Photography – Dan Leppold

If you have gone to the beach in Southern New Jersey it is hard to miss the occasional big whale and dolphin watching vessels go by for their sunset cruise. For years I always thought the “whale” portion of the activity was an exaggeration. Are there really whales right off the Jersey Coast? I have discovered the answer is a resounding Yes, and now going out on the whale and dolphin watch cruises is one of my favorite summertime activities. The main type of whale spotted from one of the three boats that make up the Starlight Fleet (based out of Wildwood and Cape May) are humpback whales. Other sea creatures I have seen on cruises are dolphins, hammerhead sharks, bald eagles, sea turtles, and the ocean sunfish.
One boat in particular is my favorite, and that is the American Star with Captain Matt Remuzzi and Marine Biologist Melissa Laurino. The boat is part of the Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center and they have interns that photograph and document the activity of the dolphins and whales observed on the tours. They are involved in real research and I think they want to find a whale as much as their passengers. Both Captain Matt and Melissa possess passion, a trait that I look for in people. They definitely do not dial it in and each and every time I have gone out with them I could tell that they were working to find a whale like it was the only trip of the season. I have had fun every time I have gone out with them and each time is different. Passionate people are rare and special, so I intend to take as many trips with them this summer as I can.

The American Star is moored at Utsch’s Marina (1121 Route 109, Cape May NJ 08204). You can see their daily successes on twitter (Cape May Whale Watch @CMWWandRC1987) and Facebook (Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center Inc.) and the internet at http://www.capemaywhalewatch.com. And no, I am not on the payroll, haha, just a very satisfied customer. Here are some pictures I have taken on the 1PM whale watch cruise on the American Star with Captain Matt and Melissa.

You do not have to go to New England or the Pacific Coast to see whales!

I love the excitement of the crew when they locate a humpback. They document the behavior and try to get that tail shot so they can identify the individual. Whale tails are like id badges.

If there are unique markings on the fins Melissa and the interns will help you identify the dolphins.

It is a neat feeling when the dolphins look at you, they are curious and I think like the boat.

The small and darker colored dolphin is a baby!

This was awesome to see, the boat does not feed the animals, this was just nature happening right in front of us!

The dolphins released these bubbles to confuse the fish they were attacking.

This dolphin carried around this big fish, too big to eat the crew felt it was to attract other dolphins, kinda bragging about how big a fish it can catch.

I sometimes shoot 1/2000th of a second to capture images like this.

It is interesting to see the pods of dolphins interact with the boat and each other.

During my recent trip to the Kennedy Space Center I met a NASA official that suggested I apply to a program that allows students to use a camera onboard the International Space Station to take photographs of Earth. Upon my return I applied and our school was selected as a participant in the EarthKam program. For two days students scanned future space station orbits and programmed the camera to take pictures of some of the various geologic and oceanographic features that we have studied in my earth science and advanced geology classes. It was pretty exciting because the students sent the codes to the International Space Station to take the photograph at the exact moment the space station was over the landform they picked out. It was truly their picture, they could take ownership of it and many students said they plan on framing their space photographs. Here are some of the best ones they took!

Greek Islands, you can see a vapor trail from a plane!

Awesome photograph of icebergs near Kazakhstan Asia

Interesting drainage patters along the Iran Iraq border.

A fantastic photograph of the Namib Desert Coast, the clouds have the same shape as the sand dunes.

Islands along the Saudi Arabian Red Sea Coastline.

Folded Mountains around State College PA

Tag: Photography

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