Photos by Donna and Charlie Schaffer
March, 2002
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| Schaffer's Humpback Whale Trip to the Silver Banks Photos by Donna and Charlie Schaffer March, 2002 |
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These digital photos were all taken in March, 2002 on our 10-day trip aboard the liveaboard diveboat Turks & Caicos Aggressor. The Silver Banks are a shallow area of the ocean (20 to 75 feet deep) surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean that is 7,000 feet deep. The Banks are about 80 miles north of Dominican Republic in the Atlantic Ocean. These humpback whales spend the winter months here to give birth, train their young and breed. | ||
 Whale breech |
 Whale 2 |
 Whale 1 |
Mother humpback whales rest on the bottom for up to 30 minutes or so at a time. The very young calves can only rest for 5 minutes or so, and hang out at the surface. The six picture series below shows a mother humpback and calf headed to the ocean floor for a nap. When the calves are very young, the mother will leave with the calf away if she notices people. | ||
 Mom-Baby 1 |
 Mom-Baby 2 |
 Mom-Baby 3 |
 Mom-Baby 4 |
 Mom-Baby 5 |
 Mom-Baby 6 |
 Nap Time |
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The highlight of the whole trip was two very long sessions, on different days, with the same humpback juvenile male. We named him Valentine based on a similar whale encounter a few years back that happened on Valentine's Day. The Aggressor crew terms a very friendly whale encounter as a "Valentine Experience". Our Valentine would spin if we did, slap his pectoral fin when we slapped our arms, and didn't leave until we were all exhausted and got out of the water. He seemed starved for company and playmates! When he looked at me I felt as though he wanted to understand me, so I spoke to him and told him all about us, and, of course, told him how beautiful he was. | ||
 Valentine |
 Valentine and Friends |
 Valentine Meeting |
 Two Kickers |
 Valentine Nose |
 Valentine Posing |
 Valentine Spinning |
 Spinning More |
 Valentine Tail |
 Valentine 1 |
 Valentine 2 |
 Valentine 3 |
 Valentine 4 |
 Valentine 5 |
 Valentine 6 |
Here's a few more of our favorite photographs from the trip. My Olympus 3040Z in the Ikelite underwater case was great for this trip. An amazing array of professional photographers, cameras and equipment were on the trip. Thank goodness I had my laptop with me, so I could treat folks to a looping slide show within an hour of getting back to the liveaboard. With a little help from Photoshop, I could crop and adjust and make a fine showing! | ||
 Mom & Jr 1 |
 Mom & Jr 2 |
 Mom & Jr 4 |
 Mom & Jr 5 |
 Humpback Friend |
 Whale Under Surface |
 HumpbackMom-Calf |
 Humpback Junior |
 Humpback Junior 2 |
By the way, my Olympus 3040Z digital camera in its Ikelite custom underwater case worked like magic on this adventure. The bright optics of the Olympus are perfect for these natural light shots. Within an hour of getting back to the Aggressor liveaboard diveboat, I would have downloaded the pictures, used Photoshop on them a bit, and then could take my laptop to lunch or dinner to show off my pictures. I loved the "instant" gratification. All the professional photographers on board were still waiting for that night's E-6 slide processing session! Check out some of the other diving-related web pages I've created from our trips. Plus check out my fine art oil paintings of humpback whales by clicking the Underwater Paintings link below. Underwater Paintings of Humpback Whales by Donna Schaffer
Oil Paintings by Donna Schaffer July, 2001 Pictures from our Papua New Guinea Dive Trip All photographs by Donna Schaffer | ||
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Schaffer's Humpback Whale Trip to the Silver Banks.