Black-footed Albatross PORTRAIT (Phoebastria nigripes, Albatros à pieds noirs, BFAB) Monterey Bay, California ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE100-400mm F4.5-5.6 G Master OSS Lens @ 400mm. ISO 2,000 f/9 @ 1/3,2000s Manual mode.
Special thanks to my friend Brad for taking me out in his boat on Monterey Bay. We got to see some incredible whale action and interaction, but the highlight for me was the Black-footed Albatross feeding on the slick above a baby Humpback Whale carcase that a pod of Killer Whales had killed. Brad got us close enough for portraits! Nature can be brutal, and it really was emotional being right there between the victorious Killer Whales and the grieving Humpback Whale parents who kept a tight vigil over the remains. The circle of life was short for that baby whale... Stay tuned for a couple of Whale images.