Monterey: Day 7

My last day in Monterey I didn’t get the chance to go diving. There was nobody to dive with me, and I chose to let my gear dry instead of pushing the time where it was safe to fly before my flight.

Instead, I got the chance to go on a morning whale watching cruise!! Monterey is known for its whale watching, and it did not disappoint. While we only saw one humpback, we saw a number of dolphins and three blue whales!! We got several extraordinary views of the massive animals, who’s size is hard to comprehend until you see a humpback whale a few minutes later and realize how tiny it looks in comparison. I brought my camera and managed to get a few pictures but was focused on enjoying the whales more than anything else.

Around lunchtime, I made my way over to the Ansel Adams exhibit. This exhibit was unique in that it was a portrayal of Ansel Adams’ life through portraits. While Ansel Adams is clearly known for his landscape photography, he also is skilled a taking portraits. I really enjoyed the exhibit, which highlighted not only portraits he had taken, but portraits of him at various stages in his life and career.

That afternoon, I went back out on Berkeley’s boat, this time with Becca and her daughter. We traveled around the bay with topside cameras, looking to get close enough to some sea otters to snag some photos. We had some success, and I managed to get a couple shots of the amazingly cute animals.

My time in Monterey truly was an amazing experience. I’m so grateful to the Boston sea rovers and the entire backscatter staff for having me out. Over the course of my week I learned so much about underwater photography, and really saw a rapid improvement in my skills. Stay tuned to the backscatter website for a short article I’m writing for backscatter about what I learned while visiting them in Monterey!