Nature Canada is so excited to announce our tenth annual photograph contest this 12 months! For Ocean Week, we determined to focus on a few of our favorite ocean and ocean-related pictures submissions from previous years. These favourites have been featured in previous editions of Nature Canada’s calendar.
Our Favourites
Orca by Eileen Redding (2014)
Behind the lens:
“I used to be on a whale watching tour, east of Campbell River, BC, within the Strait of Georgia. It was a gray, gloomy day. We have been solely about 20 minutes out once we noticed the pod. I really feel so lucky to have seen them, and to get 4 breathtaking frames of 1 breaching in entrance of us.”
Gannet by Larry Kirtley (2014)
Behind the lens:
“I took this photograph at Bonaventure Island Nationwide Park close to Gaspé, QC, house to one of many largest colonies of Northern Gannets on this planet. You need to take a ship, after which it’s a little bit of a stroll however while you attain the birds, the journey is nicely value it!”
Bull Killer Whale by Gary Sutton (2017)
Behind the lens:
“I used to be the final boat out within the Strait of Georgia with a resident group of killer whales referred to as J Pod. They have been all tightly grouped collectively in a resting mode when, abruptly, they wakened and began getting very lively. Spyhops, tail slaps and, as I used to be taking pictures all of that, J27 ‘Blackberry’ popped up in the course of the body utterly out of the water! This 26 12 months previous whale has all the time been one in all my favourites and you may clearly see why! J27 and the remainder of his kin have had a tricky few years with the declining salmon shares, significantly chinook salmon, in our waters. They closely depend on the Fraser River fish for his or her summer season eating regimen and the Fraser has not yielded very large returns of chinook salmon in the previous couple of years. We try to educate folks day by day in regards to the bother this inhabitants is in and the way they will help. Assist sustainable fisheries, in the reduction of on disposable plastics and use accountable cleansing merchandise. This tradition of killer whales could be very particular and with solely 77 whales left, we have to give them each likelihood to rebound and flourish in our waters once more.”
Atlantic Puffin With Wild Iris by Megan Lorenz (2018)
Behind the lens:
“Atlantic Puffins usually land onshore inside toes of individuals in Elliston, Newfoundland. Whereas onshore, they relaxation, work together with one another, and acquire nesting materials like this iris. If you happen to go there for a go to, please don’t choose the flowers!”
Breaching Humpback by Derek Kyostia (2020)
Behind the lens:
“An over-energetic Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), the ‘ballerina of the ocean’ repeatedly breaches on a stupendous sunny summer season morning in British Columbia. Barnacles inhabiting the throat grooves may be seen expelling water.”
Walrus Drift in Placid Waters of Foxe Basin, NU by Derek Kyostia (2020)
Behind the lens:
“Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) forged all the time adrift on an ice floe on the placid waters of the Fox Basin, NU beneath a fog bow over the northern horizon.”
Sea Lion by Patrick Hulley (2022)
Behind the lens:
“A California Sea Lion eyes up the splash of the waves it’s about to dive into inside the Damaged Group Islands, part of the Pacific Rim Nationwide Park Protect. The waves have been rolling fairly nicely once I shot this and I used to be laying flat and low as I may on the boat to seize this composition. I all the time consider the aim of {a photograph} is to deliver the viewer there, into the second of the photograph. The rolling playfulness of the waves and low-down view work nicely to do this with this photograph of a Sea Lion inside the waves of Barkley Sound, off the coast of Ucluelet, British Columbia.”
Honourable Mentions
Here’s a listing of pictures that we love and thought deserved an honourable point out:
Orca Breaching, Telegraph Cove by Sharron Palmer-Hunt (2019)
Behind the lens:
“That is the primary shot in a collection of a transient orca ( recognized as transient vs resident by a extra sharply pointed tip on their dorsal fin) breaching whereas travelling within the Johnstone Strait by Telegraph Cove in British Columbia. I used to be very excited as I took a burst of pictures on my Nikon 850 digital camera ( 200- 500 ml lens) at simply the fitting second. Persistence and perseverance all the time pays off when capturing wildlife pictures. “
Humpback Whale Tail by Eric Bartlett (2019)
Behind the lens:
“This was photographed from a zodiac out of Witless Bay, NL. I used to be with a bunch of photographers once I took this shot on July 21, 2019 at round 7:30 pm NL time. That night the ocean was very turbulent and so was the climate. In actual fact, it rained so onerous at instances that all of us acquired moist by our survival fits. From expertise we all know that humpback whales like to play in turbulent waters so we have been looking out. Typically a calf will swim with its mom and it’s the calf who often will get lively by breaching, slapping their tails or doing loopy issues like twisting their tails earlier than getting into the water. These whales journey our shoreline yearly and comply with the capelin which is an enormous supply of meals for them. It’s by no means simple to get pictures like this and much more tough to get breaches the place they bounce out of the water. Additionally, these scenes occur in a short time and in the event you’re not prepared you’ll miss the shot. For instance, I shot this at 1/2000s at ISO 1600 on a 300mm Nikon prime lens set to f2.8. As a result of this motion is so quick and livid, quick shutter speeds are essential to capturing sharp pictures. Sorry, in regards to the technical’s stuff however I’m simply making an attempt as an example the problem of capturing these mammals particularly in a rocking zodiac. When it comes to measurement, they might be 20 or 30 tons. Watching and capturing these large mammals at 50-60 toes distance is an unimaginable expertise . The scale, drive and energy could be very evident when witnessed at ocean stage in a zodiac. I feel I captured a few of this in my shot.”
White Sided Dolphin by Bruce Sharock (2019)
Behind the lens:
“We have been out on the water North of Campbell River (Northern finish of Quadra Island) once we have been swarmed by a pod of over 100 White Sided Dolphins. As I used to be taking photos this dolphin wished to be a star and jumped out of the water for me to take the image.”
Have any of your individual ocean or ocean animal pictures that you just wish to share? Submit any ocean or nature-themed pictures to this 12 months’s Nature Photograph Contest.