Snapshot Story: Humpback Whale in Alaska

Thanks to our client Michele from Illinois for sharing this amazing photo she took on her May 2015 Norwegian Pearl Alaska cruise.

“I did the Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier Photo Safari in Juneau.  This, by far, was my favorite excursion of the trip and ranks pretty high up there among all of the excursions I have ever taken.  I have had a Nikon D90 camera for several years but it sits in the closet because it seems too confusing to operate.  The tour guide (Andy) was a graduate of a photography school out of California who was extremely patient and very helpful.  He would help us as a group as well as individually and you could really tell that he loved photography.  I was kind of disappointed when we went to Auke Bay to board the vessel to whale watch as my husband Paul and I had previously went on a whale watch excursion in this area.  At that time we saw some resident orca whales (dorsal fins only) and only one humpback whale dorsal fin.  This time we had a resident male humpback, a female, and her calf.  The calf was breaching nearly the whole time we were there!  We actually left before he was tuckered out but it was time to move on.  Next up we went to a marker that had juvenile stellar seals jockeying for position on the marker with a bald eagle perched on top.  From Auke Bay we proceeded to Mendenhall Glacier where we walked a 3/4-mile trail and practiced our photography skills again.  It was a very nice trail that terminated at the visitor’s center at the glacier and from there we headed down to the beach for more photos before boarding the bus back to port.”