Photographing the Rocks off of Cabo San Lucas
For a change of pace, we decided to join the throngs of people at Cabo San Lucas. We attempted the transition gently, with a wake-up at sunrise off of the famous arch at Friar’s Rocks. As the sun cleared the horizon and bathed the cliffs in color, we had our first authentic Cabo experience: the massive shadow of a great lumbering cruise ship crawled across the rocks. Then, as Cabo woke, a flotilla of fishing boats raced by, slashing the water to a chaos of wakes. But despite these distractions, we enjoyed the scene. The tropical light intensified. Swells began kicking the rocks and wrapping them in spray. This being a photographic expedition, we decided to spice up the scene. We dropped colorful kayaks with colorful paddlers, and a glossy Zodiac joined the team. We snapped them and the rocks from every angle, looking for the ideal cover shot.
Entering the inner harbor, we found the usual Cabo madness. Countless people and countless boats dodged each other, or struck the perfect pose. Wandering in town we found the land of perpetual Spring Break. Restaurants and bars bustled. Sidewalk vendors hawked chatchkitas and time-shares. Snorkelers found that the craziness of Cabo pursued them. As they swam, glass-bottomed boats played bumper cars overhead, and garish armadas of kayaks attempted repeated invasions. Nevertheless, it was peaceful beneath the waves, and colorful tropical fish were abundant. Others bussed to San Jose del Cabo for a little shopping in more relaxed conditions, or to find and photo birds at an unusual river-mouth marsh.
By afternoon, the National Geographic Sea Bird was back in her usual pelagic habitat. Some sea birds follow whales for the food that they stir up to the surface, but this one sought them just for the thrill and the beauty that they bring. A sea-mount off Baja California’s tip is well known for humpbacks. Sure enough, we found many, but we were looking for particularly frolicsome whales. A cow-calf pair looked interesting, but as we approached they went into a series of regular shallow dives – pretty enough, but they were soon dismissed as “inferior.” Our discrimination paid off as we found a calf seemingly intent on lashing the sea to a lather. Again and again the whale lifted his tail and slapped the surface, making a big splash and a satisfying “thwack.” Occasionally, for a bit of relief, he made a series of breaches. The sun started down, so the Captain maneuvered the ship to bring the whale into sparkling yellow light. Banks of cameras clicked to put the bats of Carlsbad to echolocatory shame. At last, the young whale surfaced just a few tens of feet off the bow, and gave a magnificent series of tail-lobs. As the sun fell behind the mountains, it illuminated, in deepening citrus shades, great chevrons of cloud, which glowed like skeins of fiery geese. The whale and the sunset were considered, and pronounced “Superior.”
For a change of pace, we decided to join the throngs of people at Cabo San Lucas. We attempted the transition gently, with a wake-up at sunrise off of the famous arch at Friar’s Rocks. As the sun cleared the horizon and bathed the cliffs in color, we had our first authentic Cabo experience: the massive shadow of a great lumbering cruise ship crawled across the rocks. Then, as Cabo woke, a flotilla of fishing boats raced by, slashing the water to a chaos of wakes. But despite these distractions, we enjoyed the scene. The tropical light intensified. Swells began kicking the rocks and wrapping them in spray. This being a photographic expedition, we decided to spice up the scene. We dropped colorful kayaks with colorful paddlers, and a glossy Zodiac joined the team. We snapped them and the rocks from every angle, looking for the ideal cover shot.
Entering the inner harbor, we found the usual Cabo madness. Countless people and countless boats dodged each other, or struck the perfect pose. Wandering in town we found the land of perpetual Spring Break. Restaurants and bars bustled. Sidewalk vendors hawked chatchkitas and time-shares. Snorkelers found that the craziness of Cabo pursued them. As they swam, glass-bottomed boats played bumper cars overhead, and garish armadas of kayaks attempted repeated invasions. Nevertheless, it was peaceful beneath the waves, and colorful tropical fish were abundant. Others bussed to San Jose del Cabo for a little shopping in more relaxed conditions, or to find and photo birds at an unusual river-mouth marsh.
By afternoon, the National Geographic Sea Bird was back in her usual pelagic habitat. Some sea birds follow whales for the food that they stir up to the surface, but this one sought them just for the thrill and the beauty that they bring. A sea-mount off Baja California’s tip is well known for humpbacks. Sure enough, we found many, but we were looking for particularly frolicsome whales. A cow-calf pair looked interesting, but as we approached they went into a series of regular shallow dives – pretty enough, but they were soon dismissed as “inferior.” Our discrimination paid off as we found a calf seemingly intent on lashing the sea to a lather. Again and again the whale lifted his tail and slapped the surface, making a big splash and a satisfying “thwack.” Occasionally, for a bit of relief, he made a series of breaches. The sun started down, so the Captain maneuvered the ship to bring the whale into sparkling yellow light. Banks of cameras clicked to put the bats of Carlsbad to echolocatory shame. At last, the young whale surfaced just a few tens of feet off the bow, and gave a magnificent series of tail-lobs. As the sun fell behind the mountains, it illuminated, in deepening citrus shades, great chevrons of cloud, which glowed like skeins of fiery geese. The whale and the sunset were considered, and pronounced “Superior.”
