Capitola Wharf Sunset

This is not so much about the image as it is about the story...

Yesterday I had a chance to visit Capitola for a couple of hours. Capitola is a special place for me and I've done some of my best work there. While taking a few shots on the wharf, and waiting for the sun to set, a couple of folks approached me and asked if I had taken any shots of the whales the day before. I answered no, and they proceeded to tell me about a pod of Humpback Whales that came through twice the day before and were breaching out of the water between the dock and the shore while they feasted on an abundance of anchovies schooling through the area. Just before leaving the wharf, another man approached and told me that there were pictures of the event in the restaurant located on the wharf.

I decided to take a look, and to my amazement there were images, already printed and matted in a photo box for sale. The images were quite amazing as several of them had great detail of breaching Humpbacks half body out of the water with tiny anchovies leaping out of the way. Now, imagine these whales breaching between the wharf and the shore line where I took this photo. The water is just deep enough, and the background with finely tuned dof included the apartments on the hillside above the beach - quite a composition and quite an opportunity for the photographer with the right gear in the right place at the right time. Haven't I mentioned this before?

Apparently, the photographer has had this opportunity more than once. Please take a look at a few shots that were posted in the local Santa Cruz newspaper giving the photographer his credits - this article was dated in late September during another anchovy run. I'm tempted to call the owner of the restaurant and offer a cash reward for a call when the whales are back. Or, I could always keep trying for the right time and the right place...

Enjoy!

Link to newspaper article from the September EVENT.