What a Fun, Fun Day at Sea.

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What a day today was! It was an incredible day. Sadly we are still zero for orcas, but today was so much fun. Exhausting, but fun. We went out to look for sea pandas and the big schools of Mobula rays. Well, it turned out the orcas were over in Cabo today. Too far for us to get to, but despite not having those badasses here, we had incredible encounters with massive schools of Mobula rays. They were popcorning all over the place. I snapped some images but could not get that perfect shot. So I gave up for a bit and jumped in to enjoy the incredible underwater show.

After we finished up with the mobulas, we cruised by a small island with a pretty healthy sea lion colony. Most of the sea lions were not there as it is breeding season for them, and love is in the air, along with very aggressive male sea lions. We left the colony, but before we did, I experienced some wicked cool magic. Up high in the rocks was a lifer sea bird for me - A blue-footed boobie! It was perched high up on the cliffs. I excitedly snapped a proof of life shot of this very iconic bird. I thought I would need to visit the Galapagos for a shot at this famous beauty. It turns out they frequently visit Baja. I still have plans to visit the Galapagos, but happy to have seen this bird. I want better images of it, but glad to have gotten this shot.

We left the colony and went out to look for finback whales to photograph. We found them pretty quickly, but they were shy and stayed far away from our boat. So we watched them for a little while then moved on. Shortly after, we ran into a superpod of common dolphins hunting sardines. It was chaotic and so much fun to watch. We tried jumping in several times, but the visibility was total crap. So we watched a fantastic topside show.

We left the bait ball and started motoring back to port, all of us sunburnt and exhausted from a bit of ocean fun. On our way in, we encountered a big pod of those beautiful black bottlenose dolphins. They started using our boats wake to launch themselves out of the water, and we were treated to a fantastic aerial show. While we were watching them, one of our friends, Garin, said, “I just don’t understand how anyone could lock up these beautiful things in an aquarium.” I have to agree with him.

They all should be wild and free.

Overall it was an amazing day out at sea. Looking forward to the surprises tomorrow has in store for us—can’t wait.

Ok, super tired and headed to bed. Thank you for reading, guys.

The Journal of Wildlife Photography - Oh yeah!

Cover of the Spring Edition

Taking a day off from our adventure journal (today was a travel day.) to share some excitement, at least for me, it is. I was waiting to share this news with everyone until it was official, and it is now - The Issue is finally done!

I had my first article published in the Journal of Wildlife Photography- Spring 2021 edition. Which is something I am humbled and honored to be a part of, especially since there are so many great shooters who write for this magazine.

Last year while I was chatting with the publisher of the Journal, Jared Lloyd, he asked me if I would be interested in writing for them. I said, "sure, sounds fun." Of course, I thought he was saying it in passing, as we discussed trips and diving and photography, and I figured that maybe he would forget about it since we chatted about quite a few things that day. Well, he was serious about it, and a few months later, the managing editor of the Journal, Jamie Banjak, emailed me to discuss the details on what kind of article I was going to write. My mind went numb, and I was lost for what to say exactly. I was stunned that they still wanted me to write for them, to be honest with you.

The reason is I suffer from imposter syndrome. Not sure why I do, especially after all these years working as a professional photographer, but I do. I look at my work with such a critical eye and am always concerned that it is just not good enough. I asked myself - Is my work good enough to be in this publication filled with such talented artists?

A small piece of the article.

A personal goal of mine has always been to have my work published in National Geographic magazine. Of course, that is every wildlife photographer's dream. It is such a high goal, and the talent level in that publication is insane, so my work needs to be at that level if I want to fulfill that achievement. This is why I have always been so self critical of my work—constantly questioning if it is good enough for the big leagues?

One of the images chosen for the article.

Fast forward to the writing request from the JOWP, and I am super nervous because this is a high-quality magazine written and edited by wildlife photographers for wildlife photographers. The images in this publication are amazing and Nat Geo quality.

Then I start thinking, how am I going to write this article? I don't speak camera. I know how to use it and how to change settings, but I don't speak camera nerd at all, and this is important when writing for a photography magazine. I made this clear to Jamie, and she said I would be fine, that some of their best articles are written in layman's terms. So that helped calm my nerves there.

The imposter himself!

They wanted an underwater photography article. I automatically knew what I wanted to write. The one subject that is not covered enough is shooting using natural light. The first thing is because most professional shooters always crap on it. I have always enjoyed it - I love the freedom that comes with it, and it has forced me to become a better shooter because of it. So even though most pros, shit on it, I feel passionately that this style of photography can be amazing if its done right.

So fast forward to yesterday and seeing my work published in this Journal. I was filled with pride, seeing my work there. Of course, when I first opened it up and saw all the other images, I was automatically overcome with imposter syndrome instantly because the photos in this issue are so freaking amazing.

However, I must say that when I got to my article, I was thrilled with how the images looked and the pieces chosen for the story. I felt like maybe I wasn't an imposter after all… and maybe one day soon, my images will be ready for that coveted magazine with the Yellow Rectangle.

The only way to find out is to keep shooting and writing.

Thank you for reading!

Day 5 - Final Day of the Trip!

Writing this blog a day late. I did not have a chance to write last night as it was the group's final night, and we went out for a few drinks and lots of laughs. Well, no orcas this week. Sadly we were always in the wrong spots when they visited the area. It is a vast ocean, and that is nature and the difficulties of seeking out wildlife. A huge thanks go out to our friends who joined us this week. It was such a great trip, and you guys made it fun.

We did find a massive school of Mobula rays which we spent a lot of time with. Conditions made things difficult for a while, and ten-knot winds kicked up the swells. There were white caps everywhere which made searching for big animals difficult. We got lucky with the mobulas because they were popcorning when we found them. If it weren't for them jumping, we never would have seen this school.

Thankfully they were, and we finished the day dropping down, snapping images and videos of them. It was a great experience and a hell of a lot of fun. The winds died down as we were motoring back to port, which made trying to scan for big fishies a bit easier. Sadly we ran into nothing along the way home. Overall it was a good trip. It was not perfect, but we made the most of it and had a lot of fun along the way. Until the next one, my friends - miss you guys already.

Our buddy Jay dropping down to grab video of the mobulas. In his hands is the Monstro Red camera, what a beast!

Until the next one my sketchy friends!!!

Thank you all for reading and following along with my journey. Tomorrow week two of our orca and Mobula ray trip, begins!

Day Three - Come on Orcas!

Day three and well, the challenge continues. Damn, I know I like a challenge but ok - orcas, it is time to come and say hi. Today was a beautiful day. There was a slight breeze, and the ocean was flat, flat flat! It was perfect. These are the days you dream of when you go out on the sea.

Unless you are chumming, then it is too calm, and there is not enough current, and your chum slick goes nowhere.

But if you are not chumming for sharks and looking for whales and dolphins, this is what you dream of - flat, perfect seas, not much current with a perfect sky. Today was perfection with excellent visibility as well. We just needed some orcas to make it EPIC. Sadly we did not find them.

Rich chilling on the boat. Being patient. Thank you brother.

Something changed in the water over the last few days, and we are just trying to figure out what. Sadly we are not even close to figuring out what it is, all we know is - it was enough for the orcas to change their patterns, and now the game is trying to see what they plan next.

We made the most of our time out there playing with a pod of very dark-colored bottlenose dolphins. They were almost black; they were so dark. I think they were just tanned by the sun. Hammerheads skin tans, so why wouldn't a dolphin's skin?

Even our Captain was helping us try to find orcas, steering the boat in his own unique way.

We took a bunch of surface pics of them and also a bunch of underwater pics. The majority of those underwater images were crap because the dolphins would not come near us. We tried, though, repeatedly to take close-up photos of them, but they were not having it.

We finished the day a bit frustrated because the orcas are still a no show, but we understand this game - tomorrow is another day, and we all ready for it!

Thank you for reading and I hope to see you out in the world… somewhere… anywhere!

Our First Day on the Water - Baja Adventure!

The trip finally begins… and well, no point stringing you guys along, we got skunked. Yup, the orcas were a no-show for us. They were seen today, just not anywhere near where we were. They found two pods of orcas today, one near San Jose, and the other pod was seen off La Paz. Both pods were far from where we were looking, especially La Paz. It was about 4 hours away from us.

Hoping for a better day tomorrow, and I feel really good about our chances for successful encounters. Today we did have a few Mobula ray encounters. The moment we left the marina and hit the open ocean, a large school of mobulas was there. Individuals were popcorning all over the place. Since it was the first day, our group wanted to jump in and test out weights and their camera settings with the large school of mobulas. I stayed on the boat, trying to capture images of the rays jumping out of the water.

We didn’t stay with them very long as everyone was itching to find some orcas. Well, you guys know how our day went. It was long and hot and a whole lot of nothing as we motored for hours trying to find the elusive pod. But that is what this is all about. If the animals were easy to find, there would be a circus of boats out here with them. So thankfully, there is a challenge to it, making the encounters with them so much sweeter when they happen. I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Towards the end of the day, we encountered a breaching humpback whale mom and calf, which was wild because this is the wrong time of the season for humpback whales here off Baja. They are supposed to be gone. We watched them for a little while, then called it a day, all of us exhausted from the sun but happy to be out on the ocean, where we belong.

Already looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow because it is going to be a great day… I can feel it!

Thank you for reading and I hope to see you out in the world… somewhere… anywhere!

A New Adventure Begins... Baja!

I am sitting at the airport in Reynosa, Mexico waiting for my plane to pick me up and take me to Baja for our orca and Mobula ray expedition. Super fired up about getting there already. Baja is a fantastic place, and this time of year, the ocean is thick with wildlife. These are exploratory trips because you never know what you will find. Like our pelagic trips in November off Baja, every day is different.

the adventure begins…

the orca pod we encountered.

On this trip, the goal is to find orcas, but we will also be stopping to check out any other wildlife we may find, including the tens of thousands of Mobula rays out there right now. So the potential for great encounters is there and could be epic when we see the large groups of these beauties.

Plus, this is also prime-time smooth hammerhead season off Baja, and they are probably here because of the mobulas as well. I flew out a day early to join up with one of the local shark operators to spend a morning looking for these guys. Pelagic sharks are always fun. They are hard work to chum in, but when they finally do arrive, they are so much fun.

smooth hammerhead

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mating mobula rays

We ran our first trip off Baja for orcas back in 2019, and thankfully it was a success. We found them on day one and had some fantastic encounters with them. We also spent some time with mating Mobula rays which were unique and beautiful to experience. So our first trip was a truly memorable experience, which got us fired up about running another one. Sadly due to the corona crisis, we had to cancel our 2020 trip.

Despite a few hiccups along the way, we are all set to run the trip this season, and now we are just a plane ride away from it all beginning!

THE CORONA CHRONICLES BEGINS…
The goal is to share as much as I can with you guys daily—Internet permitting, of course. I should have wifi at our hotel where we will be staying to share updates nightly (when possible) with you guys. I will try not to bore you with too much writing. I am just trying to find an interesting way to share our world with you all, along with the highs and lows of the travel life in this post covid world. I tried it with videos years ago, but it was challenging to record/edit and then post, especially with sketchy wifi, so I gave up the ghost.

Anyway, they are now boarding the plane, so I got to go. But super fired up about this trip - well, two trips, we are running this one for two weeks, back-to-back, and I am excited about sharing it all with you guys.

Tomorrow morning I head out to look for smooth hammerheads… so look for a report late Tomorrow night.

big orca male we encountered in 2019.

Thank you for reading and I hope to see you out in the world… somewhere… anywhere!