Photo of the Month
"While assisting my friend motor offshore, in a 40’ trawler and headed for Florida from Hilton Head Island, I spent most of my time being entertained by flying fish and dolphin. We could spot dolphin swimming our way for hundreds of yards just to surf in our boat wake. We put out a 5 ft. wave at a normal cruising speed of 8 knots, perfect bodysurfing conditions for bottlenose. A gregarious species, there have been numerous cases reported of bottlenose dolphin interacting with humans – and I was convinced they were looking right at me as I captured their play from the top deck. They surfed just beneath the water’s surface in our stern wake then headed off – we like to think - to tell their friends, as we were escorted by several different groups throughout our travel south."
Eric Horan
Photo tip-exposure: As you plan out your shots, think about the effect you want in the final picture and use your camera functions to enhance the image. In my case, I wanted to keep the focus on the dolphin, so I slowed the shutter speed down as slow as possible (1/30th a second) in order to blur the water and keep the dolphin sharp.
Bottlenose Dolphin, Tursiops truncates, are mammals in the whale family (cetaceans). They are believed to be highly intelligent and known for their fast, powerful swimming abilities. The sounds made by bottlenose are varied - from jaw claps, barks and yelps to each having their own signature whistle. Many are produced for social, communication but all dolphin use echolocation, which is similar to the sonar used on submarines. Sound is produced in the air passage in their head and then broadcast. When the sound hits an object and echoes back, the dolphin can tell what the object is and likely much more information than we’ll ever know. Their vision is also quite good both below and above water.
Conservation:
Several countries have national laws protecting bottlenose dolphin and the United States Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 makes fishing of cetaceans illegal and allows only federally permitted live captures for exhibition and research.
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