Tarifa, Spain (2007)

These pictures were taken in Tarifa and the Strait of Gibraltar during whale watching with the Swiss foundation FIRMM. Many thanks to Katharina Heyer and all the participants who made this possible. I can warmly recommend this unique experience!

Smiley in the sand — Fig. 1: Smiley in the sand K750i; Δt=1/2500 s; f/2.8; ISO 100; 21 July 2007 19:34:53

Fins on the beach — Fig. 2: Fins on the beach K750i; Δt=1/3200 s; f/2.8; ISO 100; 22 July 2007 15:56:44

Container Ship — Fig. 3: A nice little container ship. He probably has cars on board, because many containers are labeled "Hyundai". — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=200 mm; f/9.0; ISO 400; 23 July 2007 08:56:53

Jumping Bottlenose Dolphin — Fig. 4: Yes, finally a jumping bottlenose dolphin in the right light, moment with everything and caught sharply. The best show usually takes place at the front of the boat. — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=92 mm; f/5.0; ISO 400; 23 July 2007 09:08:41

Bottlenose dolphin jumping — Fig. 5: And another picture of the same jump. Had to rotate and crop it a bit as the horizon was crooked. — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=92 mm; f/5.0; ISO 400; 23 July 2007 09:08:41

Jumping Bottlenose Dolphin — Fig. 6: Well, as is so often the case, the bottlenose dolphin here is a bit too far away to capture his jump nicely. — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=200 mm; f/6.3; ISO 400; 23 July 2007 09:13:10

Bottlenose Dolphin — Fig. 7: A bottlenose dolphin with its head above water — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=200 mm; f/5.0; ISO 400; 23 July 2007 17:47:33

Bottlenose Dolphin — Fig. 8: A bottlenose dolphin shooting out of the sea. — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=105 mm; f/5.6; ISO 400; 23 July 2007 17:53:17

Jumping Bottlenose Dolphin — Fig. 9: This bottlenose dolphin jumped out of the water several times in a row and threw itself to one side. In the background you can still see Tarifa, the southernmost town in Europe. — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=200 mm; f/5.0; ISO 400; 23 July 2007 17:55:37

Leaping Bottlenose Dolphin — Fig. 10: A bottlenose dolphin jumping out of the water and throwing itself onto its side. In the background you can still see Tarifa, the southernmost town in Europe. — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=200 mm; f/6.3; ISO 400; 23 July 2007 17:56:35

Bottlenose Dolphin — Fig. 11: A bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=200 mm; f/5.6; ISO 400; 24 July 2007 10:45:37

Bottlenose Dolphin — Fig. 12: A bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=80 mm; f/5.0; ISO 400; 24 July 2007 10:55:34

Katharina — Fig. 13: Katharina Heyer, the founder of the FIRMM Foundation — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=80 mm; f/7.1; ISO 400; 24 July 2007 11:04:16

Pilot whale — Fig. 14: A common pilot whale (Globicephala melas) — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=200 mm; f/7.1; ISO 400; 24 July 2007 11:10:27

Bottlenose Dolphin — Fig. 15: A bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=200 mm; f/5.6; ISO 400; 24 July 2007 11:10:50

Bottlenose Dolphin — Fig. 16: A bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). This is the follow-up image of an almost perfect shot of a jump. Unfortunately, the nose was cut off in the picture. — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=200 mm; f/6.3; ISO 400; 24 July 2007 11:13:14

Young pilot whale — Fig. 17: A young pilot whale with its mother. — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=185 mm; f/6.3; ISO 400; 24 July 2007 11:22:17

Young pilot whale — Fig. 18: A young pilot whale with its mother. — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=92 mm; f/5.6; ISO 400; 24 July 2007 11:22:24

Bottlenose Dolphin — Fig. 19: A bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=175 mm; f/5.0; ISO 400; 24 July 2007 11:28:33

Tanker Filikon — Fig. 20: The tanker Filikon. As you will see in the next few pictures, there are a few bottlenose dolphins riding in its bow wave. — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=80 mm; f/10.0; ISO 400; 24 July 2007 11:29:30

Bow wave riding — Fig. 21: Bottlenose dolphins riding waves in the bow wave of a large tanker. Morocco is in the background. — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=200 mm; f/9.0; ISO 400; 24 July 2007 11:30:12

Bow wave riding — Fig. 22: Bottlenose dolphins riding waves in the bow wave of a large tanker. In the background you can see Morocco. — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=200 mm; f/11.0; ISO 400; 24 July 2007 11:30:25

Bottlenose Dolphin — Fig. 23: A bottlenose dolphin diving — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=80 mm; f/9.0; ISO 400; 24 July 2007 15:38:30

Pilot Whale — Fig. 24: A baby pilot whale — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=200 mm; f/5.6; ISO 400; 24 July 2007 18:38:52

Moroccan fishermen — Fig. 25: Moroccan fishermen on their small nutshell try to catch a tuna in the evening sun. In the background the mainland of Morocco. — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=200 mm; f/8.0; ISO 400; 24 July 2007 19:07:06

Moroccan fishermen — Fig. 26: Moroccan fishermen on their small nutshell try to catch a tuna in the evening sun. — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=86 mm; f/7.1; ISO 400; 24 July 2007 19:07:24

Moroccan fishermen — Fig. 27: Moroccan fishermen on their small nutshell try to catch a tuna in the evening sun. — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/800 s; f=200 mm; f/22.0; ISO 400; 24 July 2007 19:08:50

FIRMM Boat — Fig. 28: The small boat by FIRMM. On the left of the picture on the railing is Jörn Selling, one of the marine biologists who has been with us for many years. — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=200 mm; f/10.0; ISO 400; 27 July 2007 10:37:59

Underwater Film — Fig. 29: The Stella Maris Film film crew at work on the film "The Last Giants - when the sea dies" about the whales and dolphins in the Strait of Gibraltar. The underwater film camera is presented to the diver. — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=200 mm; f/9.0; ISO 400; 27 July 2007 10:45:58

Underwater Film — Fig. 30: The Stella Maris Film film crew at work on the film "The Last Giants - when the sea dies" about the whales and dolphins in the Strait of Gibraltar. Snorkeling in the Strait of Gibraltar is not without its dangers. As you can see here, there is constant traffic with large ships. There are also strong currents. — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=130 mm; f/9.0; ISO 400; 27 July 2007 10:48:01

Underwater Film — Fig. 31: The Stella Maris Film film crew at work on the film "The Last Giants - when the sea dies" about the whales and dolphins in the Strait of Gibraltar. A snorkeler can still be seen among the pilot dwales. In the background a gigantic container freighter. — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=200 mm; f/10.0; ISO 400; 27 July 2007 10:49:36

Zodiac with Tarifa-Jet — Fig. 32: Just be careful not to get under the ferry. Stella Maris Film film crew at work on the film "The Last Giants - when the sea dies". — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=200 mm; f/7.1; ISO 400; 27 July 2007 10:57:30

Whale-Watcher — Fig. 33: Whale-Watchers watch the film crew of Stella Maris Film as they film "The Last Giants - when the sea dies". — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=80 mm; f/9.0; ISO 400; 27 July 2007 10:59:09

Zodiac with Pilot Whale — Fig. 34: The Stella Maris Film film crew at work on the film "The Last Giants - when the sea dies" about the whales and dolphins in the Strait of Gibraltar. Camerawoman Kathleen Herbst films a pilot whale by the rubber dinghy. — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=200 mm; f/7.1; ISO 400; 27 July 2007 11:00:34

Scuba Plankton — Fig. 35: Scuba Plankton. The two cameramen from Stella Maris Film in the middle of the Strait of Gibraltar. — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=200 mm; f/7.1; ISO 400; 27 July 2007 11:01:11

Film team — Fig. 36: The film team from Stella Maris Film with Michael Weyhers, Daniele Grieco, Kathleen Herbst (from left to right) is visibly over the moon about the close encounter with pilot whales underwater in the Strait of Gibraltar. The film "The Last Giants - When the Sea Dies" shot here opened in September 2009 in cinemas. — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=100 mm; f/8.0; ISO 400; 27 July 2007 11:11:29

Photoshoot — Fig. 37: The Stella Maris Film film crew at the photoshoot. The film "The Last Giants - When the Sea Dies" shot here opened in September 2009 in cinemas. — Strait of Gibraltar Nikon D200; Δt=1/1000 s; f=105 mm; f/9.0; ISO 400; 27 July 2007 11:12:31