Norway Part III: The Orcas

The photographer in me feels I have to start with a side note about the photography. Especially the underwater photos. So here it goes… many of these images are pretty much rubbish. But these images aren’t about perfection. I learned to let that go on this trip. They are here to illustrate a story. They are images that taught me something. They are images that inspire me to do better, to keep going, to keep shooting, to keep learning, to keep creating, to keep growing, to keep discovering, to keep loving, and to keep sharing. If there’s any place on Earth that can help you let go of perfection, it’s the arctic waters of northern Norway in winter. And that’s really what this is all about anyway.

The iconic Orca dorsal fin slices through the water, catching the golden arctic light of winter

Four male Orcas dive down into the depths

A large male Orca near the surface

I sometimes dream about Orcas. I think many people do. I always wondered what it was that I found so compelling about them. Was it their beauty, their grace? Their intelligence? Their skills? I’m not even sure I can pin it down after spending 5 days in their presence. But I think I’m closer…

I think it’s all of the things I listed above and so much more. They have soul and personality. Their social skills resemble ours. They have a strong sense of family. They have obvious likes and dislikes. You can see the bonds they have with their families. And every encounter, no matter how much we worked to make it happen, you got the distinct feeling that you had nothing to do with it. The Orcas simply allowed it. Or they didn’t. You didn’t factor into it at all. You just showed up. And I’m extremely grateful for each and every second they allowed us in their presence.

A cotton candy sunrise

They say all life came from the sea. President John F. Kennedy made a speech at a sailing competition once and his words really resonated with me: “We have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it, we are going back from whence we came.” Orcas came from the sea and then they went back to it. They were once land animals, almost like wolves. Perhaps that’s where I find my deepest connection to them. I get it. I get why they might have ventured back to the sea. Even though I can’t live there, I spend as much time there as I can. Perhaps I’m a tiny bit jealous of their ability to evolve to the ocean (yes, I know it took millions of years). I struggle like a fish out of water in the ocean but they’ve adapted so perfectly it’s like they never left. It’s truly beautiful.

One of the most incredible moments is when an Orca looks you straight in the eye!

Orcas with humpbacks in the background

Here on the Pacific coast of the US and Canada we have two types of Orcas, Residents and Transients. Residents eat fish and Transients eat other marine mammals. You may have recently heard of the critically endangered Southern Resident Orcas. I believe there are only 75 left. They feed mostly on Salmon in the Pacific Northwest and salmon numbers are dropping significantly and the Orca population is starving. Moving open net fish farms (completely or mostly) out of the Salish Sea and breaching lower river damns to let the Salmon spawn is really the only way to save them.

The Norwegian Orcas are mostly fish eaters but they have been observed eating a seal or two in the summer months. They are the only population that switches between the two. Scientists believe the population is around 3,000 individuals.

Orcas are extremely intelligent so they’ve learned how to steal fish from fishing nets. This can be dangerous for them since they can either get entangled in the nets or, because they are so close to the fishing vessels, they can get hit by boats.

A pod of Orca swim full speed across the fjord to take advantage of a fishing boat

The pod was porpoising with joy as they raced across the fjord

An Orca with a fleeing herring

Normally, Orcas will locate a school of herring and corral it into a bait ball near the surface. They will take turns either hypnotizing the fish by flipping over to show their white bellies or they will tail slap them to stun them. The most amazing thing to observe is how graceful and almost gentle they are when they grab each fish, eating only one at a time.

An Orca heads straight for the bait ball

Corralling the fish towards the surface

Exposing their white undersides to the bait ball

Gracefully flicking a fish into his mouth

Orcas are extremely social and family oriented. They are matriarchal (maybe another reason I’m so drawn to them!?). Male Orcas stay with their mothers their entire lives, only venturing off to mate for a day or two before they return to their pod. Female Orcas also stay with their families until the pod gets too big, at which point the oldest daughter will break off with her offspring and start a new pod. Orcas, along with belugas, narwhals and pilot whales are the only other animals besides humans to live past their childbearing years. Typically, highly social animals benefit from non-childbearing “adult supervision.” Older females will know where and how to hunt most efficiently. They will also share up to 90% of the food they catch with their family, keeping them strong and well fed. Orcas also take care of their disabled members. They essentially swim at the pace of the slowest member and hunt for those members unable to do so. We also observed a male Orca sleeping on the surface. The rest of his pod didn’t seem too sleepy. In fact, they were hunting. As we watched them we noticed that each member of the pod would take turns going back to check on the sleepy male before returning to hunting. More Orcas came to check on him when the boats started swarming around him. It was an incredible behavior to observe. You could feel the love and the teamwork.

Probably my closest encounter with this sassy female Orca

Drive by!

Bye Orca pod!

Orcas are very auditory animals. They use echolocation to locate prey and they communicate constantly via clicks and squeals. It’s one of the coolest things to hear underwater. Each population of Orca has their own unique languages. They are very sensitive to sound and responded to every little squeal I uttered. They love music, too.

On the flip side, they are very sensitive to noise pollution and boat traffic. At times we would observe a pod being followed by boats, showing sings of frustration. Males will show the frustration of the pod by slapping their tails on the surface. They’d also disappear for minutes at a time and pop up in another direction, trying to avoid the boats. So while some pods were friendly and curious, other pods were standoffish or just in a “leave me alone” kind of mood. Much like humans!

Always swimming away…

A mama and her baby

Babies! Oh man, they’re cute. They are also much more curious of humans than their parents. We observed one in his/her mom’s slip stream and when he/she saw us he/she flipped on his/her back and swam upside down the whole way past us. Cheeky little one! You could clearly tell each Orca had their own unique personality and mood. Some were stand-offish. Some were playful. Some were curious. Some were all business. And some were the obvious protectors.

Sadly, only 50% of Orca babies survive. Being apex predators, the Orca consume a lot of toxins from everything lower down on the food chain. Many of these calves cannot survive their mother’s toxic milk. Keeping our oceans clear of plastics and chemicals can help alleviate this problem. As we learned in Finding Nemo, all drains lead to the sea. Please be conscious of what you throw down your drain or throw on the sidewalk that can be swept into storm drains and washed out to sea.

This young Orca was interested in my squeals and swam by me three times!

Some Orcas are cautious, like this one, swimming close enough to get a look but not too close to be in danger (or good photographing range!)

Beautiful saddle patch

Time to hold onto your socks. Here’s where it’s about to get a little preachy. I can’t help it. Some things just have to be said. But along with that, please understand that I try to leave all judgement on the table. I’m not out to blame anyone for anything. I’m not asking for perfection, either. I’m simply pointing a few things out to get you to think about your actions. Change will come, but only if we are aware of the problem. So here it goes…

You can not, I repeat, CAN NOT spend time in the wild with these animals and not look at photos of captive Orcas and want to cry and throw up at the same time (or at least I can’t). Of all of the encounters we had, we only saw the Orcas and the bottom of the ocean once. (Picture below). Imagine swimming in a wide open ocean with your closest family and then you’re put into the equivalent of solitary confinement at Alcatraz. That’s essentially what these tanks are for Orcas. Then take a look at the below picture with the ocean bottom and then take a look at the concrete bottoms of a tank at SeaWorld. Orcas have only killed humans in captivity. There is no recorded death of a human by an Orca in the wild. Many scientists believe the deaths were mental breakdowns. Ok, I think you all see where I’m going here…

Slightly out of focus but you can see the bottom!

But, like I said, perfection is not the goal here. I’ll admit it, I’ve been to SeaWorld when I was a kid. Even more recently in 2010 my husband and I did a swim with dolphins in Mexico at a seaside dolphin “sanctuary.” It was included in our resort package. The sanctuary was enclosed and concrete. I have to admit, even though at the time I wasn’t totally against the practice, the whole thing made me so upset I told my husband I never wanted to do it again. Of course, I’m sure it didn’t help that we had encountered dolphins in the wild while scuba diving just the day before. Afterward we went to swim with sting rays in a “sanctuary.” This time it was a open pen in the ocean. Fish swam in and out. The bottom was the actual ocean floor. Many of the rays were recovering from injuries. I breathed so much better there and actually enjoyed myself. At the time I didn’t know why I felt such a huge difference. Now it’s obvious. At the very least, we need to move our captive cetaceans to open pen sanctuaries. So please, don’t support these marine parks and aquariums that house cetaceans if you can. Support local whale watching companies and see them in the wild or, if you can afford it, find an operator that will let you snorkel with them. The experience is unbelievably better for both you and the animals. There’s nothing like seeing an animal in the wild!

And on that note, I’ll stop babbling and let you enjoy some photos of just that!

Some males don’t have perfectly straight dorsal fins. Some are even flopped over (no, it’s not just something that happens in captivity, but it’s rare in the wild)

Exhale…

These abnormalities in the dorsal fin make identification of these individuals much easier!

I love the sound of an Orca exhale!

Wild encounters with Orca are AMAZING!

Had to include a few pictures of the most beautiful sunrise I think I’ve ever seen…

It was our last day on the water and what a send off!

Dun, un. Dun, un. Here comes the Orca!

The drive by on video! What a cute little baby!

That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks for following along. Please feel free to share or comment below if you have any questions. Also, if you’re interested in some more info about Orcas (and Southern Residents in particular) check out the Ted Ed video below.

Thanks you lovely people!

Carra

Norway Part II: The Experience

My fins and I enjoying a beautiful arctic sunset at the end of an incredible day.

I’ll start with a little anecdote, shall I? Then maybe I’ll delve into the nitty gritty. I love the above image. It took me quite a while to figure out why. But I finally realized it evokes a lot of memories for me. I found myself, quite often, staring down at my fins hovering above the rushing water, sitting on the edge of our RIB boat awaiting the signal to jump in. At times I’d be excited while staring at those fins (oooo Orca time!) and at other times I’d find myself staring at them, hunched over, simply trying to ignore the cold seeping into my bones. Then I’d look up. The beauty I saw was a respite from the cold. It would remind where I was and what I was doing. And, if only for a brief moment, the cold would melt away. Here I was, at the top of the world, doing what I love.

Northern Lights dance above Ersfjordbotn, Norway on our first night. You can see the shadows of Pasi and I.

Ok, now I’ll start from the beginning. My flight arrived in Tromso after dark. Everyone was waiting for me at the airport. Thankfully, the fog had cleared and my flight was on time. Bags all arrived (thank goodness!). We piled into the car and headed to the boat which was docked in Ersfjordbotn. On the ride I was looking out the window and saw what I thought was a wispy cloud. As my eyes adjusted I realized it was a glowing green cloud. In other words, the Northern Lights! What a welcome! By the time we got to the boat, they were (momentarily) nowhere to be found. So we loaded onto the boat and before we knew it we were told they were back. Alright boat full of strangers, find your gear and set up for some shots!

Hello! Aren’t they beautiful?!?

Full disclosure, I obsessively looked at the weather in Tromso for a month before the trip. Of course that made no logical sense but I wanted to see what my odds of seeing the northern lights were. Turns out I had nothing to worry about! Which leads me to my two biggest fears regarding this trip… not seeing the northern lights (because of weather) and not seeing the Orcas (because of weather and herring movements). Turns out I worried for nothing. But how was I supposed to know?!? Plus, I’m a worrier. It’s in my genes. Can’t help it. Sorry.

After a day of testing out gear and getting ready we headed out in our new home (for the week) the Ostsee Star, to the small town of Skervoy which is where we ended up being docked for the entire trip.

Skjervoy nestled in the fjords.

The mountains surrounding Skjervoy were stunning.

When the light would rise just above the horizon, it would shine right down the fjords, lighting up the sides of the mountains with it’s incredible warm (looking) glow.

Inside the Ostsee Star.

A place to hang our coats and keep the time.

Windows! Lots of baby feet being made on those foggy windows.

Our first day with the Orcas arrived. We struggled into our drysuits and set out. Just the day before, no one had reported seeing the Orcas. We left the harbor and immediately spotted two fishing boats. And they were surrounded by about 100 individual Orcas and a dozen or so humpbacks (and countless birds, of course)! It was the most incredible sight to behold on our first day. We drove the boats over and sat watching and photographing the feeding frenzy. The water was thick with herring scales, bubbles and whales! I honestly didn’t know where to look, let alone photograph. I was getting incredibly frustrated, feeling like I was missing all the shots. Then I realized I just needed to be patient and enjoy the moment. And what an incredible moment it was!

So many birds!

Here come the Orcas!

A male dorsal fin pokes out of the water amid the feeding frenzy.

A random whale watching boat for a little size perspective. That’s a male Orca.

Now it’s time to take a brief moment to mention the amazing Whales Underwater crew that worked their butts off for all of us. Thank you Darren and Jasmine for organizing the trip and leading our “Nemo” boat. Your advice, warm welcome and kindness meant the world to me. Thanks Darren for staying up late and making sure my underwater housing was all ready., and for stepping in when I got frustrated with it! Thank you Jasmine for your warm conversation and infectious love for adventure! Thank you Ali for your amazing drops, your sixth sense when it comes to whale behavior, and for pulling my butt up on the boat (for what felt like) a million times. I’ll work on my pull-ups and hopefully give you a rest next time! Thank you Norbi for manning the Brig, being an amazing skipper, and for your all your help getting us into drysuits and out on the boats in the morning. Thank you to Krisztina for all of your incredible knowledge. Your presentations were amazing and your love for these animals is infectious! I hope to see you here in Monterey one day! And last, but not least, thank you to Torben for keeping the boat running smoothly and Peggy for keeping our bellies full and happy. We couldn’t have gone on this trip without a single one of you! Thank you so much!

And to my fellow guests… holy crap, you were all so awesome I don’t think I could have been luckier meeting all of you! Elvira, thank you for being such an amazing roommate. You never minded my later nights or equipment all over the room and you always set the alarm! I’m eternally grateful. Robert, thank you for the amazing conversation and advice! You’ve changed the way I think about my photography and there’s no going back! And thanks for the beer and whiskey… I owe you a few if you’re ever in the States! Pasi, thanks for the political discussions. Kept me grounded! And thanks for showing me that a photo isn’t about the camera you use, it’s about the photographer. I’m constantly amazed at what you capture with an iPhone! Kei, thanks for sharing all your goodies (including your whiskey!). And thanks for all the post-trip support. Chuta, thanks for your laughter. It’s infectious and an absolute delight to wake up to every morning at breakfast! And last, but not least, Sonya! I’m amazed at what you do in life. I’m amazed at your determination to make it to Norway! And I’m ever so thankful for the post trip support - your comments and likes keep me posting!

Norbi manning the “Brig” with Krisztina and Pasi taking photos of the feeding frenzy.

Our fearless leader, Jasmine, checking out some of the amazing photos she just took.

I have to say, I anticipated that this trip would be physically challenging. Luckily, I dive a drysuit on a semi-regular basis (although never as much as I want to!!) and I’m aware of the extra buoyancy and weight needed. Not to mention the huge pain in the butt it is to get your head and hands through the drysuit seals… But my biggest worries were the cold and pulling myself up on the boat. Both of which ended up going about as I expected… not great but certainly not horrible. I’m not totally out of shape, but I could always be in better shape. And I’m always cold… so… yeah… I was cold. Not all the time. Not even every day (I think the adrenaline kept me warm the whole time that first day!) but there were moments my brain got a little fuzzy I was so cold. My fingers were always numb… leading to a bit of an injury on my pinky finger. I don’t want to sugar coat anything. The reality is, this was the most challenging environment I’ve ever photographed in. That being said, I’d go back in a second and do it all over again. In fact, I’d go right now if I could. I did ditch the weight belt a few days in, realizing the extra weight wasn’t enough to get me down and was just causing trouble getting back up on the boat. You really have to figure out a routine that works for you. It took me almost 3 days to get into the swing of things. Then I felt like I mostly had my shit together… mostly… except for that one day I forgot my fins…

My fellow adventurers swimming back to the boat after an encounter. The fish below them are not herring. They are what I call the “clean up” crew. Various opportunists feeding on the remaining herring parts.

Sometimes I’d look up after watching the Orcas and just be blown away by the scenery. Beauty was everywhere!

Kei photographing a herring ball.

Jasmine capturing the herring ball while the fish release bubbles.

We figured waiting around with the herring ball that the Orcas might come back. And they did ;)

Kei taking in the scenery as we wait for the Orcas to circle back around the fishing boat to grace us with their lovely presence.

Bubbles emerge from the deep and make their way up to my fellow snorkelers. Too big for fish bubbles…

Orca bubbles, perhaps?

Robert dives down for a different perspective.

Hard to tell, but a humpback is diving down right in front of the fishing boat…. which brings me to…

I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least mention the humpbacks! They were a huge part of the experience and an added bonus to the encounters! I, for the life of me, couldn’t get a decent underwater photo of one (next time!). It annoyed me, to no end, but the encounters were unforgettable! Even when they ran the Orcas off by eating their bait balls in one huge gulp! Their size and grace is absolutely incredible. I’ll never forget the one encounter where I saw this glaringly white pectoral fin coming out of the gloom below me. It’s approaching at, what feels like, a fast pace. I hold my breath thinking, “oh no! It’s going to bump me!” Of course, the humpback didn’t. Their awareness and dexterity in the water is amazing and mesmerizing. I thought about trying to move but I just couldn’t. I somehow knew, in the back of my head, that the humpback would know I was there and miss me. Sure enough, that’s what happened. And I was just floating there like a duck out of water… totally ungraceful and in complete awe! And, of course, immensely grateful.

Capturing humpbacks… hopefully more successfully than I did!

This is that pectoral fin that, shortly following this shot, came toward me as this humpback rolled on it’s side.

Dripping flukes during an arctic winter… sigh….

Snow topped mountains and whales!

One of the most joyous sounds a person can hear… a whale breath.

The tails of humpbacks are so incredibly fascinating and unique!

We were lucky enough to have another brilliant night full of Northern Lights. And boy what a show they put on for us! We drove out of town and stopped on the side of the road to capture some more images. Below you can see my fellow travelers setting up their own shots. Part way through our photo adventure, Jasmine laid down on the ground to just look up at the sky. For a moment I was jealous! Why wasn’t I just enjoying the spectacular show? So I stopped taking photos, just to look around. That lasted all of about three minutes until the lights started swirling in a circle and I just had to capture it! That balance between living in, and enjoying the moment, and capturing it, is a struggle for me. I want to savor moments. But I also want to capture those moments! What to do?!? Still working on the balance. Hoping I’ll find it one day…

The glowing fjords.

Capturing the best light show on earth!

So we didn’t just see whales and herring. Those were definitely the highlights (duh), but I can’t describe my experience without giving you the full picture. I love jellyfish! I saw my first comb jelly in the wild. Maybe not that thrilling for most people, but it was for me! Of course I couldn’t dive down far enough to get a great shot, but I compromised by snapping the below shot of a comb jelly among the fish scales. Looks like an alien in outer space!

The only time I wish I had a 3D camera setup is when the fish scales were thick. They gave the seemingly endless green water a sense of depth that a photograph just doesn’t quite capture…

Taking photos of my comb jelly friend, I noticed another friend drop by - Robert! That ghost-like thing by his leg was the comb jelly…

The green abyss.

A jelly and a herring.

So ethereal…

Ok, I can tell you’re getting sick of jellyfish photos… just one more, I promise!

Looks like a flower. I wish the background didn’t look like it’s at the aquarium, but you can’t have everything!

Darren getting a killer shot of two male Orcas while I snap a photo of a jellyfish since those Orcas were just out of my range…

And again… seems like I was almost always in the wrong spot at the wrong time… haha.

You’re probably wondering right about now, where are all the Orcas?! Yeah, yeah… I know that’s really why you’re here. So thank you for holding out this long. Here are a few. But I have to save some for the next post! So hang tight. This is about my experience photographing them. The few triumphs and the many failures…

Beautiful sunset. Beautiful Orca.

As I mentioned before, this was one of the most challenging photography experience I’ve ever had. We were working with cold water, low light (hello, it’s November in the arctic!), water full of bubbles and scales, frozen fingers, and fast moving subjects. Despite that (and the urge to pee almost as soon as I got on the boat…) I was able to eek out some shots I’m proud of. As far as the rest… well… they were all learning experiences. Each and every one of them!

Sometimes you panic and don’t wait for the Orcas to swim into your frame… instead you snap a photo with your buddy’s camera in it…

Bubbles from fish, boats and other snorkelers were always a challenge. But this pod still gave us the drive by of a lifetime!

Oh backscatter… in this case I don’t think I wiped my dome before I started shooting. But hey, instead of editing it out, I embraced it. They’re twinkle lights, OK! haha.

After the first day of shooting, I realized that I really wanted to try and capture a photo with both pectoral fins, the dorsal fin and the fluke all in one shot. A tall order, as it turned out. The above image came so close… the Orca was just a little too far away for my liking (and backscatter). And then of course, I had some missed opportunities… like the below image. So close! And yet so far… I botched the focus! Grrr!

Ahhhhhh so close. Silly camera operator couldn’t get focus…

My other photo goal was an Orca with a bait ball. Uh…. yeah, I didn’t get that either….

Man, this camera operator must have been drunk…

Robert and the Orcas.

But then you get other amazing shots (and video!) and you’re satisfied. At least for now…. I’m going to have to go back. Obviously.

That’s all for now, folks! My next blog post will be all about the Orcas! Soooo many underwater photos to share (good and bad!). I think they deserve a dedicated post. This trip was about them, after all!

Part III will be posted after the New Year. Sorry guys, we’ve got holiday travel and family time to focus on! But I promise the two week wait will be worth it! Stay tuned… ;)

Happy Holidays!

Much love,

Carra

Traveling with a Toddler: Lake George Edition

As promised (albeit a  little late), a blog post about traveling across the country with my two year old (and flying one way without the husband!) and kicking it for two weeks (solo parenting for one of those weeks) with my little dude.

Honestly, it didn't come without its challenges but I have to admit that it was one of my favorite trips so far. As you'll hopefully see from the pictures below, the kids had a fantastic time! My stained clothes and exhaustion are testament! 

A side note: No we aren't traveling all the time even though social media makes it look like that. I'm just a busy working Mom so my photos tend to go up wayyyy after because I can never find sufficient time to sort through them right away. So for reference, this trip was taken July 1-13. Ya know, a month ago now... 

Checking out the planes at the airport. iPhone photo. 

I'll be the first to admit that two is a tough age to travel with. Lee is going through an "independent" stage where he insists (sometimes super loudly) that he get his way. Along with that comes the "I'm just going to randomly run away from you" phase. So how'd the flights go? Surprisingly well. I set my expectations about as low as they could go. I've seen kids throwing tantrums for up to 30 minutes on planes before. I expected at least one if not two or three of those. Luckily, we got away without any major tantrums. I still can't believe it. In the moment, every loud protestation seemed like the end of the world to me but looking back I have to laugh at myself and say "damn, woman, you have an easy kid." 

First class luxury. This kid is unbelievably lucky and super spoiled when it comes to travel... unfortunately we spend many nights away from Daddy for this kind of status to be obtained. Thanks for the upgrades, Daddy! iPhone photo

Alright, so my mantra when I travel is "the journey cannot last forever." And insert whatever word in place of "journey" that you need to... like "tantrum." I also like to replace most of it with "he cannot stay awake forever." And while these help, they are also true. My other method of coping is giving up all "rules" I previously held at home and letting the kid get his way almost all of the time. Now, I put my foot down when it comes to respecting other people and being kind but rules on screen time and snack time do not apply when on an aircraft. He can watch as much Paw Patrol and eat whatever he wants on the airplane. Although I say he can eat whatever he wants, I really only bring his favorite healthy snacks... popcorn, cheese sticks and fruit. Lots of fruit is key, actually. I have a theory that he would be a worse kid if he didn't poop. A lot of times when traveling you can get a bit backed up. Not the case for this kid. He has a knack for pooping when we take off. Almost. Every. Single. Time. Super inconvenient for Mommy (yes, I changed his diaper on the seat in first class because storms wouldn't allow anyone to get out of their seat for most of the flight and I wasn't about to deal with the fallout from a diaper rash... plus, it stunk!). You do what you have to do. Most everyone I've ever encountered on a plane flight understands this. Oh, and bring dog poop bags. They are super handy to put dirty clothes in, if there's a blowout, or you're forced to change a diaper on a seat...

Living a life of luxury. #somuchlegroom iPhone photo

Now I'll give you just a few specifics on how the flight by myself with him went. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time so I didn't have to worry about that. Lugging our luggage and him to the counter was tough. I stuck him in his hiking backpack and lugged a roller bag, camera bag, his car seat and his diaper bag from the rental car garage to the terminal. I'm superwoman. I should have gotten a cart but I'm cheap... 

This kid wouldn't wear pants... even in first class... oh well, not worth the fight! iPhone photo

Check in and security went smoothly. My little runner didn't allow me to get coffee or food but I had a strong feeling that would be the case so I got some food on the plane. At the gate I had to give up on preventing him from climbing on the window sill (aka the vents for the terminal) so he could see the planes. After he was up there he was super happy and we made it to boarding with no major issues. Waiting in line to board was a bit of an issue. He kept running off because he wanted to go down the "jetway tunnel." Luckily people in line thought it was amusing and saved my spot while I ran after him a total of 3 times. Once on board he was content with his iPad. We have shows and movies and games for him. He has a short attention span so he flits between all three. Then he pooped as we were taking off. Changed his diaper in the seat... I was repulsed but no one else seemed to be. The first leg to Chicago was pretty short so he was happy with his iPad and snacks the whole time.  

Nap time on flight number two. iPhone photo

Transitioning to flight number two wasn't bad, behavior wise, but I had trouble keeping up with him and convincing him he couldn't ride on all the passenger carts. On top of that, there was a lot of construction equipment because of renovations that he was interested in... dragging him away tended to lead to a few loud shouts of disapproval. But we made it on the second plane and he fell asleep immediately. I got 1 hour and 20 minutes to eat lunch and re-charge. I credit a bigger seat for this. He was able to readjust mid-nap without waking up. This flight was around 4 hours. The last hour and a half he was super antsy. There were the occasional shouts of disapproval (like when I told him he couldn't crawl under the seat in front of us...) but after dozens of trips walking/running up and down the aisles, he was mostly well behaved. We arrived tired but in one piece. 

Overall, not an experience I'd jump into every day but one that is worth it for all the fun we had at the lake. Please enjoy the photos of our lake adventures below, and let me know in the comments section if you have any questions! 

Our trip overlapped with my cousin Shane and his family. Here's Lee with his cousins Logan and Parker and his second cousins Emmie and Molly! iPhone photo

Logan jumping into the lake with her Dad. 

Climbing down into the green abyss... 

Paddle boarding

Playing naked on the dock at sunset with water guns. Best 4th of July ever! 

Cousins! They love each other, I promise... 

Exactly how I'd like to spend every day. 

Big brown eyes. 

Miss Logan and her sparkler. 

Showing off his safe sparkler holding. 

Look, Daddy! 

Miss Logan's hair catching the sunset light. 

Family paddleboat ride!

Lee and the Schraders heading off into the sunset. 

Lee's little hand holding the sparkler. 

Happy Fourth of July!! Lee liked these way better than the "scary, loud" fireworks. 

Happiness is looking for frogs with Daddy. 

My boys! Sooo in love!! 

My little, big guy. 

Mr. Parkie-Man hamming it up! 

Reading stories from little Echo Bay library box with the neighborhood kids. 

Uh... 

The perils of carrying a two year old on your shoulders.. 

Awwwwww

Matt took my camera so I could be in a few photos. The kids decided to take a break in the middle of the road. Thank goodness there aren't many cars...

Miss Logan cracking us up! 

"Carry me, Mama!" OK! I won't be able to do it long! 

This girl is trouble! Clever, strong, beautiful and kind. And her hair!

Garden spider

These were weeds growing next to our driveway. 

Sailing with Daddy

Parker! 

Suns out, tongues out?

Handsome little Parkie Man

That face! Ah! Love it!

Playing with grandpa!

There's a slight resemblence to Lee at that age... don't ya think?

Ha!

Indoor volleyball. 

Trying to shoot the water in his mouth...

Enjoying the view at our campsite

:)

Right to the face!

That's a serious s'amore face!

Grandpa snuggles!

Kisses from Mommy!

A happy evening on the dock!

Fading light. 

Rising Moon. 

Back to the frog pond! (something we did almost every day)

Finally got the nerve up to touch the frog and it natrually jumped away from him...

Ducking under fences. 

When I photograph kids I always try to get down on their level. After a few minutes at the frog pond I had fallen into the pond up to mid-calf and both knees were muddy. Worth it. I love these photos! The higher angle photos work best for me when the kids are looking up. For me, it gives the image a hopeful feeling - looking to the future! 

As a photographer, I'm always chasing light and story. Both seem to allude me. It's like chasing down my two year old... always one step behind and when I catch up, it's a fight. Worth every second. The learning curve both as a photographer and a parent (albeit on different levels) is super steep. Keep climbing, parents and artists! There's got to be a fair number of great views on the way to the top! :) 

Hair blowing in the wind. 

Nap time on the boat. 

Our beloved Echo Bay, where I (arguably) became the person I am today thanks to many adventures and awesome friends and family. 

We got back from a trip to Hagerman Lake in Michigan a week ago now. I'll try to get a post up about that before I leave for Norway on Friday. Follow me on Instagram if you want to see some photos from both those trips before I get the blog posts up! I'm going kid free for this one and I'll be battling some rain on some pretty remote islands. Should be interesting... might get a lot of interesting shots or maybe none at all. We shall see! 

Lake George: Underwater

I challenged myself to take underwater photos while on my trip to Lake George, NY this year. In some ways I was successful and in many other ways, I struggled. I'll, of course, explain below... 

The edges of an abandoned beaver lodge in Paradise Bay. 

I am completely in love with underwater photography. I've done so little of it but I'm totally obsessed. The draw for me is that there are so few people on this earth that even know what it looks like under the surface of most bodies of water. In fact the ocean is truly the last frontier on earth. It's beautiful and scary and surreal. It's like a whole other planet exists right under our noses and we barely notice.

The draw for me to take photos under the surface of Lake George is multifaceted. One, I LOVE Lake George. It's possibly my favorite lake on this planet. I grew up there in the summers. I know the surface of it like the back of my hand. I can close my eyes and tell you where every buoy on the lake from the village up through the narrows is. As a kid (and still as an adult) I love to dive down deep and open my eyes (with or without a mask) and just listen to the underwater sounds and watch the light dance. It's truly the most peaceful and strangely turbulent world I've ever had the privileged of falling in love with. I did a little research and found very few underwater photographs of the lake. Knowing that on good days the visibility is about 30 feet, I figured I'd take a stab at photographing it. I rented a Canon 8-15mm fisheye lens and brought it along. My previous underwater photography adventures included a 50mm macro lens. I wanted to try something new and see if I could master underwater landscapes. As you'll see, it didn't come without challenges (even 30ft of visibility is hard to get sharp wide angle images). But despite it's challenges, I had a blast! 

This stick had fallen in our swim area. I was going to pull it out but after observing it underwater I noticed it had been there for a while. So I let it be. 

So while I botched this one (soft focus on the log) this image is exactly what I think of when I think of the bottom of Lake George. It's a very common scene in shallow bays. 

Lily pads growing in our swim area next to the dock. 

More lily pads. 

Nesting bluegill 

One dedicated Mama! 

Please don't feed the wildlife! These ducks are so used to being fed by humans they came right up to me when my husband threw grass into the water in front of me. I appreciate the interesting photo op but I'd rather these ducks not get so used to being fed! 

Ducks on top, fish underneath. 

Fallen leaves in Paradise Bay

More images of the abandoned beaver lodge, now home to fish and algea! 

One of my favorite images from a framing standpoint but once again I botched the focus! Grrrr! 

From a little further back... focus is much better on this one. 

Beavers sure are hard workers 

Crazy reflections

Drifting weeds

OK, so here's where I tried to capture the dancing light underwater. Paradise bay is quite deep. I asked my twin sister to dive down while I took some photos. With our kids losing their shit on the boat, we had very little time for this. But I captured a couple neat photos. I suppose I'll always be chasing that perfect underwater photo - the one that captures all the wonderment and peace I experience when I dive down deep in this beautiful and clear lake. So, screaming kids or no, I'll be attempting many versions of these photos in the future. 

Mermaid Bri watching the dancing light. So close to what I was hoping to capture, but not quite there yet! 

Halo of bubbles

So this is the part where I talk about all my failures and fears. Boy are there A LOT! They all led to some valuable lessons but I really could have done without them... 

First off, like most people, I think that all successful photographers and successful creatives of all types have no fears. They are successful, why would they doubt themselves? Only people like me doubt themselves. Well, I'm 31 now and I realize what a bunch of bullshit that is. We are all afraid. I am afraid all the time. Especially when it comes to my work. I don't want to fail. Failure blows. I'm scared of it all the time! It's stopped me in my tracks. It's terrible. It causes endless procrastination. That fear and self-doubt is the number one reason I seem lazy and the only reason I have not reached the goals I've set for myself. And even being aware of this, I still can't always face the fear and keep working. Because, shit, it's hard to believe in yourself when the judgement of your work is soooo subjective. The only thing that keeps me going is the work itself. When I can manage to drag my butt off the couch and go out and shoot, I lose myself in it. I mean my husband had to drag me out of the water on numerous occasions to remind me that my other slightly more important job of being a mother, needed to be tended to. I heard somewhere (can't remember where) that when it comes to photography, if you don't love the journey you're never going to survive. Why? Because there really isn't a destination. It's a fluid medium. There's no point at which you're going to say, "I've made it. I don't need to learn or create anymore images." That's just ridiculous. So for me, I realized I DO love the journey. So much so that I'm willing to battle the fear almost every day. Sometimes its an easy battle, but most days it's really f'ing hard. 

Now that we've gotten the fear part out of the way, let's talk about my failures on this trip! The biggest thing was thinking things would be easier than they ended up being. I underestimated the challenges of shooting wide angle with only 30 ft. of visibility. While it's doable, it's not easy to get sharp images. I also did a good job of mucking up the water for myself. Especially if I was hovering in the same spot for a while trying to get the nesting fish. Second, I was staying relatively close to the surface to use ambient light which worked sometimes and not other times. Third, I saw a very inspiring photo by adventure photographer Emily Polar that I wanted to try to recreate for a self portrait and I figured it would be cake! Turns out making a normal face while holding your breath is really, really hard. (See below images... I pretty much gave up). And last but not least, my biggest regret and hardest lesson learned... I spent an extra week at the lake with just my son while my husband flew back to work. Because I didn't want to truck a ton of bags and a 2 year old through the airport on my own, I sent him back with my underwater gear. UGH! Total mistake. The day he left this huge mama bass and her school of babies came into our swim area and stayed there ALL DAY LONG. Without my gear I tried using my ancient GoPro to capture them but as you'll see below, it failed miserably. I was grumpy about it most of the rest of the trip. So lesson learned. Suck it up and keep my equipment around. I'll always hate myself if I keep letting opportunities go by because I'm afraid of a little discomfort. 

This was the best self portrait I could manage... I still look like I'm drowning but it's not as bad the rest of them... 

This one is definitely a winner... 

Yup, I look constipated. 

There are worse... I know it's hard to believe... 

There she is. Those dots all around her are her babies! Ahhhhhhh! My husband asked me a million times if I was sure I wanted him to take my equipment back with him... and I said yes.... 

:( 

AHHHHH :(

They were there... ALL... DAY... LONG... even after it started to rain.... 

So many that could have been soooo awesome... 

So many great shots... 

So much regret... so very, very painful... 

That concludes the underwater portion of my two week trip to Lake George. Next week stay tuned for the kid travel portion. I'll go over flying by myself with a two year old (yikes!) and what it's like to photograph with toddlers around and, of course, some really awesome photos I took of the kiddo and his cousins. 

In conclusion, I just want to mention that I recently watched Chasing Coral on Netflix. I cried through most of it. Please watch it. After this blog post you have to know that I love the water. Watching the oceans die is really emotional for me. I always find myself wondering what the oceans looked like 30 years ago. Especially since I've noticed the coral bleaching and dying on dives I've taken in Hawaii. It's heartbreaking. I'd like to share this underwater world with my kid someday. We need to protect it. That's all! Enjoy your week and let me know if you have any questions or want to share your own fears and failures in the comments below!