Chasing Orcas, Finding Whales: The Story Behind My New Vancouver Wildlife Framed Prints for Sale

There is an old saying in travel photography: You can control your settings, but you can’t control the subject. Nowhere is this truer than when you are bobbing on a boat off the coast of Vancouver, camera in hand, waiting for nature to show up.

My website is about finding the framed travel photos that other people want to buy so, before I left for this trip, I threw a question out to my social media followers: "What do you want me to take photos of?"

I got plenty of answers, but a couple stood out. Sandor came back with a classic, ambitious request. He didn't want a cityscape or a mountain; he wanted the "Wolf of the Sea." The Killer Whale..... He wanted an Orca.

The Hunt for the Blackfish

I booked a boat ride specifically to fulfill this mission. I was ready. I had the long lens, the fast shutter speed, and the determination.

However, the captain quickly tempered my expectations. Apparently, Orcas were incredibly rare at that specific time of year. My heart sank a little. I didn't want to go back to Sandor empty-handed, but the ocean is a vast place, and the wildlife keeps its own schedule.

We spent hours scanning the horizon. Just as I was resigning myself to a landscape shoot, the water exploded.

The Million-Dollar Shot

It wasn't an Orca. It was a massive Humpback Whale, and it wasn't just swimming—it was breaching.

The guide told us this was likely mating behaviour, a display of raw power and dominance. The whale launched its massive body entirely out of the water. It was a rare, split-second moment.

But what made the photo truly spectacular wasn't just the action; it was the light. The sun was hitting the water and the sky in such a way that it created a backdrop of incredible colors—golds, blues, and magentas wrapping around the silhouette of the leviathan. It was, technically and aesthetically, one of the best wildlife photos I have ever taken.

I thought, "Okay, it’s not an Orca, but surely this is an acceptable substitute."

A humpback whale breaching on the background of a beautiful sky

The Lazing Locals

On the way back, with the adrenaline of the whale breach fading, we passed a rocky Isle.

There was a colony of seals simply lazing about. They were doing absolutely nothing, just lying there as the ocean swelled around them. I snapped a few frames, as they bathed in the soft light. And another as the waves swelled over the seal unperturbed. The sea spray hanging in the air, catching the light. I snapped a moment when the water filled the atmosphere. It was certainly much quieter, lighter image, than the breaching whale.

Sandor's chosen print framed for him in a white frame.

The Verdict

When I got back to shore and processed the images, I reached out to Sandor.

"I was out of luck, Orca are rare this time of year," I told him. "But I have two options for you. One is a once-in-a-lifetime shot of a Humpback breaching against a sunset. The other is a beautiful majestic scene of seals getting splashed by waves. Both are beautiful options and the choice is yours"

I waited for him to obviously choose the dramatic whale photo.

He chose the seals.

I was floored! Thinking that the image closer to what he wanted was the one he would go for, but secretly that was my preferred print, particularly when it was beautifully framed and mounted. There is something serene about the seals, something tactile about the water spraying over them that you can almost feel.

It just goes to show that in photography, the "hero shot" isn't always the one that speaks to people. Sometimes, it’s just a couple of seals enjoying a lazy afternoon in Vancouver.