Dall Porpoise in Prince William Sound at Sunset

Dall’s Porpoise Bow Surfing

In Prince William Sound off the coast of Alaska there are so many beautiful opportunities for a good photograph.....and even more opportunities for those “nice try” photos. I could list a million of my goof ups!

But in my defense, Dall’s porpoises do present a particular challenge. The best way to enjoy them is when they surf the bow of your boat.  So much fun!!! Evidently, they do it just for the fun of it too. It makes me happy to think that all of us are happy to be sharing an experience in our own way.

These energetic swimmers are basically under the front of the boat. They spin to the side and give me a quick glance and then effortlessly propel ahead. They dodge and weave with a pump of their flukes. Poof they are gone. Then presto, another appears with a puff and spray.

The video is upside down because I had to hold my phone precariously over the bow and look down and under. Yes, I did worry about dropping my only link to the outside world into the abyss, but it was so worth it to be vicariously part of the pod.

I have thousands of photos of these guys. I even knew at the time that 99.999% were crap. I just couldn’t help myself. Such a wonderful memory though......and maybe, just maybe there would be a keeper.

My college roommate—— a hundred years ago—- gave me a Bob Talbot print of dolphins in silhouette. I still treasure it and it has inspired me for years. Admittedly, I have made little effort to capture any images similar to it for a variety of reasons: I lost my wetsuit body,... I live in the desert,... life got busy....blah, blah, blah. But this may be as close as I ever get. While not nearly as technically precise, I still get the same feeling from the first photo above as I have from the gifted print. And a little extra pride from having been there myself.

Fast forward, it is over a year later and I decided to shop my library of rejects and I found this gem. It is an odd angle, but as it crested the surface and rolled right, the wave made a nice water-spout fin extension and the tiny sunburst reflection is a perfect accent. It isn’t a Bob Talbot and I needed the benefit of digital to click away thousands of discards, but this one is mine. Dall's Porpoise