given how crazy-hectic things are, I’m always short on time. It would therefore be logical to stay focused and attack my monstrous to-do list with maximum vigour.

Logical perhaps, but not really feasible…given how prone I am to distractions. Particularly entertaining ones.

Following is an example of one such distraction that transpired over nearly four hours yesterday morning…excerpts from an exchange of bad puns with a bird-brained friend who derives inordinate (bordering on sadistic) pleasure in subjecting innocent bystanders to cringe-worthy awful puns.

To be fair, in this instance…I asked for it. I could’ve just read and deleted his initial email without replying and goading him on…but I just couldn’t resist.

To protect the guilty, I won’t name my friend, but I’m sure some of you…the poor souls who know him or happen to be related to him…will figure it out right away.

Fair warning…If you can’t stand atrocious puns and related butchering of language, skip the rest of this post!

Friend: My wife’s favorite white bird, the egret, has been visiting us more recently.

White are my feathers;
Graceful are my neck and wings.
I am elegance.

(Note: Said friend also enjoys conveying information in haiku form.)

Me: I’m tempted to engage in a pun exchange but I hesitate, for fear that I’ll egret it. (Note: See? I asked for it.)

Friend: Yes, you’d hear about it from now to the great heron…(Note: Groan. But believe it or not, it gets worse from here.)

Me: My fault for opening my big mouth. I never learn. I feel like such a turkey.

Friend: That’s what you get for giving me the bird.

Me: I must cry fowl.

Friend: ‘Tis a fowl, fowl better thing that you write than you have ever written…

Me: Now you’ve scared the Dickens out of me and I just feel like sticking my head in the sand.

Friend: Careful, in Hawaii we cook things that are stuck in emus.

Me: I’m fast enough to take flight and make myself as scarce as a dodo.

Friend: Great Awk, fly carefully and don’t crane your neck–you certainly don’t want to extinct yourself.

Me: I’ll certainly endeavor to avoid such a swan song.

Friend: I make it a cardinal rule not to carry on the puns long enough to drive my friends stork raving mad, so I’ll stop here.

Note: And with that…I waved the white flag of surrender and got back to work (actually, on to other engaging distractions).

Update: Notable replies I received from friends:
“This had me crowing with laughter.”
“Well, owl be damned!”

Ping Pun

I get to meet some awesome people in the course of my adventures.

Last year for example, I spent a couple of weeks in the company of Tom Perkins, along with his fantastic(!) crew and friends, aboard his expedition vessel Dr No.

During the trip, Tom requested prints of two images I took during the 2012 humpback whale season in Tonga for display on his yacht, with this one (taken while I was with him) being his favourite:

Humpback whale heat run in the saloon of Dr No

Before I ramble any further, let me just say that my time aboard Dr No was one of the best experiences in my life, thanks to the quality of the people I met (+ yummy food courtesy of culinary wizard Lisa + hyper-energetic puppy Honey + mind-blowing amazing experiences).

Tom is, without qualification, one of the most down-to-earth and inspiring people I’ve ever come across. We talked at length, shared many laughs (oh the fantastic stories!); but most of all…I learned from him. He never failed to make me think, and more importantly, to make me want to achieve bigger and better things.

Not surprisingly, the crew aboard Dr No totally rocked, as Tom surrounded himself with only the best people. Any apprehension I had about spending an extended period aboard a private yacht with people I had never met dissipated as soon as I got to know Tom and his crew.

And to round out the trip, I also met a few of Tom’s friends, who were of similarly high caliber and had done some jaw-dropping amazing things.

Male and female humpback whale engaged in courtship

Anyway, I’ve been pretty bad about marketing and selling prints. When I say “pretty bad”, I mean I’ve never done it…for two main reasons: lack of time; and inability to find someone reliable who is as much a stickler for detail and quality as I am.

When Tom requested the prints, I had, by coincidence, just initiated a working relationship with a print maker who makes my files look out-of-this-world beautiful…so I was able to get prints made for Dr No.

They are photographic prints (i.e., not inkjet) on Fuji Crystal Archive paper, which I think is the best photographic paper ever made. If you remember the days of Cibachrome, the look is similar…a full-bodied, deep luster that makes the photos pop off the page.

My mounting option of choice, acrylic face-mount with dibond backing, protects the images and results in exhibition-quality products that truly shine.

I’ve also received several follow-up requests from people I met aboard Dr No, including for the print below. It’s hanging above my friends Jantoon and Sonia’s newborn son Eric.

(Someday, perhaps, I’ll post an edited video of Jantoon trying to teach me to sail. It’s…well…rather amusing.)

They wanted it to be one of the first things he learns to recognise; I’m hoping subliminal messaging will produce an eager young apprentice, i.e., strong lad to lug my equipment for me in a few years time!

Young Eric, my apprentice in training

I’m in the process of re-doing my blog, so I’m planning to have a section dedicated to prints when I re-launch my site. For the time being, I’ve selected just a handful of humpback whale images for limited edition runs of 50 prints per image, meaning once I hit 50 prints of a given image, I’ll retire it from all prints forever. Each one is signed and numbered.

Given the low print run and labour/ equipment/ travel/ risk/ experience/ time-intensive nature of creating these prints…from taking the relevant photo through to the approval of each final product…as well as the unique nature of the photographs, the prints are priced accordingly.

I’ll have a list of images available for print purchase on my new site, but for the time being, if you’re interested in investing in a custom print, please drop me a line via my contact form.

I’m also in the process preparing five sperm whale prints for presentation and sale at a talk I’m giving for the Nantucket Historical Association in early July. Those prints will each be #1/50.

I’ll post more details about the talk once the logistics are finalised, in case you live near the area or will be visiting during that time.

Humpback Whale Prints

It seems like no matter where I go, I come across sights like this:

All that’s left of two little sharks

The fact that I took these photos inside a national marine park in the Sea of Cortez just compounds the tragedy.

Two hammerheads. Sadly, just their heads.

All the sharks pictured above were small, basically pups. I suppose it should be obvious that killing young sharks means fewer individuals of breeding age going forward, which of course means fewer and fewer sharks in the future…but I guess this self-evident point escaped the person or people responsible.

To make matters worse…there were many, many more shark heads scattered on this particular beach. I gather that it’s not a particularly unusual sight in the area, which begs the question of what purpose a national marine park serves. If any.

Sharks. Slaughtered.

Continuing with my ongoing series of posts featuring Stupid Tony Tricks, here’s one that I didn’t even have to be present for (how’s that for efficiency?):

Me as Vera Wang. Or is it Vera Wang as me?

This snapshot comes via my friend Eric Cheng, who saw a copy of this magazine at Fashion Week in New York.

I did a double-take when I saw the cover photo, because, well…that’s me!

I know I’m getting increasingly absent-minded, but one would think that I’d recall posing for Fashion Week. Especially with pizza, ’cause I love pizza. Eating it anyway, not so much the making part.

Anyway, being the kind of friend(?) that he is, Eric immediately posted the flattering photo to Facebook, tagged me, and asked if I design wedding dresses in my spare time.

It took me a while to realise that the face on the cover is supposed to be Vera Wang, a famous wedding dress designer.

For avoidance of all doubt, I’d like to state for the public record that I have never (knowingly) designed a wedding dress, and otherwise have no connection to Vera Wang (except that we’re both Chinese of course, and she might just like pizza as much as I do).

As successful as she is, Vera must be quite switched on. So I’m sure she would have the good sense to disavow any connection to me as well, however remote or far-fetched.

(Thanks Eric…I think.)

Doppelgänger

I’m back at home for about a week in between trips. It’s winter. It’s cold. In order to save energy, we only turn on the heat when absolutely necessary. So here I am keeping toasty-warm while editing photos:

This is how I roll in winter

For the inevitable wise-cracks: Don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it!

Me At Work

Some things just suck.

This is a juvenile green turtle (Chelonia mydas) that appears to have been killed by a fishing line and hook:

Juvenile green turtle killed by a fishing line and hook

We came across the carcass floating in the middle of the ocean. It was probably about 70cm in length…in other words, clearly a young turtle.

The flesh in the head area had either been eaten or had otherwise fallen off, leaving just a skull for the most part.

That’s my left hand in the photo. I’m holding the blue fishing filament that was entangled around the turtle’s head and neck. The clump of flesh below my hand is a piece of the turtle caught on the fishing hook.

A single careless act by one person = a lost life for an endangered turtle species.

Some things just suck.

Green Turtle. Dead.

Received this present from friends in Tahiti a few days ago. It’s a first day cover from 2008 of a stamp featuring a humpback whale calf!

First day cover from Tahiti

I guess it’s pretty obvious I like whales, huh?

Tahiti Surprise

Happy New Year!

Note: Despite appearances, no fish were harmed in the making of this new year greeting. Traumatised perhaps, but not harmed. Click here to read the amusing story.

Happy New Year 2013!

It’s that time of year again when many photographers around the world pick out their favourite photos from the past twelve months and share them online.

One of six male humpback whales in a heat run, Tonga

In between family stuff, (over)eating and catching up on work (sort of), I’ve been perusing posts as and when I can. I’m always up for marveling at amazing images, but the year-end bounty of online photos affords a unique opportunity to experience many of the world’s amazing sights and wonders all at once…as interpreted through the lenses and creativity of dedicated and passionate photographers all over the globe.

It’s been a crazy-hectic year for me, with my travels over the past twelve months taking me to Papua New Guinea, Palau (3 times!), Sri Lanka, Australia, Alaska, and Tonga.

To say that I’ve barely had a moment to catch my breath would be a significant understatement, which of course, means that I haven’t made a dent in editing most of the photos I’ve taken.

Even so, when I started to think about which images from 2012 I like best, a bunch immediately came to mind. I thought about putting together a Top 10 list, which seems to be a popular format, but in the end, I decided just to highlight three pictures.

The first is the one at the beginning of this post, of humpback whales in a heat run.

Of the thousands of times I clicked the shutter button this year, this one time was…without a doubt…the most memorable.

Not because of the awesome subject matter. And not even because of the incredible action that was taking place just inches from my lens.

Nope. The reason this photo stands out in my psyche is because the moment I clicked the shutter represented the cumulative instinct and judgement derived from spending 11 breeding seasons with humpback whales in Tonga.

The back story…before taking this photo, I had been in the water one time with the group of whales concerned. During that first drop, the whale in the foreground (the one doing the loopy-swishy thing) gave me the look as it swam by.

“The Look?”

Yes, “The Look.”

It’s difficult to describe, but something in the whale’s expression/ body language told me that it was a player, that…given the opportunity…it would show off.

So when a second opportunity to get in with the whales came around, I kept my eye on the whale concerned (hundreds of hours spent ID-ing whales finally came in handy!), and made a beeline for it after getting in to the water.

With reasonably good visibility, the whale spotted me relatively quickly, and sure enough…it swam toward me. The whale slowed just a little bit as it drew near, then looked me straight in the eye as if to say: “Watch this!”

I got the message.

I framed and clicked on gut instinct.

And wouldn’t you know it…the whale showed off.

Had I waited to see what the whale was going to do, or if it was even going to do anything, I would’ve missed the split-split-second moment.

As it turned out, I knew I had the shot without even hitting the review button. I was in the right place, at the right time, with the right reaction…all based on being able to read an impish look from a frisky humpback whale.

For my second choice, I picked a photo I took above water, the picture below of my friend Ron Leidich with an enormous nest made by a pair of endangered Micronesian megapodes (Megapodius laperouse).

My friend Ron lighting up an unusually large nest made by a pair of
endangered Micronesian megapode (Megapodius laperouse) birds
in the Rock Islands of Palau

The reasons I like this photo?

First, the fact that I managed to plan and execute this shot with a hodgepodge of (somewhat functional) makeshift equipment in remote, totally non-ideal conditions, sight unseen (I planned the shot based solely on a verbal description gleaned from a casual conversation in a parking lot) is just short of a miracle. (I owe a big thanks to Nick Martorano for kindly trusting me with some of his gear, without actually knowing where I was going to take it and what I hoping to do with it.)

Second, the fact that I was actually able to get Ron’s personalities (yes, plural) to focus for long enough to get the shots I needed was a bona fide miracle.

Third, the fact that I worked out how to layer the individual images together in Photoshop is…well, like winning the lottery in the morning, then heading to Vegas and tripling the winnings by playing a single hand of Blackjack (…those of you who’ve seen me try to use Photoshop will appreciate the improbability).

I had a mind-dulling head cold while I was fiddling with the images too. One would think that should’ve hampered my ability to figure out what to do, but who knows? A sinus + mental block may have actually facilitated the entire process.

But most of all, I picked the photo because it has meaning. The birds that built this over-sized mound are representatives of an endangered species.

The odds are stacked against Micronesian megapodes, but the birds here are clearly working as hard as they can to thrive and procreate. Whether the effort and work they’ve invested in building this huge nest pays off or not is largely up to us.

Habitat loss and poaching are the two biggest threats.

And guess who’s responsible for the habitat loss and poaching?

In my mind, this monumental Micronesian megapode mound is like a plea for help, a visual message: “Hey, we’re working our behinds off to eek out a living here. Cut us some slack. Will you?”

And finally, I picked this photo of autumn foliage that I took with my iPhone (using Camera+ and edited with Snapseed):

Vestiges of autumn

Of all the seasons, autumn is perhaps my favorite. I missed the changing of the foliage this year. I was away in Palau. But even when I got back in early December, there were still signs of autumn, like these three leaves I found during a walk near where I live.

I picked this photo because it’s a good reminder of the photographic adage, “The best camera is the one you have with you.”

That’s it from me for 2012. See you in the new year.

My Favorite Photos of 2012