Valerie Macmichael, It's Whale Season (LANDSCAPE & ENVIRONMENT 2024)

Well, a bucket list was ticked, and for a family outing we went on a whale watching tour. The hardest decision was what camera and lens to take. I opted for the OM-1 and 40-150mm (biggest I have for OM1) over the Nikon, purely for weight and being weather sealed, just in-case, and what a choice it was. Shutter priority and the focal length was absolutely perfect for what I was about to capture. We got so close to the whales, a bigger lens may have meant, missing the full shot. Within minutes of the tour, the whale spotter sent us in the direction of some action, next thing you know, bam, right in front of us, the whales were breaching. It was incredible, and also very surreal, it was like they were putting a show on just for us. We followed the pair of whales for some time and I can't believe how many incredible images I was able to capture, even with my delayed brain to pressure the shutter button due to being in absolute awe!

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.