Making Pictures versus taking them (Part 2)

Amos Nachoum · Issue 16, Dec/Jan 2003 · pp. 16–20

Products mentioned: Nikon F4, 16mm fish eye lens, Fuji Velvia 50, Nikonos III, 15mm lens, Kodachrome 64, Aquatica housing, Nikonos RS, 18mm lens

16 Blue Whale tail, Sea Of Cortez, Mexico. Nikon F4. 16mm lens. 1/250, f-16. Fuji, Velvia 50ASA In the annals of Big Animals there has never been one larger than the Blue Whale, Dinosaurs included. Flip Nicklin produced one of the best and most powerful images of a these creatures when he caught a rare image in the Sea of Cortez of a Blue Whale’s head and half its body gliding on the surface in the late pink evening light, with the rugged mountains in the background. Just breathtaking. This image burned into my mind’s eye like few others and drove me to pursue Blue Whales in Baja and the chance to create my own photo opportunities. It was the third week of four I had budgeted for the Blue Whale shoot and I was experiencing limited luck. It was another hot and dead calm day in Baja. It was midday and I was overheating in my wetsuit, sitting ready to get into the cool water if and when the…