Kimberli Bindschatel

Whales!

Just got home from two weeks in Hawaii, most of the time spent on Maui. Wow, the whales! So this happened. I was zoomed in to 400mm, photographing a calf when, shazam, mom rockets out of the water between us. This is full frame. I zoomed out as fast as I could and got

this shot. The best whale photograph I’ve ever captured. So excited! Still pinching myself. That’s going on the wall!

Here’s the calf, practicing breaching like mom, building up those muscles for the long trek to Alaska.

The next morning, very early, we came upon a competition group, that’s where several males follow a female and fight for her attention. Two males (we assume) breached over and over again beside the boat. Lighting wasn’t great, but this one was the best shot. Amazing!

Another of the humpback whale’s showy surface behaviors is a powerful maneuver known as a peduncle throw. The peduncle is the muscle where the tail fluke connects to the body. A peduncle throw is a quick, powerful upward and sideways thrust of the fluke and peduncle, landing with a huge splash of water.

I’ve photographed humpback whales in Alaska, Mexico and now Maui, but this is by far the most beautiful fluke shot I’ve even got. The light is stunning, don’t you think?

Tail slapping.

Another cool fluke shot.

Post a comment below. Love to hear what you think!

Email Trouble

By Kimberli Bindschatel

Just an FYI, if you tried to email me and got no response, please try again. Had some email trouble and switched web host companies. Hoping all is working now. Thanks for your patience.

Humpback Whale, Bahía de Banderas, Mexico

By Kimberli Bindschatel

On my way to Maui for the first time to photograph whales. Supposed to be the best whale watching in the world. I can’t wait. My experiences in Alaska and Mexico will be hard to beat. This image was made the first time I visited Banderas Bay, a mating and birthing area for humpback whales. Nothing compares to being in the presence of these magnificent creatures. To hear them breathe. I’m moved every time.

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Another great InstaFreebie Book Deal!

By Kimberli Bindschatel

I’m proud to be part of this InstaFreebie promotion. A list of fantastic authors are giving books away FREE! You can download as many as you’d like. They are Sci-fi and Adventure. Check it out at this link. (Or click the image) For a limited time so don’t delay.

Costa Rica Wildlife Photos – Teaser

By Kimberli Bindschatel

I’m so excited to share some photos from my recent trip to Costa Rica. These are a few of the best.

The Squirrel Monkey above is highly endangered. They are so cute and docile, they’ve been very popular as pets and are almost gone in the wild.

The Scarlet Macaw is another endangered animal, again taken as pets and their beautiful plumage for decoration.

The White-faced Capuchin is a smart primate, crafty even. Tourists are warned not to leave anything on the beach when they go swimming because these little guys like to run off with shiny trinkets.

The Emerald Toucanet, a bird I had not yet seen. I was thrilled to capture this portrait. Isn’t he a spectacular bird!

The Northern Tamandua, an anteater, is nocturnal. We got lucky enough to find one snoozing on a palm tree.

The Red-eyed Leaf Frog is the iconic critter of Costa Rica. He was absolutely stunning.

One can’t talk of the wildlife of Costa Rica without including the iguana.

You hope to see a sloth (you’d think they wouldn’t be that hard to find, but you’d be surprised) so when Amber and I came across this little cutie and photographed him for almost two hours as he stretched and posed for us, we couldn’t believe it. We named him Hollywood!

I’m sure my fellow photographers will appreciate this photo. I’ve always dreamed of catching a shot like this. Wow! You fire away, click, click, click, then in editing this pops up. Mind blown!

All these and more are in my new book, Costa Rica Wildlife: A Photographic Collection, available in just a few days. I’ll post when it’s official. Also, Costa Rica Birds: A Photographic Collection and Costa Rica Hummingbirds: A Photographic Collection are in the works, so stay tuned.

Instafreebie Book Deals

By Kimberli Bindschatel

I’m proud to be part of this promotion. A list of fantastic authors are giving books away FREE! You can download as many as you’d like. They are all Thriller, Mystery or Horror. Check it out at this link. (Or click the image) From Jan. 17-22. So don’t delay.

Want to travel with me?

By Kimberli Bindschatel

So, I’m pondering leading some tours in Costa Rica and Alaska to see wildlife. Would you be interested in joining me for a conservation-minded tour? What an adventure we would have! Please send me an email. I’d like to gauge the interest.

kimberli@kimberlibindschatel.com

Cozy Palooza New Year’s Bash

By Kimberli Bindschatel

I’m delighted to share that I’m part of a great promo with some other cozy mystery writers, the Cozy Palooza New Year’s Bash.

STUFF YOUR E-READERS WITH FREE AND 99 CENT BOOKS!

Three-toed Sloth, Hacienda Baru, Costa Rica

By Kimberli Bindschatel

Since my trip to Costa Rica in 2010, I haven’t been able wait to go back with all my camera gear and that dream has come true! Wait until you see all the photos. I can’t wait to share them. My friend Amber and I shot 1000s of frames in the two weeks we traveled around Costa Rica. Amazing! This sloth was so animated and enjoying posing for us we named him Hollywood. We were blessed! More to come…

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Blooper Reel – Costa Rica 2016

By Kimberli Bindschatel

Well, the life of a wildlife photographer is never boring. On this trip, we were charged by an alpha male white-faced capuchin. That was a highlight. Of all the beautiful things I witness, I only capture a few in images. For the rest of the time, there are often near misses. I thought it would be fun to share a few of those.

I was photographing something else when my photo friend, Amber, saw this toucan fly in and land. I swung the camera around and shot off a few frames before checking the settings. He took off again just as I got the settings changed, but leaves always have a way of being in an inconvenient spot.

Sometimes birds take flight so quickly and there’s no time to adjust.

More pesky leaves:

Sometimes I just plain miss the focus (I’ll blame it on the autofocus not being able to read my mind!)

Then there was this baby spider monkey. We saw several, high in the treetops, moving quickly. Not much of a chance for photos. One quick moment and I missed it. Bad focus. Darn!