Naturalist Nat

HUBBARD GLACIER Presentation New Time: Tomorrow August 25, 2026 10:15 AM at the Theatre. Join me tomorrow for an eye-opening look into the science, sounds, and surprising behavior of North America’s largest tidewater glacier as it defies global trends by relentlessly advancing into Disenchantment Bay. Thanks to Krista for this Hubbard calving clip! 🙏🙂 Krista Colvin

Photography Question: a few of you have asked what settings I use to photograph fast moving wildlife especially from a moving vessel such as a ship or small rocky boat. While bald eagles are relatively slower than arctic terns or a peregrine falcon catching prey, it isn’t just the shutter speed that I watch closely but also my ISO. I shoot in manual, thanks to my teacher Denis Sy who also taught me to underexpose my subjects. Photographing a bald eagle is challenging because of its bright white head and dark body. Underexposing allows me to ‘fix’ the lighting later during editing. As for speed, I crank it up to 1/3200 for fast birds or breaching whales on a small boat. However on darker gloomier days, this means cranking your ISO higher which makes for a noisy photo. So going back to teacher Denis, the lower shutter speed you can do, the better. For me, this means working out so I can hand hold my 10 pound gear steady for the duration. 🥺 That’s it- then I spray and pray. A lot! 😂

Night wasn’t over 😂. Humpback whales finally showed up and even if it was too dark for my camera, my phone did a good job capturing them.

Ok, lied. Not Good Night. As I rounded the corner to go back to my cabin I see blows. Then a humpback whale, then more humpback whales. In all about 9 fairly close to the ship. Too dark for my camera so I just used my phone. Here’s 2 swimming so close with one swimming sideways mouth agape. Looks like skim feeding. #whale #humpbackwhale #wildlife #britishcolumbia #celebritysolstice

It is now getting too dark and we are not in the area yet however hope you saw a humpback whale or two starboard side and an orca port side. Good night and hope to see you all tomorrow at the theatre for When and Where to watch for wildlife along our route.

Hello Celebrity Solstice guests, as we sail north from Vancouver watch out for humpback whales about 730-830pm today, August 23. 😍

Dolphins just bring so much joy whenever they appear! No exception are these Pacific White-sided Dolphins, the ones we most often see here in our British Columbia waters. You should’ve seen us all screaming and laughing watching this large pod of dolphins right after the porpoises and then the resident orcas. I think they were playing/socializing together! So blessed to have witnessed this multi-species interaction. 🥹🥰 August 22,2026