View allAll Photos Tagged Flip(acrobatic)
Humpback Whale Breaching
Personal Note: Having moved several years ago to the Monterey Bay Area in Northern California, I decided to teach myself wildlife photography and concentrate on Marine Mammals of the Monterey Bay, which was self-published as a photo essay book. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is one of the most abundant marine sanctuaries in the World with extensive academic research facilities studying its inhabitants and health.
One of the species I have concentrated my efforts on has been the highly intelligent and entertaining Humpback Whale. For two years I am been trying to capture them breaching out of the water. With two flips of their flukes they can propel 35 to 50 tons of mammal completely out of the water! Prior to July 6, 2015 I have only been able to photograph them breaching from a distance.
Over the next two weeks I will be posting a series of images from this incredible experience.
Here are some of the photographic issues:
•They never stop moving, even when they place half of their brain on "rest" while the other half navigates for them. When that half has enough rest, the other half takes over.
•Your Whale Boat is moving about 80% of the time. If the Bay is choppy that means it is rocking back and forth as it propels itself forward.
•Other Whale Boats are positioned around the best sites and can ruin your shot.
•We can tell when a breaching Humpback is going to dive. What we cannot tell is if they are going to keep breaching or just feed on the bottom?
•Normally they breach once or twice and stop. The Blue Ocean Whale Watch boat captain has seen Humpbacks breach as many as 70 times. They are based in Moss Landing and I highly recommend them. You can book a trip at: blueoceanwhalewatch.com/contact.
•Therefore, you do not know how long they are going to stay under the water (5-7 mins. is normal) or WHERE OR WHEN THEY ARE GOING TO COME UP, which is always in a different place.
•I keep my camera under my chin and watch over the top of the lens. Once they start to breach, you have 3-5 seconds to find them in your viewfinder and squeeze off a series of shots. If they are less than 1/3rd of my viewfinder I know they are too far away.
•On the way back to port, three different whales did a "Lunge Feed" in unison just like in the Olympic synchronized swimming events. It was extraordinary, but It took us all by surprise and I could not even raise my camera in time.
•We all know whales communicate with each other, but this was an extraordinary example. The three whales dove together, communicated with each other and then raced to the surface side by side with their mouths wide open! They then captured the sardines, anchovies and or krill, filtered out the water, swallowed and dove again. They can take in enormous amounts of water (up to 70% of their body weight) filter out the fish and krill and eject the water.
•It is hard to describe, but three huge whales surfacing with their mouths open, side-by-side, perfectly in unison takes your breath away. I literally snapped my sunglasses in half during the whole breaching experience, but it was a small price to pay. If anyone had gotten a sharp image of these three whales, it would have been a cover story.
•Humpback whales (belong to the class of marine mammals known as rorquals that feed through extraordinarily energetic lunges during which they engulf large volumes of water equal to as much as 70% of their body mass. (Source: Marine Mammal Science)
For those of you that would like to know more about these incredible creatures please read below or visit the source: (www.marinemammalcenter.org/)
HUMPBACK WHALE: Megaptera novaeangliae (meaning of scientific name: (Large-Winged of New England)
BEHAVIOR: Acrobatic humpbacks regularly breach (jump out of the water), stroke each other, and slap the water with their flippers and flukes. Scientists believe these activities are forms of communication because they create a great deal of noise, which can be heard at long distances under water. Humpbacks swim in groups or pods of up to a dozen at calving grounds, and in smaller groups of three to four during migration. Unlike other baleen whales, they can often be seen feeding cooperatively.
DESCRIPTION: The humpback whale was given its common name because of the shape of its dorsal (back) fin and the way it looks when the animal is diving. Its scientific name, Megaptera, means, "large-winged" and refers to its long, white, wing-like flippers that are often as long as one-third of the animal's body length. Humpbacks are gray or black, except for the flippers, parts of the chest and belly, and sometimes the underside of the tail flukes. Each whale has its own unique pattern on the underside of its tail flukes, which can be used like "fingerprints" to identify individual whales. Unique to humpbacks are wartlike round protuberances (bumps or tubricales) that occur on the head forward of the blowhole and on the edges of the flippers. Humpbacks are baleen whales that have 14 to 35 long throat pleats that expand when the whale takes in water while feeding.
Northern Hemisphere humpbacks reach an average length of 49 to 52 feet (15-16 m), and southern humpbacks reach 60 feet (18 m). Females are generally larger than the males. The average weight for a mature adult is 35 to 50 tons.
RANGE/HABITAT: Humpbacks are found in all oceans to the edges of polar ice, and follow definite migration paths from their summer feeding grounds to warmer waters in the winter. In the North Pacific, where their populations reach 15,000, humpbacks feed in the summer along the coast from California to Alaska. In the winter, they migrate to breeding grounds off of Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Japan. The population in California migrates to Mexico and Costa Rica, whereas the Alaskan population migrates to Hawaii.
In feeding, they use baleen plates to strain other small fish such as krill or herring, and plankton out of the water. Their 270-to-400 baleen plates are dark and each is about two and a half feet long. Humpbacks use several different feeding methods. While "lunge feeding," they plow through concentrated areas of food with their huge mouths open, swelling with large quantities of food and water. During "bubble net feeding," which is unique to humpback whales, one or several whales blow a ring of bubbles from their blowholes that encircle a school of krill or fish. The whales then swim through the "net" with their mouths agape, taking in large amounts of food.
Humpbacks are best known for their haunting vocalizations or "singing." They have a rich repertoire that covers many octaves and includes frequencies beyond the threshold of human hearing. These songs, apparently sung by males, last as long as 20 minutes, after which they are repeated, often with slight changes. Each year, the song undergoes changes from the year before, but all males sing the same song. When a whale is singing, it floats suspended in the water, head down and relatively motionless. Behavior such as dominance, aggression, and mate attraction may be related to singing.
MATING AND BREEDING: Females give birth every two or more years. Pregnancies last for 12 months. The calves nurse for eight to eleven months. When weaned, the calves are 24-27 feet (8-9 m) long.
STATUS: Humpbacks are among the most endangered whales and less than 10% of their original population remains. However, in recent years, humpbacks have been observed more and more frequently feeding along the California coast. Nearly 1400 humpbacks feed along the California Coast in the summer and fall. The current word population is estimated between 35-40,000.
The Marine Mammal Center has helped several humpback whales over the years. One famous patient was Humphrey the humpback, who we helped twice. First in 1985, he swam up the Sacramento River, and then in 1990 he was stuck on a mudflat in San Francisco Bay. Both times, we successfully got him back out into ocean. In 2007, a mother and calf pair called Delta and Dawn, received world-wide attention as they swam 75 miles inland up the Sacramento River (going farther than Humphrey). Both had severe wounds from a ship strike. After antibiotics were administered to these free-swimming whales, a first in marine mammal history mom and calf returned to the ocean.
Lucha VaVOOM headlines the ‘El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar' At Big Day Out 2013; Sydney, Australia
Red hot extreme Lucha Libre pro wrestling and more is what Sydney got at today's Big Day Out in heatwave continues.
The action and lucha heat matched the heatwave conditions.
Sadly, not many lucha wrestling masks were sold (they don't feel so good at the best of times, let alone in the heat), but drink sales were at fever pitch, as was crowd participation, with even a couple of fans having an impromptu "match" before official bell time. Interestingly, the Lucha promoter didn't seem to mind. There was also the good old Mexican wave done by what must have been about 500 fans, many of which also screamed out Ric Flair trademark "Wooooo"! calls (with and without wrestling chops to the chest).
The Lucha's will be in Australia for about a week, as part of Australia's Big Day Out festival touring Australia, and then they will work they was back to LA in the U.S of A.
The megastars of Los Angeles based Lucha VaVoom rumbled to fever pitch at the music festival and fans lapped up the mix of Mexican lucha libre wrestling, burlesque dancing and "post-punk vaudeville", as The Daily Telegraph called it.
Inspired by the Mexican pseudo sport whose champions are household names, the sequin and lycra-clad luchadores flip and fly in the wrestling ring in good (technicos) VS evil (rudos) matches. Headline stars such as Cassandro, Crazy Chicken, Dirty Sanchez and Chocolate Caliente are very good pro wrestlers, and heavily inspired by punk and cabaret, but the look of things.
Co-founder Rita D'Albert worked with rock bands for years before forming this unique act a decade ago.
"I think crazy Mexican wrestling is a pretty natural progression from rock'n'roll," she said. "It's theatrical, it's got energy and a lot of rock shows don't have that anymore."
Media Man and Wrestling News Media have seen a lot of pro wrestling in their day and were overheard "WWE might be generally more technical than Lucha VaVoom, but this LA Mexican troupe is all over them for extreme stuff - the kind that put the legendary and original ECW on the map. Judging by today, Lucha VaVoom looks to have a fantastic and extreme future in Australia. As WWE superstar Ryback would say, "Feed Me More". Oh, dream match we want to see - WWE's Rey Mysterio VS any of these guys. It will probly never happen, but we can dream.
Today lucha sports entertainment was certainly a dream come true for many Australian pro wrestling fans who like their pro wrestling more on the extreme, colourful and musical side. WrestleMania look out!
Press Release...
LUCHA VaVOOM TO HEADLINE THE ‘EL JIMADOR MEXICAN WRESTLING BAR’ AT BIG DAY OUT 2013...
LUCHA VAVOOM HEADED TO BIG DAY OUT 2013...
Direct from the US, the Lucha VaVOOM troupe will be putting on a show quite unlike any other at BIG DAY OUT 2013. Lucha VaVOOM is non-stop, action-packed surrealism where Mexican masked wrestlers perform breathtaking acrobatic feats in a fast-paced, fun-filled, character-driven style. Known for their far-out flamboyance, its quick, exhibition-style, one-fall Lucha Libre matches designed for maximum enjoyment and action.
The ultimate distraction, Lucha VaVOOM like a little sexo with their violencia; in between matches the finest handpicked burlesque acts from around the world wow the crowds with their unique striptease skills including raucous aerial acts, pogo-stick peelers and hula-hoop hotties. Their insane antics have Jack Black proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the shit!” and it’s easy to see why.
Celebrating their tenth anniversary, Lucha VaVOOM have only got crazier over time. Rooted in history, they draw inspiration from the bizarre world of sixties Mexican Lucha Cinema. The troupe has been considered one of the most outrageous shows on earth having performed sold-out shows all around the world, they have taken to the stage alongside the likes of legends such as Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle, as well as appearances on Jimmy Kimmel, Attack of the Show, Carson Daly and A Current Affair. Los Angeles Times said the Lucha VaVOOM show “has the pacing of a prison break” and BIG DAY OUT 2013 punters are set for something spectacular with the crew perform in a dedicated area. Here’s what the press have had to say:
“Lucha VaVOOM has a big future.” TIME MAGAZINE
“… It’s enough to make even the most jaded Hollywood insider jump up and yell ‘Smackdown.” ROLLING STONE
“…a raucous and irreverent extravaganza of burlesque, comedy and classic Mexican luchadore wrestling.” THE HUFFINGTON POST.
“Lucha VaVoom is the most exciting, bonkers show I’ve seen in ages.” THE FACE (UK)
“A madcap mix of Mexican wrestling, comedy, and vintage burlesque. I love, love, love it.” VANITY FAIR
“…a weird mix of cabaret, burlesque, Mexican Luchador wrestling with a live DJ, crowd interaction and commentary…depending on the night, people like Drew Carey turn up to do commentary for it. It is the most bizarre experience. The entire audience is dressed up and it’s like Halloween, everyone is in some weird costume. It was the greatest night of entertainment I have probably seen in my entire life.” ROVE MCMANUS
Lucha VaVOOM will be appearing at the El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar at all 2013 Big Day Out dates.
Mexican Masked Wrestling + Burlesque + Comedy = Lucha VaVOOM...
Lucha VaVOOM is a non-stop, action-packed scream-a-thon, where Mexican Masked wrestlers flip and fly, performing breathtaking acrobatic feats while battling evil luchadores. Historically speaking, Lucha VaVOOM brings the bizarre world of 60’s Mexican Lucha Cinema to life. Brave, masked wrestling crime fighters save the world from evil brains, vampires, the Bermuda Triangle etc; always with an obligatory stop at the local go-go club.
In-between matches, the finest, handpicked burlesque acts from around the world astound; at Lucha VaVOOM, we like a little sexo with our violencia. Raucous aerial acts, Pogo-stick peelers, hula-hoop hotties; we’ve got it all!
But wait there’s more! Our color commentary is handled by comedians Tom Kenny, Dana Gould and Blaine Capatch. Other guest commentators include Fred Armisen, Brian Poussein, Patton Oswalt, Greg Proops, Jeffrey Ross and Bobcat Goldthwait. Even Jack Black sat in, proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the sh*t!
It all began in August 2003 as a one off event. The overwhelming crowd response convinced Rita & Liz to do it again, and as soon as possible.
Ever since, Lucha VaVOOM has played at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles three times a year -- Valentines Day, Mid-summer, and Halloween. From there, Lucha brought it’s circus to Toronto, where they did two nights at the Koolhaus and made every newspaper and TV news program, including Much Music.
In 2005, Lucha VaVOOM was asked to be a part of the first HBO Las Vegas Comedy Festival, where they performed alongside Jon Stewart, Lewis Black and Dave Chapelle. That same year they performed at the famous Sony E3 party at Dodger Stadium, where they took the spotlight away from the Pussycat Dolls.
Lucha VaVOOM has gone on to perform in Chicago, San Francisco and Amsterdam, with more cities on the way.
They’ve also appeared on Jimmy Kimmel, CBS National News, G4's Attack of the Show, Channel X in Britain and A Current Affair just to name a few.
Websites
Big Day Out
Big Day Out - Lucha VaVOOM
www.bigdayout.com/mexican-wrestling-bar
Lucha VaVOOM official website
Media Man Int
Eva Rinaldi Photography
Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr - Lucha VaVOOM
www.flickr.com/photos/evarinaldiphotography/sets/72157632...
Wrestling News Media
Lucha VaVOOM headlines the ‘El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar' At Big Day Out 2013; Sydney, Australia
Red hot extreme Lucha Libre pro wrestling and more is what Sydney got at today's Big Day Out in heatwave continues.
The action and lucha heat matched the heatwave conditions.
Sadly, not many lucha wrestling masks were sold (they don't feel so good at the best of times, let alone in the heat), but drink sales were at fever pitch, as was crowd participation, with even a couple of fans having an impromptu "match" before official bell time. Interestingly, the Lucha promoter didn't seem to mind. There was also the good old Mexican wave done by what must have been about 500 fans, many of which also screamed out Ric Flair trademark "Wooooo"! calls (with and without wrestling chops to the chest).
The Lucha's will be in Australia for about a week, as part of Australia's Big Day Out festival touring Australia, and then they will work they was back to LA in the U.S of A.
The megastars of Los Angeles based Lucha VaVoom rumbled to fever pitch at the music festival and fans lapped up the mix of Mexican lucha libre wrestling, burlesque dancing and "post-punk vaudeville", as The Daily Telegraph called it.
Inspired by the Mexican pseudo sport whose champions are household names, the sequin and lycra-clad luchadores flip and fly in the wrestling ring in good (technicos) VS evil (rudos) matches. Headline stars such as Cassandro, Crazy Chicken, Dirty Sanchez and Chocolate Caliente are very good pro wrestlers, and heavily inspired by punk and cabaret, but the look of things.
Co-founder Rita D'Albert worked with rock bands for years before forming this unique act a decade ago.
"I think crazy Mexican wrestling is a pretty natural progression from rock'n'roll," she said. "It's theatrical, it's got energy and a lot of rock shows don't have that anymore."
Media Man and Wrestling News Media have seen a lot of pro wrestling in their day and were overheard "WWE might be generally more technical than Lucha VaVoom, but this LA Mexican troupe is all over them for extreme stuff - the kind that put the legendary and original ECW on the map. Judging by today, Lucha VaVoom looks to have a fantastic and extreme future in Australia. As WWE superstar Ryback would say, "Feed Me More". Oh, dream match we want to see - WWE's Rey Mysterio VS any of these guys. It will probly never happen, but we can dream.
Today lucha sports entertainment was certainly a dream come true for many Australian pro wrestling fans who like their pro wrestling more on the extreme, colourful and musical side. WrestleMania look out!
Press Release...
LUCHA VaVOOM TO HEADLINE THE ‘EL JIMADOR MEXICAN WRESTLING BAR’ AT BIG DAY OUT 2013...
LUCHA VAVOOM HEADED TO BIG DAY OUT 2013...
Direct from the US, the Lucha VaVOOM troupe will be putting on a show quite unlike any other at BIG DAY OUT 2013. Lucha VaVOOM is non-stop, action-packed surrealism where Mexican masked wrestlers perform breathtaking acrobatic feats in a fast-paced, fun-filled, character-driven style. Known for their far-out flamboyance, its quick, exhibition-style, one-fall Lucha Libre matches designed for maximum enjoyment and action.
The ultimate distraction, Lucha VaVOOM like a little sexo with their violencia; in between matches the finest handpicked burlesque acts from around the world wow the crowds with their unique striptease skills including raucous aerial acts, pogo-stick peelers and hula-hoop hotties. Their insane antics have Jack Black proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the shit!” and it’s easy to see why.
Celebrating their tenth anniversary, Lucha VaVOOM have only got crazier over time. Rooted in history, they draw inspiration from the bizarre world of sixties Mexican Lucha Cinema. The troupe has been considered one of the most outrageous shows on earth having performed sold-out shows all around the world, they have taken to the stage alongside the likes of legends such as Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle, as well as appearances on Jimmy Kimmel, Attack of the Show, Carson Daly and A Current Affair. Los Angeles Times said the Lucha VaVOOM show “has the pacing of a prison break” and BIG DAY OUT 2013 punters are set for something spectacular with the crew perform in a dedicated area. Here’s what the press have had to say:
“Lucha VaVOOM has a big future.” TIME MAGAZINE
“… It’s enough to make even the most jaded Hollywood insider jump up and yell ‘Smackdown.” ROLLING STONE
“…a raucous and irreverent extravaganza of burlesque, comedy and classic Mexican luchadore wrestling.” THE HUFFINGTON POST.
“Lucha VaVoom is the most exciting, bonkers show I’ve seen in ages.” THE FACE (UK)
“A madcap mix of Mexican wrestling, comedy, and vintage burlesque. I love, love, love it.” VANITY FAIR
“…a weird mix of cabaret, burlesque, Mexican Luchador wrestling with a live DJ, crowd interaction and commentary…depending on the night, people like Drew Carey turn up to do commentary for it. It is the most bizarre experience. The entire audience is dressed up and it’s like Halloween, everyone is in some weird costume. It was the greatest night of entertainment I have probably seen in my entire life.” ROVE MCMANUS
Lucha VaVOOM will be appearing at the El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar at all 2013 Big Day Out dates.
Mexican Masked Wrestling + Burlesque + Comedy = Lucha VaVOOM...
Lucha VaVOOM is a non-stop, action-packed scream-a-thon, where Mexican Masked wrestlers flip and fly, performing breathtaking acrobatic feats while battling evil luchadores. Historically speaking, Lucha VaVOOM brings the bizarre world of 60’s Mexican Lucha Cinema to life. Brave, masked wrestling crime fighters save the world from evil brains, vampires, the Bermuda Triangle etc; always with an obligatory stop at the local go-go club.
In-between matches, the finest, handpicked burlesque acts from around the world astound; at Lucha VaVOOM, we like a little sexo with our violencia. Raucous aerial acts, Pogo-stick peelers, hula-hoop hotties; we’ve got it all!
But wait there’s more! Our color commentary is handled by comedians Tom Kenny, Dana Gould and Blaine Capatch. Other guest commentators include Fred Armisen, Brian Poussein, Patton Oswalt, Greg Proops, Jeffrey Ross and Bobcat Goldthwait. Even Jack Black sat in, proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the sh*t!
It all began in August 2003 as a one off event. The overwhelming crowd response convinced Rita & Liz to do it again, and as soon as possible.
Ever since, Lucha VaVOOM has played at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles three times a year -- Valentines Day, Mid-summer, and Halloween. From there, Lucha brought it’s circus to Toronto, where they did two nights at the Koolhaus and made every newspaper and TV news program, including Much Music.
In 2005, Lucha VaVOOM was asked to be a part of the first HBO Las Vegas Comedy Festival, where they performed alongside Jon Stewart, Lewis Black and Dave Chapelle. That same year they performed at the famous Sony E3 party at Dodger Stadium, where they took the spotlight away from the Pussycat Dolls.
Lucha VaVOOM has gone on to perform in Chicago, San Francisco and Amsterdam, with more cities on the way.
They’ve also appeared on Jimmy Kimmel, CBS National News, G4's Attack of the Show, Channel X in Britain and A Current Affair just to name a few.
Websites
Big Day Out
Big Day Out - Lucha VaVOOM
www.bigdayout.com/mexican-wrestling-bar
Lucha VaVOOM official website
Media Man Int
Eva Rinaldi Photography
Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr - Lucha VaVOOM
www.flickr.com/photos/evarinaldiphotography/sets/72157632...
Wrestling News Media
Lucha VaVOOM headlines the ‘El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar' At Big Day Out 2013; Sydney, Australia
Red hot extreme Lucha Libre pro wrestling and more is what Sydney got at today's Big Day Out in heatwave continues.
The action and lucha heat matched the heatwave conditions.
Sadly, not many lucha wrestling masks were sold (they don't feel so good at the best of times, let alone in the heat), but drink sales were at fever pitch, as was crowd participation, with even a couple of fans having an impromptu "match" before official bell time. Interestingly, the Lucha promoter didn't seem to mind. There was also the good old Mexican wave done by what must have been about 500 fans, many of which also screamed out Ric Flair trademark "Wooooo"! calls (with and without wrestling chops to the chest).
The Lucha's will be in Australia for about a week, as part of Australia's Big Day Out festival touring Australia, and then they will work they was back to LA in the U.S of A.
The megastars of Los Angeles based Lucha VaVoom rumbled to fever pitch at the music festival and fans lapped up the mix of Mexican lucha libre wrestling, burlesque dancing and "post-punk vaudeville", as The Daily Telegraph called it.
Inspired by the Mexican pseudo sport whose champions are household names, the sequin and lycra-clad luchadores flip and fly in the wrestling ring in good (technicos) VS evil (rudos) matches. Headline stars such as Cassandro, Crazy Chicken, Dirty Sanchez and Chocolate Caliente are very good pro wrestlers, and heavily inspired by punk and cabaret, but the look of things.
Co-founder Rita D'Albert worked with rock bands for years before forming this unique act a decade ago.
"I think crazy Mexican wrestling is a pretty natural progression from rock'n'roll," she said. "It's theatrical, it's got energy and a lot of rock shows don't have that anymore."
Media Man and Wrestling News Media have seen a lot of pro wrestling in their day and were overheard "WWE might be generally more technical than Lucha VaVoom, but this LA Mexican troupe is all over them for extreme stuff - the kind that put the legendary and original ECW on the map. Judging by today, Lucha VaVoom looks to have a fantastic and extreme future in Australia. As WWE superstar Ryback would say, "Feed Me More". Oh, dream match we want to see - WWE's Rey Mysterio VS any of these guys. It will probly never happen, but we can dream.
Today lucha sports entertainment was certainly a dream come true for many Australian pro wrestling fans who like their pro wrestling more on the extreme, colourful and musical side. WrestleMania look out!
Press Release...
LUCHA VaVOOM TO HEADLINE THE ‘EL JIMADOR MEXICAN WRESTLING BAR’ AT BIG DAY OUT 2013...
LUCHA VAVOOM HEADED TO BIG DAY OUT 2013...
Direct from the US, the Lucha VaVOOM troupe will be putting on a show quite unlike any other at BIG DAY OUT 2013. Lucha VaVOOM is non-stop, action-packed surrealism where Mexican masked wrestlers perform breathtaking acrobatic feats in a fast-paced, fun-filled, character-driven style. Known for their far-out flamboyance, its quick, exhibition-style, one-fall Lucha Libre matches designed for maximum enjoyment and action.
The ultimate distraction, Lucha VaVOOM like a little sexo with their violencia; in between matches the finest handpicked burlesque acts from around the world wow the crowds with their unique striptease skills including raucous aerial acts, pogo-stick peelers and hula-hoop hotties. Their insane antics have Jack Black proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the shit!” and it’s easy to see why.
Celebrating their tenth anniversary, Lucha VaVOOM have only got crazier over time. Rooted in history, they draw inspiration from the bizarre world of sixties Mexican Lucha Cinema. The troupe has been considered one of the most outrageous shows on earth having performed sold-out shows all around the world, they have taken to the stage alongside the likes of legends such as Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle, as well as appearances on Jimmy Kimmel, Attack of the Show, Carson Daly and A Current Affair. Los Angeles Times said the Lucha VaVOOM show “has the pacing of a prison break” and BIG DAY OUT 2013 punters are set for something spectacular with the crew perform in a dedicated area. Here’s what the press have had to say:
“Lucha VaVOOM has a big future.” TIME MAGAZINE
“… It’s enough to make even the most jaded Hollywood insider jump up and yell ‘Smackdown.” ROLLING STONE
“…a raucous and irreverent extravaganza of burlesque, comedy and classic Mexican luchadore wrestling.” THE HUFFINGTON POST.
“Lucha VaVoom is the most exciting, bonkers show I’ve seen in ages.” THE FACE (UK)
“A madcap mix of Mexican wrestling, comedy, and vintage burlesque. I love, love, love it.” VANITY FAIR
“…a weird mix of cabaret, burlesque, Mexican Luchador wrestling with a live DJ, crowd interaction and commentary…depending on the night, people like Drew Carey turn up to do commentary for it. It is the most bizarre experience. The entire audience is dressed up and it’s like Halloween, everyone is in some weird costume. It was the greatest night of entertainment I have probably seen in my entire life.” ROVE MCMANUS
Lucha VaVOOM will be appearing at the El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar at all 2013 Big Day Out dates.
Mexican Masked Wrestling + Burlesque + Comedy = Lucha VaVOOM...
Lucha VaVOOM is a non-stop, action-packed scream-a-thon, where Mexican Masked wrestlers flip and fly, performing breathtaking acrobatic feats while battling evil luchadores. Historically speaking, Lucha VaVOOM brings the bizarre world of 60’s Mexican Lucha Cinema to life. Brave, masked wrestling crime fighters save the world from evil brains, vampires, the Bermuda Triangle etc; always with an obligatory stop at the local go-go club.
In-between matches, the finest, handpicked burlesque acts from around the world astound; at Lucha VaVOOM, we like a little sexo with our violencia. Raucous aerial acts, Pogo-stick peelers, hula-hoop hotties; we’ve got it all!
But wait there’s more! Our color commentary is handled by comedians Tom Kenny, Dana Gould and Blaine Capatch. Other guest commentators include Fred Armisen, Brian Poussein, Patton Oswalt, Greg Proops, Jeffrey Ross and Bobcat Goldthwait. Even Jack Black sat in, proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the sh*t!
It all began in August 2003 as a one off event. The overwhelming crowd response convinced Rita & Liz to do it again, and as soon as possible.
Ever since, Lucha VaVOOM has played at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles three times a year -- Valentines Day, Mid-summer, and Halloween. From there, Lucha brought it’s circus to Toronto, where they did two nights at the Koolhaus and made every newspaper and TV news program, including Much Music.
In 2005, Lucha VaVOOM was asked to be a part of the first HBO Las Vegas Comedy Festival, where they performed alongside Jon Stewart, Lewis Black and Dave Chapelle. That same year they performed at the famous Sony E3 party at Dodger Stadium, where they took the spotlight away from the Pussycat Dolls.
Lucha VaVOOM has gone on to perform in Chicago, San Francisco and Amsterdam, with more cities on the way.
They’ve also appeared on Jimmy Kimmel, CBS National News, G4's Attack of the Show, Channel X in Britain and A Current Affair just to name a few.
Websites
Big Day Out
Big Day Out - Lucha VaVOOM
www.bigdayout.com/mexican-wrestling-bar
Lucha VaVOOM official website
Media Man Int
Eva Rinaldi Photography
Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr - Lucha VaVOOM
www.flickr.com/photos/evarinaldiphotography/sets/72157632...
Wrestling News Media
Lucha VaVOOM headlines the ‘El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar' At Big Day Out 2013; Sydney, Australia
Red hot extreme Lucha Libre pro wrestling and more is what Sydney got at today's Big Day Out in heatwave continues.
The action and lucha heat matched the heatwave conditions.
Sadly, not many lucha wrestling masks were sold (they don't feel so good at the best of times, let alone in the heat), but drink sales were at fever pitch, as was crowd participation, with even a couple of fans having an impromptu "match" before official bell time. Interestingly, the Lucha promoter didn't seem to mind. There was also the good old Mexican wave done by what must have been about 500 fans, many of which also screamed out Ric Flair trademark "Wooooo"! calls (with and without wrestling chops to the chest).
The Lucha's will be in Australia for about a week, as part of Australia's Big Day Out festival touring Australia, and then they will work they was back to LA in the U.S of A.
The megastars of Los Angeles based Lucha VaVoom rumbled to fever pitch at the music festival and fans lapped up the mix of Mexican lucha libre wrestling, burlesque dancing and "post-punk vaudeville", as The Daily Telegraph called it.
Inspired by the Mexican pseudo sport whose champions are household names, the sequin and lycra-clad luchadores flip and fly in the wrestling ring in good (technicos) VS evil (rudos) matches. Headline stars such as Cassandro, Crazy Chicken, Dirty Sanchez and Chocolate Caliente are very good pro wrestlers, and heavily inspired by punk and cabaret, but the look of things.
Co-founder Rita D'Albert worked with rock bands for years before forming this unique act a decade ago.
"I think crazy Mexican wrestling is a pretty natural progression from rock'n'roll," she said. "It's theatrical, it's got energy and a lot of rock shows don't have that anymore."
Media Man and Wrestling News Media have seen a lot of pro wrestling in their day and were overheard "WWE might be generally more technical than Lucha VaVoom, but this LA Mexican troupe is all over them for extreme stuff - the kind that put the legendary and original ECW on the map. Judging by today, Lucha VaVoom looks to have a fantastic and extreme future in Australia. As WWE superstar Ryback would say, "Feed Me More". Oh, dream match we want to see - WWE's Rey Mysterio VS any of these guys. It will probly never happen, but we can dream.
Today lucha sports entertainment was certainly a dream come true for many Australian pro wrestling fans who like their pro wrestling more on the extreme, colourful and musical side. WrestleMania look out!
Press Release...
LUCHA VaVOOM TO HEADLINE THE ‘EL JIMADOR MEXICAN WRESTLING BAR’ AT BIG DAY OUT 2013...
LUCHA VAVOOM HEADED TO BIG DAY OUT 2013...
Direct from the US, the Lucha VaVOOM troupe will be putting on a show quite unlike any other at BIG DAY OUT 2013. Lucha VaVOOM is non-stop, action-packed surrealism where Mexican masked wrestlers perform breathtaking acrobatic feats in a fast-paced, fun-filled, character-driven style. Known for their far-out flamboyance, its quick, exhibition-style, one-fall Lucha Libre matches designed for maximum enjoyment and action.
The ultimate distraction, Lucha VaVOOM like a little sexo with their violencia; in between matches the finest handpicked burlesque acts from around the world wow the crowds with their unique striptease skills including raucous aerial acts, pogo-stick peelers and hula-hoop hotties. Their insane antics have Jack Black proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the shit!” and it’s easy to see why.
Celebrating their tenth anniversary, Lucha VaVOOM have only got crazier over time. Rooted in history, they draw inspiration from the bizarre world of sixties Mexican Lucha Cinema. The troupe has been considered one of the most outrageous shows on earth having performed sold-out shows all around the world, they have taken to the stage alongside the likes of legends such as Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle, as well as appearances on Jimmy Kimmel, Attack of the Show, Carson Daly and A Current Affair. Los Angeles Times said the Lucha VaVOOM show “has the pacing of a prison break” and BIG DAY OUT 2013 punters are set for something spectacular with the crew perform in a dedicated area. Here’s what the press have had to say:
“Lucha VaVOOM has a big future.” TIME MAGAZINE
“… It’s enough to make even the most jaded Hollywood insider jump up and yell ‘Smackdown.” ROLLING STONE
“…a raucous and irreverent extravaganza of burlesque, comedy and classic Mexican luchadore wrestling.” THE HUFFINGTON POST.
“Lucha VaVoom is the most exciting, bonkers show I’ve seen in ages.” THE FACE (UK)
“A madcap mix of Mexican wrestling, comedy, and vintage burlesque. I love, love, love it.” VANITY FAIR
“…a weird mix of cabaret, burlesque, Mexican Luchador wrestling with a live DJ, crowd interaction and commentary…depending on the night, people like Drew Carey turn up to do commentary for it. It is the most bizarre experience. The entire audience is dressed up and it’s like Halloween, everyone is in some weird costume. It was the greatest night of entertainment I have probably seen in my entire life.” ROVE MCMANUS
Lucha VaVOOM will be appearing at the El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar at all 2013 Big Day Out dates.
Mexican Masked Wrestling + Burlesque + Comedy = Lucha VaVOOM...
Lucha VaVOOM is a non-stop, action-packed scream-a-thon, where Mexican Masked wrestlers flip and fly, performing breathtaking acrobatic feats while battling evil luchadores. Historically speaking, Lucha VaVOOM brings the bizarre world of 60’s Mexican Lucha Cinema to life. Brave, masked wrestling crime fighters save the world from evil brains, vampires, the Bermuda Triangle etc; always with an obligatory stop at the local go-go club.
In-between matches, the finest, handpicked burlesque acts from around the world astound; at Lucha VaVOOM, we like a little sexo with our violencia. Raucous aerial acts, Pogo-stick peelers, hula-hoop hotties; we’ve got it all!
But wait there’s more! Our color commentary is handled by comedians Tom Kenny, Dana Gould and Blaine Capatch. Other guest commentators include Fred Armisen, Brian Poussein, Patton Oswalt, Greg Proops, Jeffrey Ross and Bobcat Goldthwait. Even Jack Black sat in, proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the sh*t!
It all began in August 2003 as a one off event. The overwhelming crowd response convinced Rita & Liz to do it again, and as soon as possible.
Ever since, Lucha VaVOOM has played at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles three times a year -- Valentines Day, Mid-summer, and Halloween. From there, Lucha brought it’s circus to Toronto, where they did two nights at the Koolhaus and made every newspaper and TV news program, including Much Music.
In 2005, Lucha VaVOOM was asked to be a part of the first HBO Las Vegas Comedy Festival, where they performed alongside Jon Stewart, Lewis Black and Dave Chapelle. That same year they performed at the famous Sony E3 party at Dodger Stadium, where they took the spotlight away from the Pussycat Dolls.
Lucha VaVOOM has gone on to perform in Chicago, San Francisco and Amsterdam, with more cities on the way.
They’ve also appeared on Jimmy Kimmel, CBS National News, G4's Attack of the Show, Channel X in Britain and A Current Affair just to name a few.
Websites
Big Day Out
Big Day Out - Lucha VaVOOM
www.bigdayout.com/mexican-wrestling-bar
Lucha VaVOOM official website
Media Man Int
Eva Rinaldi Photography
Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr - Lucha VaVOOM
www.flickr.com/photos/evarinaldiphotography/sets/72157632...
Wrestling News Media
Lucha VaVOOM headlines the ‘El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar' At Big Day Out 2013; Sydney, Australia
Red hot extreme Lucha Libre pro wrestling and more is what Sydney got at today's Big Day Out in heatwave continues.
The action and lucha heat matched the heatwave conditions.
Sadly, not many lucha wrestling masks were sold (they don't feel so good at the best of times, let alone in the heat), but drink sales were at fever pitch, as was crowd participation, with even a couple of fans having an impromptu "match" before official bell time. Interestingly, the Lucha promoter didn't seem to mind. There was also the good old Mexican wave done by what must have been about 500 fans, many of which also screamed out Ric Flair trademark "Wooooo"! calls (with and without wrestling chops to the chest).
The Lucha's will be in Australia for about a week, as part of Australia's Big Day Out festival touring Australia, and then they will work they was back to LA in the U.S of A.
The megastars of Los Angeles based Lucha VaVoom rumbled to fever pitch at the music festival and fans lapped up the mix of Mexican lucha libre wrestling, burlesque dancing and "post-punk vaudeville", as The Daily Telegraph called it.
Inspired by the Mexican pseudo sport whose champions are household names, the sequin and lycra-clad luchadores flip and fly in the wrestling ring in good (technicos) VS evil (rudos) matches. Headline stars such as Cassandro, Crazy Chicken, Dirty Sanchez and Chocolate Caliente are very good pro wrestlers, and heavily inspired by punk and cabaret, but the look of things.
Co-founder Rita D'Albert worked with rock bands for years before forming this unique act a decade ago.
"I think crazy Mexican wrestling is a pretty natural progression from rock'n'roll," she said. "It's theatrical, it's got energy and a lot of rock shows don't have that anymore."
Media Man and Wrestling News Media have seen a lot of pro wrestling in their day and were overheard "WWE might be generally more technical than Lucha VaVoom, but this LA Mexican troupe is all over them for extreme stuff - the kind that put the legendary and original ECW on the map. Judging by today, Lucha VaVoom looks to have a fantastic and extreme future in Australia. As WWE superstar Ryback would say, "Feed Me More". Oh, dream match we want to see - WWE's Rey Mysterio VS any of these guys. It will probly never happen, but we can dream.
Today lucha sports entertainment was certainly a dream come true for many Australian pro wrestling fans who like their pro wrestling more on the extreme, colourful and musical side. WrestleMania look out!
Press Release...
LUCHA VaVOOM TO HEADLINE THE ‘EL JIMADOR MEXICAN WRESTLING BAR’ AT BIG DAY OUT 2013...
LUCHA VAVOOM HEADED TO BIG DAY OUT 2013...
Direct from the US, the Lucha VaVOOM troupe will be putting on a show quite unlike any other at BIG DAY OUT 2013. Lucha VaVOOM is non-stop, action-packed surrealism where Mexican masked wrestlers perform breathtaking acrobatic feats in a fast-paced, fun-filled, character-driven style. Known for their far-out flamboyance, its quick, exhibition-style, one-fall Lucha Libre matches designed for maximum enjoyment and action.
The ultimate distraction, Lucha VaVOOM like a little sexo with their violencia; in between matches the finest handpicked burlesque acts from around the world wow the crowds with their unique striptease skills including raucous aerial acts, pogo-stick peelers and hula-hoop hotties. Their insane antics have Jack Black proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the shit!” and it’s easy to see why.
Celebrating their tenth anniversary, Lucha VaVOOM have only got crazier over time. Rooted in history, they draw inspiration from the bizarre world of sixties Mexican Lucha Cinema. The troupe has been considered one of the most outrageous shows on earth having performed sold-out shows all around the world, they have taken to the stage alongside the likes of legends such as Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle, as well as appearances on Jimmy Kimmel, Attack of the Show, Carson Daly and A Current Affair. Los Angeles Times said the Lucha VaVOOM show “has the pacing of a prison break” and BIG DAY OUT 2013 punters are set for something spectacular with the crew perform in a dedicated area. Here’s what the press have had to say:
“Lucha VaVOOM has a big future.” TIME MAGAZINE
“… It’s enough to make even the most jaded Hollywood insider jump up and yell ‘Smackdown.” ROLLING STONE
“…a raucous and irreverent extravaganza of burlesque, comedy and classic Mexican luchadore wrestling.” THE HUFFINGTON POST.
“Lucha VaVoom is the most exciting, bonkers show I’ve seen in ages.” THE FACE (UK)
“A madcap mix of Mexican wrestling, comedy, and vintage burlesque. I love, love, love it.” VANITY FAIR
“…a weird mix of cabaret, burlesque, Mexican Luchador wrestling with a live DJ, crowd interaction and commentary…depending on the night, people like Drew Carey turn up to do commentary for it. It is the most bizarre experience. The entire audience is dressed up and it’s like Halloween, everyone is in some weird costume. It was the greatest night of entertainment I have probably seen in my entire life.” ROVE MCMANUS
Lucha VaVOOM will be appearing at the El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar at all 2013 Big Day Out dates.
Mexican Masked Wrestling + Burlesque + Comedy = Lucha VaVOOM...
Lucha VaVOOM is a non-stop, action-packed scream-a-thon, where Mexican Masked wrestlers flip and fly, performing breathtaking acrobatic feats while battling evil luchadores. Historically speaking, Lucha VaVOOM brings the bizarre world of 60’s Mexican Lucha Cinema to life. Brave, masked wrestling crime fighters save the world from evil brains, vampires, the Bermuda Triangle etc; always with an obligatory stop at the local go-go club.
In-between matches, the finest, handpicked burlesque acts from around the world astound; at Lucha VaVOOM, we like a little sexo with our violencia. Raucous aerial acts, Pogo-stick peelers, hula-hoop hotties; we’ve got it all!
But wait there’s more! Our color commentary is handled by comedians Tom Kenny, Dana Gould and Blaine Capatch. Other guest commentators include Fred Armisen, Brian Poussein, Patton Oswalt, Greg Proops, Jeffrey Ross and Bobcat Goldthwait. Even Jack Black sat in, proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the sh*t!
It all began in August 2003 as a one off event. The overwhelming crowd response convinced Rita & Liz to do it again, and as soon as possible.
Ever since, Lucha VaVOOM has played at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles three times a year -- Valentines Day, Mid-summer, and Halloween. From there, Lucha brought it’s circus to Toronto, where they did two nights at the Koolhaus and made every newspaper and TV news program, including Much Music.
In 2005, Lucha VaVOOM was asked to be a part of the first HBO Las Vegas Comedy Festival, where they performed alongside Jon Stewart, Lewis Black and Dave Chapelle. That same year they performed at the famous Sony E3 party at Dodger Stadium, where they took the spotlight away from the Pussycat Dolls.
Lucha VaVOOM has gone on to perform in Chicago, San Francisco and Amsterdam, with more cities on the way.
They’ve also appeared on Jimmy Kimmel, CBS National News, G4's Attack of the Show, Channel X in Britain and A Current Affair just to name a few.
Websites
Big Day Out
Big Day Out - Lucha VaVOOM
www.bigdayout.com/mexican-wrestling-bar
Lucha VaVOOM official website
Media Man Int
Eva Rinaldi Photography
Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr - Lucha VaVOOM
www.flickr.com/photos/evarinaldiphotography/sets/72157632...
Wrestling News Media
Lucha VaVOOM headlines the ‘El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar' At Big Day Out 2013; Sydney, Australia
Red hot extreme Lucha Libre pro wrestling and more is what Sydney got at today's Big Day Out in heatwave continues.
The action and lucha heat matched the heatwave conditions.
Sadly, not many lucha wrestling masks were sold (they don't feel so good at the best of times, let alone in the heat), but drink sales were at fever pitch, as was crowd participation, with even a couple of fans having an impromptu "match" before official bell time. Interestingly, the Lucha promoter didn't seem to mind. There was also the good old Mexican wave done by what must have been about 500 fans, many of which also screamed out Ric Flair trademark "Wooooo"! calls (with and without wrestling chops to the chest).
The Lucha's will be in Australia for about a week, as part of Australia's Big Day Out festival touring Australia, and then they will work they was back to LA in the U.S of A.
The megastars of Los Angeles based Lucha VaVoom rumbled to fever pitch at the music festival and fans lapped up the mix of Mexican lucha libre wrestling, burlesque dancing and "post-punk vaudeville", as The Daily Telegraph called it.
Inspired by the Mexican pseudo sport whose champions are household names, the sequin and lycra-clad luchadores flip and fly in the wrestling ring in good (technicos) VS evil (rudos) matches. Headline stars such as Cassandro, Crazy Chicken, Dirty Sanchez and Chocolate Caliente are very good pro wrestlers, and heavily inspired by punk and cabaret, but the look of things.
Co-founder Rita D'Albert worked with rock bands for years before forming this unique act a decade ago.
"I think crazy Mexican wrestling is a pretty natural progression from rock'n'roll," she said. "It's theatrical, it's got energy and a lot of rock shows don't have that anymore."
Media Man and Wrestling News Media have seen a lot of pro wrestling in their day and were overheard "WWE might be generally more technical than Lucha VaVoom, but this LA Mexican troupe is all over them for extreme stuff - the kind that put the legendary and original ECW on the map. Judging by today, Lucha VaVoom looks to have a fantastic and extreme future in Australia. As WWE superstar Ryback would say, "Feed Me More". Oh, dream match we want to see - WWE's Rey Mysterio VS any of these guys. It will probly never happen, but we can dream.
Today lucha sports entertainment was certainly a dream come true for many Australian pro wrestling fans who like their pro wrestling more on the extreme, colourful and musical side. WrestleMania look out!
Press Release...
LUCHA VaVOOM TO HEADLINE THE ‘EL JIMADOR MEXICAN WRESTLING BAR’ AT BIG DAY OUT 2013...
LUCHA VAVOOM HEADED TO BIG DAY OUT 2013...
Direct from the US, the Lucha VaVOOM troupe will be putting on a show quite unlike any other at BIG DAY OUT 2013. Lucha VaVOOM is non-stop, action-packed surrealism where Mexican masked wrestlers perform breathtaking acrobatic feats in a fast-paced, fun-filled, character-driven style. Known for their far-out flamboyance, its quick, exhibition-style, one-fall Lucha Libre matches designed for maximum enjoyment and action.
The ultimate distraction, Lucha VaVOOM like a little sexo with their violencia; in between matches the finest handpicked burlesque acts from around the world wow the crowds with their unique striptease skills including raucous aerial acts, pogo-stick peelers and hula-hoop hotties. Their insane antics have Jack Black proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the shit!” and it’s easy to see why.
Celebrating their tenth anniversary, Lucha VaVOOM have only got crazier over time. Rooted in history, they draw inspiration from the bizarre world of sixties Mexican Lucha Cinema. The troupe has been considered one of the most outrageous shows on earth having performed sold-out shows all around the world, they have taken to the stage alongside the likes of legends such as Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle, as well as appearances on Jimmy Kimmel, Attack of the Show, Carson Daly and A Current Affair. Los Angeles Times said the Lucha VaVOOM show “has the pacing of a prison break” and BIG DAY OUT 2013 punters are set for something spectacular with the crew perform in a dedicated area. Here’s what the press have had to say:
“Lucha VaVOOM has a big future.” TIME MAGAZINE
“… It’s enough to make even the most jaded Hollywood insider jump up and yell ‘Smackdown.” ROLLING STONE
“…a raucous and irreverent extravaganza of burlesque, comedy and classic Mexican luchadore wrestling.” THE HUFFINGTON POST.
“Lucha VaVoom is the most exciting, bonkers show I’ve seen in ages.” THE FACE (UK)
“A madcap mix of Mexican wrestling, comedy, and vintage burlesque. I love, love, love it.” VANITY FAIR
“…a weird mix of cabaret, burlesque, Mexican Luchador wrestling with a live DJ, crowd interaction and commentary…depending on the night, people like Drew Carey turn up to do commentary for it. It is the most bizarre experience. The entire audience is dressed up and it’s like Halloween, everyone is in some weird costume. It was the greatest night of entertainment I have probably seen in my entire life.” ROVE MCMANUS
Lucha VaVOOM will be appearing at the El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar at all 2013 Big Day Out dates.
Mexican Masked Wrestling + Burlesque + Comedy = Lucha VaVOOM...
Lucha VaVOOM is a non-stop, action-packed scream-a-thon, where Mexican Masked wrestlers flip and fly, performing breathtaking acrobatic feats while battling evil luchadores. Historically speaking, Lucha VaVOOM brings the bizarre world of 60’s Mexican Lucha Cinema to life. Brave, masked wrestling crime fighters save the world from evil brains, vampires, the Bermuda Triangle etc; always with an obligatory stop at the local go-go club.
In-between matches, the finest, handpicked burlesque acts from around the world astound; at Lucha VaVOOM, we like a little sexo with our violencia. Raucous aerial acts, Pogo-stick peelers, hula-hoop hotties; we’ve got it all!
But wait there’s more! Our color commentary is handled by comedians Tom Kenny, Dana Gould and Blaine Capatch. Other guest commentators include Fred Armisen, Brian Poussein, Patton Oswalt, Greg Proops, Jeffrey Ross and Bobcat Goldthwait. Even Jack Black sat in, proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the sh*t!
It all began in August 2003 as a one off event. The overwhelming crowd response convinced Rita & Liz to do it again, and as soon as possible.
Ever since, Lucha VaVOOM has played at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles three times a year -- Valentines Day, Mid-summer, and Halloween. From there, Lucha brought it’s circus to Toronto, where they did two nights at the Koolhaus and made every newspaper and TV news program, including Much Music.
In 2005, Lucha VaVOOM was asked to be a part of the first HBO Las Vegas Comedy Festival, where they performed alongside Jon Stewart, Lewis Black and Dave Chapelle. That same year they performed at the famous Sony E3 party at Dodger Stadium, where they took the spotlight away from the Pussycat Dolls.
Lucha VaVOOM has gone on to perform in Chicago, San Francisco and Amsterdam, with more cities on the way.
They’ve also appeared on Jimmy Kimmel, CBS National News, G4's Attack of the Show, Channel X in Britain and A Current Affair just to name a few.
Websites
Big Day Out
Big Day Out - Lucha VaVOOM
www.bigdayout.com/mexican-wrestling-bar
Lucha VaVOOM official website
Media Man Int
Eva Rinaldi Photography
Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr - Lucha VaVOOM
www.flickr.com/photos/evarinaldiphotography/sets/72157632...
Wrestling News Media
Lucha VaVOOM headlines the ‘El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar' At Big Day Out 2013; Sydney, Australia
Red hot extreme Lucha Libre pro wrestling and more is what Sydney got at today's Big Day Out in heatwave continues.
The action and lucha heat matched the heatwave conditions.
Sadly, not many lucha wrestling masks were sold (they don't feel so good at the best of times, let alone in the heat), but drink sales were at fever pitch, as was crowd participation, with even a couple of fans having an impromptu "match" before official bell time. Interestingly, the Lucha promoter didn't seem to mind. There was also the good old Mexican wave done by what must have been about 500 fans, many of which also screamed out Ric Flair trademark "Wooooo"! calls (with and without wrestling chops to the chest).
The Lucha's will be in Australia for about a week, as part of Australia's Big Day Out festival touring Australia, and then they will work they was back to LA in the U.S of A.
The megastars of Los Angeles based Lucha VaVoom rumbled to fever pitch at the music festival and fans lapped up the mix of Mexican lucha libre wrestling, burlesque dancing and "post-punk vaudeville", as The Daily Telegraph called it.
Inspired by the Mexican pseudo sport whose champions are household names, the sequin and lycra-clad luchadores flip and fly in the wrestling ring in good (technicos) VS evil (rudos) matches. Headline stars such as Cassandro, Crazy Chicken, Dirty Sanchez and Chocolate Caliente are very good pro wrestlers, and heavily inspired by punk and cabaret, but the look of things.
Co-founder Rita D'Albert worked with rock bands for years before forming this unique act a decade ago.
"I think crazy Mexican wrestling is a pretty natural progression from rock'n'roll," she said. "It's theatrical, it's got energy and a lot of rock shows don't have that anymore."
Media Man and Wrestling News Media have seen a lot of pro wrestling in their day and were overheard "WWE might be generally more technical than Lucha VaVoom, but this LA Mexican troupe is all over them for extreme stuff - the kind that put the legendary and original ECW on the map. Judging by today, Lucha VaVoom looks to have a fantastic and extreme future in Australia. As WWE superstar Ryback would say, "Feed Me More". Oh, dream match we want to see - WWE's Rey Mysterio VS any of these guys. It will probly never happen, but we can dream.
Today lucha sports entertainment was certainly a dream come true for many Australian pro wrestling fans who like their pro wrestling more on the extreme, colourful and musical side. WrestleMania look out!
Press Release...
LUCHA VaVOOM TO HEADLINE THE ‘EL JIMADOR MEXICAN WRESTLING BAR’ AT BIG DAY OUT 2013...
LUCHA VAVOOM HEADED TO BIG DAY OUT 2013...
Direct from the US, the Lucha VaVOOM troupe will be putting on a show quite unlike any other at BIG DAY OUT 2013. Lucha VaVOOM is non-stop, action-packed surrealism where Mexican masked wrestlers perform breathtaking acrobatic feats in a fast-paced, fun-filled, character-driven style. Known for their far-out flamboyance, its quick, exhibition-style, one-fall Lucha Libre matches designed for maximum enjoyment and action.
The ultimate distraction, Lucha VaVOOM like a little sexo with their violencia; in between matches the finest handpicked burlesque acts from around the world wow the crowds with their unique striptease skills including raucous aerial acts, pogo-stick peelers and hula-hoop hotties. Their insane antics have Jack Black proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the shit!” and it’s easy to see why.
Celebrating their tenth anniversary, Lucha VaVOOM have only got crazier over time. Rooted in history, they draw inspiration from the bizarre world of sixties Mexican Lucha Cinema. The troupe has been considered one of the most outrageous shows on earth having performed sold-out shows all around the world, they have taken to the stage alongside the likes of legends such as Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle, as well as appearances on Jimmy Kimmel, Attack of the Show, Carson Daly and A Current Affair. Los Angeles Times said the Lucha VaVOOM show “has the pacing of a prison break” and BIG DAY OUT 2013 punters are set for something spectacular with the crew perform in a dedicated area. Here’s what the press have had to say:
“Lucha VaVOOM has a big future.” TIME MAGAZINE
“… It’s enough to make even the most jaded Hollywood insider jump up and yell ‘Smackdown.” ROLLING STONE
“…a raucous and irreverent extravaganza of burlesque, comedy and classic Mexican luchadore wrestling.” THE HUFFINGTON POST.
“Lucha VaVoom is the most exciting, bonkers show I’ve seen in ages.” THE FACE (UK)
“A madcap mix of Mexican wrestling, comedy, and vintage burlesque. I love, love, love it.” VANITY FAIR
“…a weird mix of cabaret, burlesque, Mexican Luchador wrestling with a live DJ, crowd interaction and commentary…depending on the night, people like Drew Carey turn up to do commentary for it. It is the most bizarre experience. The entire audience is dressed up and it’s like Halloween, everyone is in some weird costume. It was the greatest night of entertainment I have probably seen in my entire life.” ROVE MCMANUS
Lucha VaVOOM will be appearing at the El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar at all 2013 Big Day Out dates.
Mexican Masked Wrestling + Burlesque + Comedy = Lucha VaVOOM...
Lucha VaVOOM is a non-stop, action-packed scream-a-thon, where Mexican Masked wrestlers flip and fly, performing breathtaking acrobatic feats while battling evil luchadores. Historically speaking, Lucha VaVOOM brings the bizarre world of 60’s Mexican Lucha Cinema to life. Brave, masked wrestling crime fighters save the world from evil brains, vampires, the Bermuda Triangle etc; always with an obligatory stop at the local go-go club.
In-between matches, the finest, handpicked burlesque acts from around the world astound; at Lucha VaVOOM, we like a little sexo with our violencia. Raucous aerial acts, Pogo-stick peelers, hula-hoop hotties; we’ve got it all!
But wait there’s more! Our color commentary is handled by comedians Tom Kenny, Dana Gould and Blaine Capatch. Other guest commentators include Fred Armisen, Brian Poussein, Patton Oswalt, Greg Proops, Jeffrey Ross and Bobcat Goldthwait. Even Jack Black sat in, proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the sh*t!
It all began in August 2003 as a one off event. The overwhelming crowd response convinced Rita & Liz to do it again, and as soon as possible.
Ever since, Lucha VaVOOM has played at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles three times a year -- Valentines Day, Mid-summer, and Halloween. From there, Lucha brought it’s circus to Toronto, where they did two nights at the Koolhaus and made every newspaper and TV news program, including Much Music.
In 2005, Lucha VaVOOM was asked to be a part of the first HBO Las Vegas Comedy Festival, where they performed alongside Jon Stewart, Lewis Black and Dave Chapelle. That same year they performed at the famous Sony E3 party at Dodger Stadium, where they took the spotlight away from the Pussycat Dolls.
Lucha VaVOOM has gone on to perform in Chicago, San Francisco and Amsterdam, with more cities on the way.
They’ve also appeared on Jimmy Kimmel, CBS National News, G4's Attack of the Show, Channel X in Britain and A Current Affair just to name a few.
Websites
Big Day Out
Big Day Out - Lucha VaVOOM
www.bigdayout.com/mexican-wrestling-bar
Lucha VaVOOM official website
Media Man Int
Eva Rinaldi Photography
Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr - Lucha VaVOOM
www.flickr.com/photos/evarinaldiphotography/sets/72157632...
Wrestling News Media
Lucha VaVOOM headlines the ‘El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar' At Big Day Out 2013; Sydney, Australia
Red hot extreme Lucha Libre pro wrestling and more is what Sydney got at today's Big Day Out in heatwave continues.
The action and lucha heat matched the heatwave conditions.
Sadly, not many lucha wrestling masks were sold (they don't feel so good at the best of times, let alone in the heat), but drink sales were at fever pitch, as was crowd participation, with even a couple of fans having an impromptu "match" before official bell time. Interestingly, the Lucha promoter didn't seem to mind. There was also the good old Mexican wave done by what must have been about 500 fans, many of which also screamed out Ric Flair trademark "Wooooo"! calls (with and without wrestling chops to the chest).
The Lucha's will be in Australia for about a week, as part of Australia's Big Day Out festival touring Australia, and then they will work they was back to LA in the U.S of A.
The megastars of Los Angeles based Lucha VaVoom rumbled to fever pitch at the music festival and fans lapped up the mix of Mexican lucha libre wrestling, burlesque dancing and "post-punk vaudeville", as The Daily Telegraph called it.
Inspired by the Mexican pseudo sport whose champions are household names, the sequin and lycra-clad luchadores flip and fly in the wrestling ring in good (technicos) VS evil (rudos) matches. Headline stars such as Cassandro, Crazy Chicken, Dirty Sanchez and Chocolate Caliente are very good pro wrestlers, and heavily inspired by punk and cabaret, but the look of things.
Co-founder Rita D'Albert worked with rock bands for years before forming this unique act a decade ago.
"I think crazy Mexican wrestling is a pretty natural progression from rock'n'roll," she said. "It's theatrical, it's got energy and a lot of rock shows don't have that anymore."
Media Man and Wrestling News Media have seen a lot of pro wrestling in their day and were overheard "WWE might be generally more technical than Lucha VaVoom, but this LA Mexican troupe is all over them for extreme stuff - the kind that put the legendary and original ECW on the map. Judging by today, Lucha VaVoom looks to have a fantastic and extreme future in Australia. As WWE superstar Ryback would say, "Feed Me More". Oh, dream match we want to see - WWE's Rey Mysterio VS any of these guys. It will probly never happen, but we can dream.
Today lucha sports entertainment was certainly a dream come true for many Australian pro wrestling fans who like their pro wrestling more on the extreme, colourful and musical side. WrestleMania look out!
Press Release...
LUCHA VaVOOM TO HEADLINE THE ‘EL JIMADOR MEXICAN WRESTLING BAR’ AT BIG DAY OUT 2013...
LUCHA VAVOOM HEADED TO BIG DAY OUT 2013...
Direct from the US, the Lucha VaVOOM troupe will be putting on a show quite unlike any other at BIG DAY OUT 2013. Lucha VaVOOM is non-stop, action-packed surrealism where Mexican masked wrestlers perform breathtaking acrobatic feats in a fast-paced, fun-filled, character-driven style. Known for their far-out flamboyance, its quick, exhibition-style, one-fall Lucha Libre matches designed for maximum enjoyment and action.
The ultimate distraction, Lucha VaVOOM like a little sexo with their violencia; in between matches the finest handpicked burlesque acts from around the world wow the crowds with their unique striptease skills including raucous aerial acts, pogo-stick peelers and hula-hoop hotties. Their insane antics have Jack Black proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the shit!” and it’s easy to see why.
Celebrating their tenth anniversary, Lucha VaVOOM have only got crazier over time. Rooted in history, they draw inspiration from the bizarre world of sixties Mexican Lucha Cinema. The troupe has been considered one of the most outrageous shows on earth having performed sold-out shows all around the world, they have taken to the stage alongside the likes of legends such as Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle, as well as appearances on Jimmy Kimmel, Attack of the Show, Carson Daly and A Current Affair. Los Angeles Times said the Lucha VaVOOM show “has the pacing of a prison break” and BIG DAY OUT 2013 punters are set for something spectacular with the crew perform in a dedicated area. Here’s what the press have had to say:
“Lucha VaVOOM has a big future.” TIME MAGAZINE
“… It’s enough to make even the most jaded Hollywood insider jump up and yell ‘Smackdown.” ROLLING STONE
“…a raucous and irreverent extravaganza of burlesque, comedy and classic Mexican luchadore wrestling.” THE HUFFINGTON POST.
“Lucha VaVoom is the most exciting, bonkers show I’ve seen in ages.” THE FACE (UK)
“A madcap mix of Mexican wrestling, comedy, and vintage burlesque. I love, love, love it.” VANITY FAIR
“…a weird mix of cabaret, burlesque, Mexican Luchador wrestling with a live DJ, crowd interaction and commentary…depending on the night, people like Drew Carey turn up to do commentary for it. It is the most bizarre experience. The entire audience is dressed up and it’s like Halloween, everyone is in some weird costume. It was the greatest night of entertainment I have probably seen in my entire life.” ROVE MCMANUS
Lucha VaVOOM will be appearing at the El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar at all 2013 Big Day Out dates.
Mexican Masked Wrestling + Burlesque + Comedy = Lucha VaVOOM...
Lucha VaVOOM is a non-stop, action-packed scream-a-thon, where Mexican Masked wrestlers flip and fly, performing breathtaking acrobatic feats while battling evil luchadores. Historically speaking, Lucha VaVOOM brings the bizarre world of 60’s Mexican Lucha Cinema to life. Brave, masked wrestling crime fighters save the world from evil brains, vampires, the Bermuda Triangle etc; always with an obligatory stop at the local go-go club.
In-between matches, the finest, handpicked burlesque acts from around the world astound; at Lucha VaVOOM, we like a little sexo with our violencia. Raucous aerial acts, Pogo-stick peelers, hula-hoop hotties; we’ve got it all!
But wait there’s more! Our color commentary is handled by comedians Tom Kenny, Dana Gould and Blaine Capatch. Other guest commentators include Fred Armisen, Brian Poussein, Patton Oswalt, Greg Proops, Jeffrey Ross and Bobcat Goldthwait. Even Jack Black sat in, proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the sh*t!
It all began in August 2003 as a one off event. The overwhelming crowd response convinced Rita & Liz to do it again, and as soon as possible.
Ever since, Lucha VaVOOM has played at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles three times a year -- Valentines Day, Mid-summer, and Halloween. From there, Lucha brought it’s circus to Toronto, where they did two nights at the Koolhaus and made every newspaper and TV news program, including Much Music.
In 2005, Lucha VaVOOM was asked to be a part of the first HBO Las Vegas Comedy Festival, where they performed alongside Jon Stewart, Lewis Black and Dave Chapelle. That same year they performed at the famous Sony E3 party at Dodger Stadium, where they took the spotlight away from the Pussycat Dolls.
Lucha VaVOOM has gone on to perform in Chicago, San Francisco and Amsterdam, with more cities on the way.
They’ve also appeared on Jimmy Kimmel, CBS National News, G4's Attack of the Show, Channel X in Britain and A Current Affair just to name a few.
Websites
Big Day Out
Big Day Out - Lucha VaVOOM
www.bigdayout.com/mexican-wrestling-bar
Lucha VaVOOM official website
Media Man Int
Eva Rinaldi Photography
Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr - Lucha VaVOOM
www.flickr.com/photos/evarinaldiphotography/sets/72157632...
Wrestling News Media
During half time, he was airborne....this was a feet to feet back flip. His hands never touched the ground.
Lucha VaVOOM headlines the ‘El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar' At Big Day Out 2013; Sydney, Australia
Red hot extreme Lucha Libre pro wrestling and more is what Sydney got at today's Big Day Out in heatwave continues.
The action and lucha heat matched the heatwave conditions.
Sadly, not many lucha wrestling masks were sold (they don't feel so good at the best of times, let alone in the heat), but drink sales were at fever pitch, as was crowd participation, with even a couple of fans having an impromptu "match" before official bell time. Interestingly, the Lucha promoter didn't seem to mind. There was also the good old Mexican wave done by what must have been about 500 fans, many of which also screamed out Ric Flair trademark "Wooooo"! calls (with and without wrestling chops to the chest).
The Lucha's will be in Australia for about a week, as part of Australia's Big Day Out festival touring Australia, and then they will work they was back to LA in the U.S of A.
The megastars of Los Angeles based Lucha VaVoom rumbled to fever pitch at the music festival and fans lapped up the mix of Mexican lucha libre wrestling, burlesque dancing and "post-punk vaudeville", as The Daily Telegraph called it.
Inspired by the Mexican pseudo sport whose champions are household names, the sequin and lycra-clad luchadores flip and fly in the wrestling ring in good (technicos) VS evil (rudos) matches. Headline stars such as Cassandro, Crazy Chicken, Dirty Sanchez and Chocolate Caliente are very good pro wrestlers, and heavily inspired by punk and cabaret, but the look of things.
Co-founder Rita D'Albert worked with rock bands for years before forming this unique act a decade ago.
"I think crazy Mexican wrestling is a pretty natural progression from rock'n'roll," she said. "It's theatrical, it's got energy and a lot of rock shows don't have that anymore."
Media Man and Wrestling News Media have seen a lot of pro wrestling in their day and were overheard "WWE might be generally more technical than Lucha VaVoom, but this LA Mexican troupe is all over them for extreme stuff - the kind that put the legendary and original ECW on the map. Judging by today, Lucha VaVoom looks to have a fantastic and extreme future in Australia. As WWE superstar Ryback would say, "Feed Me More". Oh, dream match we want to see - WWE's Rey Mysterio VS any of these guys. It will probly never happen, but we can dream.
Today lucha sports entertainment was certainly a dream come true for many Australian pro wrestling fans who like their pro wrestling more on the extreme, colourful and musical side. WrestleMania look out!
Press Release...
LUCHA VaVOOM TO HEADLINE THE ‘EL JIMADOR MEXICAN WRESTLING BAR’ AT BIG DAY OUT 2013...
LUCHA VAVOOM HEADED TO BIG DAY OUT 2013...
Direct from the US, the Lucha VaVOOM troupe will be putting on a show quite unlike any other at BIG DAY OUT 2013. Lucha VaVOOM is non-stop, action-packed surrealism where Mexican masked wrestlers perform breathtaking acrobatic feats in a fast-paced, fun-filled, character-driven style. Known for their far-out flamboyance, its quick, exhibition-style, one-fall Lucha Libre matches designed for maximum enjoyment and action.
The ultimate distraction, Lucha VaVOOM like a little sexo with their violencia; in between matches the finest handpicked burlesque acts from around the world wow the crowds with their unique striptease skills including raucous aerial acts, pogo-stick peelers and hula-hoop hotties. Their insane antics have Jack Black proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the shit!” and it’s easy to see why.
Celebrating their tenth anniversary, Lucha VaVOOM have only got crazier over time. Rooted in history, they draw inspiration from the bizarre world of sixties Mexican Lucha Cinema. The troupe has been considered one of the most outrageous shows on earth having performed sold-out shows all around the world, they have taken to the stage alongside the likes of legends such as Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle, as well as appearances on Jimmy Kimmel, Attack of the Show, Carson Daly and A Current Affair. Los Angeles Times said the Lucha VaVOOM show “has the pacing of a prison break” and BIG DAY OUT 2013 punters are set for something spectacular with the crew perform in a dedicated area. Here’s what the press have had to say:
“Lucha VaVOOM has a big future.” TIME MAGAZINE
“… It’s enough to make even the most jaded Hollywood insider jump up and yell ‘Smackdown.” ROLLING STONE
“…a raucous and irreverent extravaganza of burlesque, comedy and classic Mexican luchadore wrestling.” THE HUFFINGTON POST.
“Lucha VaVoom is the most exciting, bonkers show I’ve seen in ages.” THE FACE (UK)
“A madcap mix of Mexican wrestling, comedy, and vintage burlesque. I love, love, love it.” VANITY FAIR
“…a weird mix of cabaret, burlesque, Mexican Luchador wrestling with a live DJ, crowd interaction and commentary…depending on the night, people like Drew Carey turn up to do commentary for it. It is the most bizarre experience. The entire audience is dressed up and it’s like Halloween, everyone is in some weird costume. It was the greatest night of entertainment I have probably seen in my entire life.” ROVE MCMANUS
Lucha VaVOOM will be appearing at the El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar at all 2013 Big Day Out dates.
Mexican Masked Wrestling + Burlesque + Comedy = Lucha VaVOOM...
Lucha VaVOOM is a non-stop, action-packed scream-a-thon, where Mexican Masked wrestlers flip and fly, performing breathtaking acrobatic feats while battling evil luchadores. Historically speaking, Lucha VaVOOM brings the bizarre world of 60’s Mexican Lucha Cinema to life. Brave, masked wrestling crime fighters save the world from evil brains, vampires, the Bermuda Triangle etc; always with an obligatory stop at the local go-go club.
In-between matches, the finest, handpicked burlesque acts from around the world astound; at Lucha VaVOOM, we like a little sexo with our violencia. Raucous aerial acts, Pogo-stick peelers, hula-hoop hotties; we’ve got it all!
But wait there’s more! Our color commentary is handled by comedians Tom Kenny, Dana Gould and Blaine Capatch. Other guest commentators include Fred Armisen, Brian Poussein, Patton Oswalt, Greg Proops, Jeffrey Ross and Bobcat Goldthwait. Even Jack Black sat in, proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the sh*t!
It all began in August 2003 as a one off event. The overwhelming crowd response convinced Rita & Liz to do it again, and as soon as possible.
Ever since, Lucha VaVOOM has played at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles three times a year -- Valentines Day, Mid-summer, and Halloween. From there, Lucha brought it’s circus to Toronto, where they did two nights at the Koolhaus and made every newspaper and TV news program, including Much Music.
In 2005, Lucha VaVOOM was asked to be a part of the first HBO Las Vegas Comedy Festival, where they performed alongside Jon Stewart, Lewis Black and Dave Chapelle. That same year they performed at the famous Sony E3 party at Dodger Stadium, where they took the spotlight away from the Pussycat Dolls.
Lucha VaVOOM has gone on to perform in Chicago, San Francisco and Amsterdam, with more cities on the way.
They’ve also appeared on Jimmy Kimmel, CBS National News, G4's Attack of the Show, Channel X in Britain and A Current Affair just to name a few.
Websites
Big Day Out
Big Day Out - Lucha VaVOOM
www.bigdayout.com/mexican-wrestling-bar
Lucha VaVOOM official website
Media Man Int
Eva Rinaldi Photography
Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr - Lucha VaVOOM
www.flickr.com/photos/evarinaldiphotography/sets/72157632...
Wrestling News Media
Lucha VaVOOM headlines the ‘El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar' At Big Day Out 2013; Sydney, Australia
Red hot extreme Lucha Libre pro wrestling and more is what Sydney got at today's Big Day Out in heatwave continues.
The action and lucha heat matched the heatwave conditions.
Sadly, not many lucha wrestling masks were sold (they don't feel so good at the best of times, let alone in the heat), but drink sales were at fever pitch, as was crowd participation, with even a couple of fans having an impromptu "match" before official bell time. Interestingly, the Lucha promoter didn't seem to mind. There was also the good old Mexican wave done by what must have been about 500 fans, many of which also screamed out Ric Flair trademark "Wooooo"! calls (with and without wrestling chops to the chest).
The Lucha's will be in Australia for about a week, as part of Australia's Big Day Out festival touring Australia, and then they will work they was back to LA in the U.S of A.
The megastars of Los Angeles based Lucha VaVoom rumbled to fever pitch at the music festival and fans lapped up the mix of Mexican lucha libre wrestling, burlesque dancing and "post-punk vaudeville", as The Daily Telegraph called it.
Inspired by the Mexican pseudo sport whose champions are household names, the sequin and lycra-clad luchadores flip and fly in the wrestling ring in good (technicos) VS evil (rudos) matches. Headline stars such as Cassandro, Crazy Chicken, Dirty Sanchez and Chocolate Caliente are very good pro wrestlers, and heavily inspired by punk and cabaret, but the look of things.
Co-founder Rita D'Albert worked with rock bands for years before forming this unique act a decade ago.
"I think crazy Mexican wrestling is a pretty natural progression from rock'n'roll," she said. "It's theatrical, it's got energy and a lot of rock shows don't have that anymore."
Media Man and Wrestling News Media have seen a lot of pro wrestling in their day and were overheard "WWE might be generally more technical than Lucha VaVoom, but this LA Mexican troupe is all over them for extreme stuff - the kind that put the legendary and original ECW on the map. Judging by today, Lucha VaVoom looks to have a fantastic and extreme future in Australia. As WWE superstar Ryback would say, "Feed Me More". Oh, dream match we want to see - WWE's Rey Mysterio VS any of these guys. It will probly never happen, but we can dream.
Today lucha sports entertainment was certainly a dream come true for many Australian pro wrestling fans who like their pro wrestling more on the extreme, colourful and musical side. WrestleMania look out!
Press Release...
LUCHA VaVOOM TO HEADLINE THE ‘EL JIMADOR MEXICAN WRESTLING BAR’ AT BIG DAY OUT 2013...
LUCHA VAVOOM HEADED TO BIG DAY OUT 2013...
Direct from the US, the Lucha VaVOOM troupe will be putting on a show quite unlike any other at BIG DAY OUT 2013. Lucha VaVOOM is non-stop, action-packed surrealism where Mexican masked wrestlers perform breathtaking acrobatic feats in a fast-paced, fun-filled, character-driven style. Known for their far-out flamboyance, its quick, exhibition-style, one-fall Lucha Libre matches designed for maximum enjoyment and action.
The ultimate distraction, Lucha VaVOOM like a little sexo with their violencia; in between matches the finest handpicked burlesque acts from around the world wow the crowds with their unique striptease skills including raucous aerial acts, pogo-stick peelers and hula-hoop hotties. Their insane antics have Jack Black proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the shit!” and it’s easy to see why.
Celebrating their tenth anniversary, Lucha VaVOOM have only got crazier over time. Rooted in history, they draw inspiration from the bizarre world of sixties Mexican Lucha Cinema. The troupe has been considered one of the most outrageous shows on earth having performed sold-out shows all around the world, they have taken to the stage alongside the likes of legends such as Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle, as well as appearances on Jimmy Kimmel, Attack of the Show, Carson Daly and A Current Affair. Los Angeles Times said the Lucha VaVOOM show “has the pacing of a prison break” and BIG DAY OUT 2013 punters are set for something spectacular with the crew perform in a dedicated area. Here’s what the press have had to say:
“Lucha VaVOOM has a big future.” TIME MAGAZINE
“… It’s enough to make even the most jaded Hollywood insider jump up and yell ‘Smackdown.” ROLLING STONE
“…a raucous and irreverent extravaganza of burlesque, comedy and classic Mexican luchadore wrestling.” THE HUFFINGTON POST.
“Lucha VaVoom is the most exciting, bonkers show I’ve seen in ages.” THE FACE (UK)
“A madcap mix of Mexican wrestling, comedy, and vintage burlesque. I love, love, love it.” VANITY FAIR
“…a weird mix of cabaret, burlesque, Mexican Luchador wrestling with a live DJ, crowd interaction and commentary…depending on the night, people like Drew Carey turn up to do commentary for it. It is the most bizarre experience. The entire audience is dressed up and it’s like Halloween, everyone is in some weird costume. It was the greatest night of entertainment I have probably seen in my entire life.” ROVE MCMANUS
Lucha VaVOOM will be appearing at the El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar at all 2013 Big Day Out dates.
Mexican Masked Wrestling + Burlesque + Comedy = Lucha VaVOOM...
Lucha VaVOOM is a non-stop, action-packed scream-a-thon, where Mexican Masked wrestlers flip and fly, performing breathtaking acrobatic feats while battling evil luchadores. Historically speaking, Lucha VaVOOM brings the bizarre world of 60’s Mexican Lucha Cinema to life. Brave, masked wrestling crime fighters save the world from evil brains, vampires, the Bermuda Triangle etc; always with an obligatory stop at the local go-go club.
In-between matches, the finest, handpicked burlesque acts from around the world astound; at Lucha VaVOOM, we like a little sexo with our violencia. Raucous aerial acts, Pogo-stick peelers, hula-hoop hotties; we’ve got it all!
But wait there’s more! Our color commentary is handled by comedians Tom Kenny, Dana Gould and Blaine Capatch. Other guest commentators include Fred Armisen, Brian Poussein, Patton Oswalt, Greg Proops, Jeffrey Ross and Bobcat Goldthwait. Even Jack Black sat in, proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the sh*t!
It all began in August 2003 as a one off event. The overwhelming crowd response convinced Rita & Liz to do it again, and as soon as possible.
Ever since, Lucha VaVOOM has played at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles three times a year -- Valentines Day, Mid-summer, and Halloween. From there, Lucha brought it’s circus to Toronto, where they did two nights at the Koolhaus and made every newspaper and TV news program, including Much Music.
In 2005, Lucha VaVOOM was asked to be a part of the first HBO Las Vegas Comedy Festival, where they performed alongside Jon Stewart, Lewis Black and Dave Chapelle. That same year they performed at the famous Sony E3 party at Dodger Stadium, where they took the spotlight away from the Pussycat Dolls.
Lucha VaVOOM has gone on to perform in Chicago, San Francisco and Amsterdam, with more cities on the way.
They’ve also appeared on Jimmy Kimmel, CBS National News, G4's Attack of the Show, Channel X in Britain and A Current Affair just to name a few.
Websites
Big Day Out
Big Day Out - Lucha VaVOOM
www.bigdayout.com/mexican-wrestling-bar
Lucha VaVOOM official website
Media Man Int
Eva Rinaldi Photography
Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr - Lucha VaVOOM
www.flickr.com/photos/evarinaldiphotography/sets/72157632...
Wrestling News Media
Lucha VaVOOM headlines the ‘El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar' At Big Day Out 2013; Sydney, Australia
Red hot extreme Lucha Libre pro wrestling and more is what Sydney got at today's Big Day Out in heatwave continues.
The action and lucha heat matched the heatwave conditions.
Sadly, not many lucha wrestling masks were sold (they don't feel so good at the best of times, let alone in the heat), but drink sales were at fever pitch, as was crowd participation, with even a couple of fans having an impromptu "match" before official bell time. Interestingly, the Lucha promoter didn't seem to mind. There was also the good old Mexican wave done by what must have been about 500 fans, many of which also screamed out Ric Flair trademark "Wooooo"! calls (with and without wrestling chops to the chest).
The Lucha's will be in Australia for about a week, as part of Australia's Big Day Out festival touring Australia, and then they will work they was back to LA in the U.S of A.
The megastars of Los Angeles based Lucha VaVoom rumbled to fever pitch at the music festival and fans lapped up the mix of Mexican lucha libre wrestling, burlesque dancing and "post-punk vaudeville", as The Daily Telegraph called it.
Inspired by the Mexican pseudo sport whose champions are household names, the sequin and lycra-clad luchadores flip and fly in the wrestling ring in good (technicos) VS evil (rudos) matches. Headline stars such as Cassandro, Crazy Chicken, Dirty Sanchez and Chocolate Caliente are very good pro wrestlers, and heavily inspired by punk and cabaret, but the look of things.
Co-founder Rita D'Albert worked with rock bands for years before forming this unique act a decade ago.
"I think crazy Mexican wrestling is a pretty natural progression from rock'n'roll," she said. "It's theatrical, it's got energy and a lot of rock shows don't have that anymore."
Media Man and Wrestling News Media have seen a lot of pro wrestling in their day and were overheard "WWE might be generally more technical than Lucha VaVoom, but this LA Mexican troupe is all over them for extreme stuff - the kind that put the legendary and original ECW on the map. Judging by today, Lucha VaVoom looks to have a fantastic and extreme future in Australia. As WWE superstar Ryback would say, "Feed Me More". Oh, dream match we want to see - WWE's Rey Mysterio VS any of these guys. It will probly never happen, but we can dream.
Today lucha sports entertainment was certainly a dream come true for many Australian pro wrestling fans who like their pro wrestling more on the extreme, colourful and musical side. WrestleMania look out!
Press Release...
LUCHA VaVOOM TO HEADLINE THE ‘EL JIMADOR MEXICAN WRESTLING BAR’ AT BIG DAY OUT 2013...
LUCHA VAVOOM HEADED TO BIG DAY OUT 2013...
Direct from the US, the Lucha VaVOOM troupe will be putting on a show quite unlike any other at BIG DAY OUT 2013. Lucha VaVOOM is non-stop, action-packed surrealism where Mexican masked wrestlers perform breathtaking acrobatic feats in a fast-paced, fun-filled, character-driven style. Known for their far-out flamboyance, its quick, exhibition-style, one-fall Lucha Libre matches designed for maximum enjoyment and action.
The ultimate distraction, Lucha VaVOOM like a little sexo with their violencia; in between matches the finest handpicked burlesque acts from around the world wow the crowds with their unique striptease skills including raucous aerial acts, pogo-stick peelers and hula-hoop hotties. Their insane antics have Jack Black proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the shit!” and it’s easy to see why.
Celebrating their tenth anniversary, Lucha VaVOOM have only got crazier over time. Rooted in history, they draw inspiration from the bizarre world of sixties Mexican Lucha Cinema. The troupe has been considered one of the most outrageous shows on earth having performed sold-out shows all around the world, they have taken to the stage alongside the likes of legends such as Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle, as well as appearances on Jimmy Kimmel, Attack of the Show, Carson Daly and A Current Affair. Los Angeles Times said the Lucha VaVOOM show “has the pacing of a prison break” and BIG DAY OUT 2013 punters are set for something spectacular with the crew perform in a dedicated area. Here’s what the press have had to say:
“Lucha VaVOOM has a big future.” TIME MAGAZINE
“… It’s enough to make even the most jaded Hollywood insider jump up and yell ‘Smackdown.” ROLLING STONE
“…a raucous and irreverent extravaganza of burlesque, comedy and classic Mexican luchadore wrestling.” THE HUFFINGTON POST.
“Lucha VaVoom is the most exciting, bonkers show I’ve seen in ages.” THE FACE (UK)
“A madcap mix of Mexican wrestling, comedy, and vintage burlesque. I love, love, love it.” VANITY FAIR
“…a weird mix of cabaret, burlesque, Mexican Luchador wrestling with a live DJ, crowd interaction and commentary…depending on the night, people like Drew Carey turn up to do commentary for it. It is the most bizarre experience. The entire audience is dressed up and it’s like Halloween, everyone is in some weird costume. It was the greatest night of entertainment I have probably seen in my entire life.” ROVE MCMANUS
Lucha VaVOOM will be appearing at the El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar at all 2013 Big Day Out dates.
Mexican Masked Wrestling + Burlesque + Comedy = Lucha VaVOOM...
Lucha VaVOOM is a non-stop, action-packed scream-a-thon, where Mexican Masked wrestlers flip and fly, performing breathtaking acrobatic feats while battling evil luchadores. Historically speaking, Lucha VaVOOM brings the bizarre world of 60’s Mexican Lucha Cinema to life. Brave, masked wrestling crime fighters save the world from evil brains, vampires, the Bermuda Triangle etc; always with an obligatory stop at the local go-go club.
In-between matches, the finest, handpicked burlesque acts from around the world astound; at Lucha VaVOOM, we like a little sexo with our violencia. Raucous aerial acts, Pogo-stick peelers, hula-hoop hotties; we’ve got it all!
But wait there’s more! Our color commentary is handled by comedians Tom Kenny, Dana Gould and Blaine Capatch. Other guest commentators include Fred Armisen, Brian Poussein, Patton Oswalt, Greg Proops, Jeffrey Ross and Bobcat Goldthwait. Even Jack Black sat in, proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the sh*t!
It all began in August 2003 as a one off event. The overwhelming crowd response convinced Rita & Liz to do it again, and as soon as possible.
Ever since, Lucha VaVOOM has played at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles three times a year -- Valentines Day, Mid-summer, and Halloween. From there, Lucha brought it’s circus to Toronto, where they did two nights at the Koolhaus and made every newspaper and TV news program, including Much Music.
In 2005, Lucha VaVOOM was asked to be a part of the first HBO Las Vegas Comedy Festival, where they performed alongside Jon Stewart, Lewis Black and Dave Chapelle. That same year they performed at the famous Sony E3 party at Dodger Stadium, where they took the spotlight away from the Pussycat Dolls.
Lucha VaVOOM has gone on to perform in Chicago, San Francisco and Amsterdam, with more cities on the way.
They’ve also appeared on Jimmy Kimmel, CBS National News, G4's Attack of the Show, Channel X in Britain and A Current Affair just to name a few.
Websites
Big Day Out
Big Day Out - Lucha VaVOOM
www.bigdayout.com/mexican-wrestling-bar
Lucha VaVOOM official website
Media Man Int
Eva Rinaldi Photography
Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr - Lucha VaVOOM
www.flickr.com/photos/evarinaldiphotography/sets/72157632...
Wrestling News Media
Humpback Whale Breaching
Personal Note: Having moved several years ago to the Monterey Bay Area in Northern California, I decided to teach myself wildlife photography and concentrate on Marine Mammals of the Monterey Bay, which was self-published as a photo essay book. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is one of the most abundant marine sanctuaries in the World with extensive academic research facilities studying its inhabitants and health.
One of the species I have concentrated my efforts on has been the highly intelligent and entertaining Humpback Whale. For two years I am been trying to capture them breaching out of the water. With two flips of their flukes they can propel 35 to 50 tons of mammal completely out of the water! Prior to July 6, 2015 I have only been able to photograph them breaching from a distance.
Over the next two weeks I will be posting a series of images from this incredible experience.
Here are some of the photographic issues:
•They never stop moving, even when they place half of their brain on "rest" while the other half navigates for them. When that half has enough rest, the other half takes over.
•Your Whale Boat is moving about 80% of the time. If the Bay is choppy that means it is rocking back and forth as it propels itself forward.
•Other Whale Boats are positioned around the best sites and can ruin your shot.
•We can tell when a breaching Humpback is going to dive. What we cannot tell is if they are going to keep breaching or just feed on the bottom?
•Normally they breach once or twice and stop. The Blue Ocean Whale Watch boat captain has seen Humpbacks breach as many as 70 times. They are based in Moss Landing and I highly recommend them. You can book a trip at: blueoceanwhalewatch.com/contact.
•Therefore, you do not know how long they are going to stay under the water (5-7 mins. is normal) or WHERE OR WHEN THEY ARE GOING TO COME UP, which is always in a different place.
•I keep my camera under my chin and watch over the top of the lens. Once they start to breach, you have 3-5 seconds to find them in your viewfinder and squeeze off a series of shots. If they are less than 1/3rd of my viewfinder I know they are too far away.
•On the way back to port, three different whales did a "Lunge Feed" in unison just like in the Olympic synchronized swimming events. It was extraordinary, but It took us all by surprise and I could not even raise my camera in time.
•We all know whales communicate with each other, but this was an extraordinary example. The three whales dove together, communicated with each other and then raced to the surface side by side with their mouths wide open! They then captured the sardines, anchovies and or krill, filtered out the water, swallowed and dove again. They can take in enormous amounts of water (up to 70% of their body weight) filter out the fish and krill and eject the water.
•It is hard to describe, but three huge whales surfacing with their mouths open, side-by-side, perfectly in unison takes your breath away. I literally snapped my sunglasses in half during the whole breaching experience, but it was a small price to pay. If anyone had gotten a sharp image of these three whales, it would have been a cover story.
•Humpback whales (belong to the class of marine mammals known as rorquals that feed through extraordinarily energetic lunges during which they engulf large volumes of water equal to as much as 70% of their body mass. (Source: Marine Mammal Science)
For those of you that would like to know more about these incredible creatures please read below or visit the source: (www.marinemammalcenter.org/)
HUMPBACK WHALE: Megaptera novaeangliae (meaning of scientific name: (Large-Winged of New England)
BEHAVIOR: Acrobatic humpbacks regularly breach (jump out of the water), stroke each other, and slap the water with their flippers and flukes. Scientists believe these activities are forms of communication because they create a great deal of noise, which can be heard at long distances under water. Humpbacks swim in groups or pods of up to a dozen at calving grounds, and in smaller groups of three to four during migration. Unlike other baleen whales, they can often be seen feeding cooperatively.
DESCRIPTION: The humpback whale was given its common name because of the shape of its dorsal (back) fin and the way it looks when the animal is diving. Its scientific name, Megaptera, means, "large-winged" and refers to its long, white, wing-like flippers that are often as long as one-third of the animal's body length. Humpbacks are gray or black, except for the flippers, parts of the chest and belly, and sometimes the underside of the tail flukes. Each whale has its own unique pattern on the underside of its tail flukes, which can be used like "fingerprints" to identify individual whales. Unique to humpbacks are wartlike round protuberances (bumps or tubricales) that occur on the head forward of the blowhole and on the edges of the flippers. Humpbacks are baleen whales that have 14 to 35 long throat pleats that expand when the whale takes in water while feeding.
Northern Hemisphere humpbacks reach an average length of 49 to 52 feet (15-16 m), and southern humpbacks reach 60 feet (18 m). Females are generally larger than the males. The average weight for a mature adult is 35 to 50 tons.
RANGE/HABITAT: Humpbacks are found in all oceans to the edges of polar ice, and follow definite migration paths from their summer feeding grounds to warmer waters in the winter. In the North Pacific, where their populations reach 15,000, humpbacks feed in the summer along the coast from California to Alaska. In the winter, they migrate to breeding grounds off of Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Japan. The population in California migrates to Mexico and Costa Rica, whereas the Alaskan population migrates to Hawaii.
In feeding, they use baleen plates to strain other small fish such as krill or herring, and plankton out of the water. Their 270-to-400 baleen plates are dark and each is about two and a half feet long. Humpbacks use several different feeding methods. While "lunge feeding," they plow through concentrated areas of food with their huge mouths open, swelling with large quantities of food and water. During "bubble net feeding," which is unique to humpback whales, one or several whales blow a ring of bubbles from their blowholes that encircle a school of krill or fish. The whales then swim through the "net" with their mouths agape, taking in large amounts of food.
Humpbacks are best known for their haunting vocalizations or "singing." They have a rich repertoire that covers many octaves and includes frequencies beyond the threshold of human hearing. These songs, apparently sung by males, last as long as 20 minutes, after which they are repeated, often with slight changes. Each year, the song undergoes changes from the year before, but all males sing the same song. When a whale is singing, it floats suspended in the water, head down and relatively motionless. Behavior such as dominance, aggression, and mate attraction may be related to singing.
MATING AND BREEDING: Females give birth every two or more years. Pregnancies last for 12 months. The calves nurse for eight to eleven months. When weaned, the calves are 24-27 feet (8-9 m) long.
STATUS: Humpbacks are among the most endangered whales and less than 10% of their original population remains. However, in recent years, humpbacks have been observed more and more frequently feeding along the California coast. Nearly 1400 humpbacks feed along the California Coast in the summer and fall. The current word population is estimated between 35-40,000.
The Marine Mammal Center has helped several humpback whales over the years. One famous patient was Humphrey the humpback, who we helped twice. First in 1985, he swam up the Sacramento River, and then in 1990 he was stuck on a mudflat in San Francisco Bay. Both times, we successfully got him back out into ocean. In 2007, a mother and calf pair called Delta and Dawn, received world-wide attention as they swam 75 miles inland up the Sacramento River (going farther than Humphrey). Both had severe wounds from a ship strike. After antibiotics were administered to these free-swimming whales, a first in marine mammal history mom and calf returned to the ocean.
Lucha VaVOOM headlines the ‘El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar' At Big Day Out 2013; Sydney, Australia
Red hot extreme Lucha Libre pro wrestling and more is what Sydney got at today's Big Day Out in heatwave continues.
The action and lucha heat matched the heatwave conditions.
Sadly, not many lucha wrestling masks were sold (they don't feel so good at the best of times, let alone in the heat), but drink sales were at fever pitch, as was crowd participation, with even a couple of fans having an impromptu "match" before official bell time. Interestingly, the Lucha promoter didn't seem to mind. There was also the good old Mexican wave done by what must have been about 500 fans, many of which also screamed out Ric Flair trademark "Wooooo"! calls (with and without wrestling chops to the chest).
The Lucha's will be in Australia for about a week, as part of Australia's Big Day Out festival touring Australia, and then they will work they was back to LA in the U.S of A.
The megastars of Los Angeles based Lucha VaVoom rumbled to fever pitch at the music festival and fans lapped up the mix of Mexican lucha libre wrestling, burlesque dancing and "post-punk vaudeville", as The Daily Telegraph called it.
Inspired by the Mexican pseudo sport whose champions are household names, the sequin and lycra-clad luchadores flip and fly in the wrestling ring in good (technicos) VS evil (rudos) matches. Headline stars such as Cassandro, Crazy Chicken, Dirty Sanchez and Chocolate Caliente are very good pro wrestlers, and heavily inspired by punk and cabaret, but the look of things.
Co-founder Rita D'Albert worked with rock bands for years before forming this unique act a decade ago.
"I think crazy Mexican wrestling is a pretty natural progression from rock'n'roll," she said. "It's theatrical, it's got energy and a lot of rock shows don't have that anymore."
Media Man and Wrestling News Media have seen a lot of pro wrestling in their day and were overheard "WWE might be generally more technical than Lucha VaVoom, but this LA Mexican troupe is all over them for extreme stuff - the kind that put the legendary and original ECW on the map. Judging by today, Lucha VaVoom looks to have a fantastic and extreme future in Australia. As WWE superstar Ryback would say, "Feed Me More". Oh, dream match we want to see - WWE's Rey Mysterio VS any of these guys. It will probly never happen, but we can dream.
Today lucha sports entertainment was certainly a dream come true for many Australian pro wrestling fans who like their pro wrestling more on the extreme, colourful and musical side. WrestleMania look out!
Press Release...
LUCHA VaVOOM TO HEADLINE THE ‘EL JIMADOR MEXICAN WRESTLING BAR’ AT BIG DAY OUT 2013...
LUCHA VAVOOM HEADED TO BIG DAY OUT 2013...
Direct from the US, the Lucha VaVOOM troupe will be putting on a show quite unlike any other at BIG DAY OUT 2013. Lucha VaVOOM is non-stop, action-packed surrealism where Mexican masked wrestlers perform breathtaking acrobatic feats in a fast-paced, fun-filled, character-driven style. Known for their far-out flamboyance, its quick, exhibition-style, one-fall Lucha Libre matches designed for maximum enjoyment and action.
The ultimate distraction, Lucha VaVOOM like a little sexo with their violencia; in between matches the finest handpicked burlesque acts from around the world wow the crowds with their unique striptease skills including raucous aerial acts, pogo-stick peelers and hula-hoop hotties. Their insane antics have Jack Black proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the shit!” and it’s easy to see why.
Celebrating their tenth anniversary, Lucha VaVOOM have only got crazier over time. Rooted in history, they draw inspiration from the bizarre world of sixties Mexican Lucha Cinema. The troupe has been considered one of the most outrageous shows on earth having performed sold-out shows all around the world, they have taken to the stage alongside the likes of legends such as Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle, as well as appearances on Jimmy Kimmel, Attack of the Show, Carson Daly and A Current Affair. Los Angeles Times said the Lucha VaVOOM show “has the pacing of a prison break” and BIG DAY OUT 2013 punters are set for something spectacular with the crew perform in a dedicated area. Here’s what the press have had to say:
“Lucha VaVOOM has a big future.” TIME MAGAZINE
“… It’s enough to make even the most jaded Hollywood insider jump up and yell ‘Smackdown.” ROLLING STONE
“…a raucous and irreverent extravaganza of burlesque, comedy and classic Mexican luchadore wrestling.” THE HUFFINGTON POST.
“Lucha VaVoom is the most exciting, bonkers show I’ve seen in ages.” THE FACE (UK)
“A madcap mix of Mexican wrestling, comedy, and vintage burlesque. I love, love, love it.” VANITY FAIR
“…a weird mix of cabaret, burlesque, Mexican Luchador wrestling with a live DJ, crowd interaction and commentary…depending on the night, people like Drew Carey turn up to do commentary for it. It is the most bizarre experience. The entire audience is dressed up and it’s like Halloween, everyone is in some weird costume. It was the greatest night of entertainment I have probably seen in my entire life.” ROVE MCMANUS
Lucha VaVOOM will be appearing at the El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar at all 2013 Big Day Out dates.
Mexican Masked Wrestling + Burlesque + Comedy = Lucha VaVOOM...
Lucha VaVOOM is a non-stop, action-packed scream-a-thon, where Mexican Masked wrestlers flip and fly, performing breathtaking acrobatic feats while battling evil luchadores. Historically speaking, Lucha VaVOOM brings the bizarre world of 60’s Mexican Lucha Cinema to life. Brave, masked wrestling crime fighters save the world from evil brains, vampires, the Bermuda Triangle etc; always with an obligatory stop at the local go-go club.
In-between matches, the finest, handpicked burlesque acts from around the world astound; at Lucha VaVOOM, we like a little sexo with our violencia. Raucous aerial acts, Pogo-stick peelers, hula-hoop hotties; we’ve got it all!
But wait there’s more! Our color commentary is handled by comedians Tom Kenny, Dana Gould and Blaine Capatch. Other guest commentators include Fred Armisen, Brian Poussein, Patton Oswalt, Greg Proops, Jeffrey Ross and Bobcat Goldthwait. Even Jack Black sat in, proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the sh*t!
It all began in August 2003 as a one off event. The overwhelming crowd response convinced Rita & Liz to do it again, and as soon as possible.
Ever since, Lucha VaVOOM has played at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles three times a year -- Valentines Day, Mid-summer, and Halloween. From there, Lucha brought it’s circus to Toronto, where they did two nights at the Koolhaus and made every newspaper and TV news program, including Much Music.
In 2005, Lucha VaVOOM was asked to be a part of the first HBO Las Vegas Comedy Festival, where they performed alongside Jon Stewart, Lewis Black and Dave Chapelle. That same year they performed at the famous Sony E3 party at Dodger Stadium, where they took the spotlight away from the Pussycat Dolls.
Lucha VaVOOM has gone on to perform in Chicago, San Francisco and Amsterdam, with more cities on the way.
They’ve also appeared on Jimmy Kimmel, CBS National News, G4's Attack of the Show, Channel X in Britain and A Current Affair just to name a few.
Websites
Big Day Out
Big Day Out - Lucha VaVOOM
www.bigdayout.com/mexican-wrestling-bar
Lucha VaVOOM official website
Media Man Int
Eva Rinaldi Photography
Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr - Lucha VaVOOM
www.flickr.com/photos/evarinaldiphotography/sets/72157632...
Wrestling News Media
Lucha VaVOOM headlines the ‘El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar' At Big Day Out 2013; Sydney, Australia
Red hot extreme Lucha Libre pro wrestling and more is what Sydney got at today's Big Day Out in heatwave continues.
The action and lucha heat matched the heatwave conditions.
Sadly, not many lucha wrestling masks were sold (they don't feel so good at the best of times, let alone in the heat), but drink sales were at fever pitch, as was crowd participation, with even a couple of fans having an impromptu "match" before official bell time. Interestingly, the Lucha promoter didn't seem to mind. There was also the good old Mexican wave done by what must have been about 500 fans, many of which also screamed out Ric Flair trademark "Wooooo"! calls (with and without wrestling chops to the chest).
The Lucha's will be in Australia for about a week, as part of Australia's Big Day Out festival touring Australia, and then they will work they was back to LA in the U.S of A.
The megastars of Los Angeles based Lucha VaVoom rumbled to fever pitch at the music festival and fans lapped up the mix of Mexican lucha libre wrestling, burlesque dancing and "post-punk vaudeville", as The Daily Telegraph called it.
Inspired by the Mexican pseudo sport whose champions are household names, the sequin and lycra-clad luchadores flip and fly in the wrestling ring in good (technicos) VS evil (rudos) matches. Headline stars such as Cassandro, Crazy Chicken, Dirty Sanchez and Chocolate Caliente are very good pro wrestlers, and heavily inspired by punk and cabaret, but the look of things.
Co-founder Rita D'Albert worked with rock bands for years before forming this unique act a decade ago.
"I think crazy Mexican wrestling is a pretty natural progression from rock'n'roll," she said. "It's theatrical, it's got energy and a lot of rock shows don't have that anymore."
Media Man and Wrestling News Media have seen a lot of pro wrestling in their day and were overheard "WWE might be generally more technical than Lucha VaVoom, but this LA Mexican troupe is all over them for extreme stuff - the kind that put the legendary and original ECW on the map. Judging by today, Lucha VaVoom looks to have a fantastic and extreme future in Australia. As WWE superstar Ryback would say, "Feed Me More". Oh, dream match we want to see - WWE's Rey Mysterio VS any of these guys. It will probly never happen, but we can dream.
Today lucha sports entertainment was certainly a dream come true for many Australian pro wrestling fans who like their pro wrestling more on the extreme, colourful and musical side. WrestleMania look out!
Press Release...
LUCHA VaVOOM TO HEADLINE THE ‘EL JIMADOR MEXICAN WRESTLING BAR’ AT BIG DAY OUT 2013...
LUCHA VAVOOM HEADED TO BIG DAY OUT 2013...
Direct from the US, the Lucha VaVOOM troupe will be putting on a show quite unlike any other at BIG DAY OUT 2013. Lucha VaVOOM is non-stop, action-packed surrealism where Mexican masked wrestlers perform breathtaking acrobatic feats in a fast-paced, fun-filled, character-driven style. Known for their far-out flamboyance, its quick, exhibition-style, one-fall Lucha Libre matches designed for maximum enjoyment and action.
The ultimate distraction, Lucha VaVOOM like a little sexo with their violencia; in between matches the finest handpicked burlesque acts from around the world wow the crowds with their unique striptease skills including raucous aerial acts, pogo-stick peelers and hula-hoop hotties. Their insane antics have Jack Black proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the shit!” and it’s easy to see why.
Celebrating their tenth anniversary, Lucha VaVOOM have only got crazier over time. Rooted in history, they draw inspiration from the bizarre world of sixties Mexican Lucha Cinema. The troupe has been considered one of the most outrageous shows on earth having performed sold-out shows all around the world, they have taken to the stage alongside the likes of legends such as Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle, as well as appearances on Jimmy Kimmel, Attack of the Show, Carson Daly and A Current Affair. Los Angeles Times said the Lucha VaVOOM show “has the pacing of a prison break” and BIG DAY OUT 2013 punters are set for something spectacular with the crew perform in a dedicated area. Here’s what the press have had to say:
“Lucha VaVOOM has a big future.” TIME MAGAZINE
“… It’s enough to make even the most jaded Hollywood insider jump up and yell ‘Smackdown.” ROLLING STONE
“…a raucous and irreverent extravaganza of burlesque, comedy and classic Mexican luchadore wrestling.” THE HUFFINGTON POST.
“Lucha VaVoom is the most exciting, bonkers show I’ve seen in ages.” THE FACE (UK)
“A madcap mix of Mexican wrestling, comedy, and vintage burlesque. I love, love, love it.” VANITY FAIR
“…a weird mix of cabaret, burlesque, Mexican Luchador wrestling with a live DJ, crowd interaction and commentary…depending on the night, people like Drew Carey turn up to do commentary for it. It is the most bizarre experience. The entire audience is dressed up and it’s like Halloween, everyone is in some weird costume. It was the greatest night of entertainment I have probably seen in my entire life.” ROVE MCMANUS
Lucha VaVOOM will be appearing at the El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar at all 2013 Big Day Out dates.
Mexican Masked Wrestling + Burlesque + Comedy = Lucha VaVOOM...
Lucha VaVOOM is a non-stop, action-packed scream-a-thon, where Mexican Masked wrestlers flip and fly, performing breathtaking acrobatic feats while battling evil luchadores. Historically speaking, Lucha VaVOOM brings the bizarre world of 60’s Mexican Lucha Cinema to life. Brave, masked wrestling crime fighters save the world from evil brains, vampires, the Bermuda Triangle etc; always with an obligatory stop at the local go-go club.
In-between matches, the finest, handpicked burlesque acts from around the world astound; at Lucha VaVOOM, we like a little sexo with our violencia. Raucous aerial acts, Pogo-stick peelers, hula-hoop hotties; we’ve got it all!
But wait there’s more! Our color commentary is handled by comedians Tom Kenny, Dana Gould and Blaine Capatch. Other guest commentators include Fred Armisen, Brian Poussein, Patton Oswalt, Greg Proops, Jeffrey Ross and Bobcat Goldthwait. Even Jack Black sat in, proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the sh*t!
It all began in August 2003 as a one off event. The overwhelming crowd response convinced Rita & Liz to do it again, and as soon as possible.
Ever since, Lucha VaVOOM has played at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles three times a year -- Valentines Day, Mid-summer, and Halloween. From there, Lucha brought it’s circus to Toronto, where they did two nights at the Koolhaus and made every newspaper and TV news program, including Much Music.
In 2005, Lucha VaVOOM was asked to be a part of the first HBO Las Vegas Comedy Festival, where they performed alongside Jon Stewart, Lewis Black and Dave Chapelle. That same year they performed at the famous Sony E3 party at Dodger Stadium, where they took the spotlight away from the Pussycat Dolls.
Lucha VaVOOM has gone on to perform in Chicago, San Francisco and Amsterdam, with more cities on the way.
They’ve also appeared on Jimmy Kimmel, CBS National News, G4's Attack of the Show, Channel X in Britain and A Current Affair just to name a few.
Websites
Big Day Out
Big Day Out - Lucha VaVOOM
www.bigdayout.com/mexican-wrestling-bar
Lucha VaVOOM official website
Media Man Int
Eva Rinaldi Photography
Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr - Lucha VaVOOM
www.flickr.com/photos/evarinaldiphotography/sets/72157632...
Wrestling News Media
Lucha VaVOOM headlines the ‘El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar' At Big Day Out 2013; Sydney, Australia
Red hot extreme Lucha Libre pro wrestling and more is what Sydney got at today's Big Day Out in heatwave continues.
The action and lucha heat matched the heatwave conditions.
Sadly, not many lucha wrestling masks were sold (they don't feel so good at the best of times, let alone in the heat), but drink sales were at fever pitch, as was crowd participation, with even a couple of fans having an impromptu "match" before official bell time. Interestingly, the Lucha promoter didn't seem to mind. There was also the good old Mexican wave done by what must have been about 500 fans, many of which also screamed out Ric Flair trademark "Wooooo"! calls (with and without wrestling chops to the chest).
The Lucha's will be in Australia for about a week, as part of Australia's Big Day Out festival touring Australia, and then they will work they was back to LA in the U.S of A.
The megastars of Los Angeles based Lucha VaVoom rumbled to fever pitch at the music festival and fans lapped up the mix of Mexican lucha libre wrestling, burlesque dancing and "post-punk vaudeville", as The Daily Telegraph called it.
Inspired by the Mexican pseudo sport whose champions are household names, the sequin and lycra-clad luchadores flip and fly in the wrestling ring in good (technicos) VS evil (rudos) matches. Headline stars such as Cassandro, Crazy Chicken, Dirty Sanchez and Chocolate Caliente are very good pro wrestlers, and heavily inspired by punk and cabaret, but the look of things.
Co-founder Rita D'Albert worked with rock bands for years before forming this unique act a decade ago.
"I think crazy Mexican wrestling is a pretty natural progression from rock'n'roll," she said. "It's theatrical, it's got energy and a lot of rock shows don't have that anymore."
Media Man and Wrestling News Media have seen a lot of pro wrestling in their day and were overheard "WWE might be generally more technical than Lucha VaVoom, but this LA Mexican troupe is all over them for extreme stuff - the kind that put the legendary and original ECW on the map. Judging by today, Lucha VaVoom looks to have a fantastic and extreme future in Australia. As WWE superstar Ryback would say, "Feed Me More". Oh, dream match we want to see - WWE's Rey Mysterio VS any of these guys. It will probly never happen, but we can dream.
Today lucha sports entertainment was certainly a dream come true for many Australian pro wrestling fans who like their pro wrestling more on the extreme, colourful and musical side. WrestleMania look out!
Press Release...
LUCHA VaVOOM TO HEADLINE THE ‘EL JIMADOR MEXICAN WRESTLING BAR’ AT BIG DAY OUT 2013...
LUCHA VAVOOM HEADED TO BIG DAY OUT 2013...
Direct from the US, the Lucha VaVOOM troupe will be putting on a show quite unlike any other at BIG DAY OUT 2013. Lucha VaVOOM is non-stop, action-packed surrealism where Mexican masked wrestlers perform breathtaking acrobatic feats in a fast-paced, fun-filled, character-driven style. Known for their far-out flamboyance, its quick, exhibition-style, one-fall Lucha Libre matches designed for maximum enjoyment and action.
The ultimate distraction, Lucha VaVOOM like a little sexo with their violencia; in between matches the finest handpicked burlesque acts from around the world wow the crowds with their unique striptease skills including raucous aerial acts, pogo-stick peelers and hula-hoop hotties. Their insane antics have Jack Black proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the shit!” and it’s easy to see why.
Celebrating their tenth anniversary, Lucha VaVOOM have only got crazier over time. Rooted in history, they draw inspiration from the bizarre world of sixties Mexican Lucha Cinema. The troupe has been considered one of the most outrageous shows on earth having performed sold-out shows all around the world, they have taken to the stage alongside the likes of legends such as Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle, as well as appearances on Jimmy Kimmel, Attack of the Show, Carson Daly and A Current Affair. Los Angeles Times said the Lucha VaVOOM show “has the pacing of a prison break” and BIG DAY OUT 2013 punters are set for something spectacular with the crew perform in a dedicated area. Here’s what the press have had to say:
“Lucha VaVOOM has a big future.” TIME MAGAZINE
“… It’s enough to make even the most jaded Hollywood insider jump up and yell ‘Smackdown.” ROLLING STONE
“…a raucous and irreverent extravaganza of burlesque, comedy and classic Mexican luchadore wrestling.” THE HUFFINGTON POST.
“Lucha VaVoom is the most exciting, bonkers show I’ve seen in ages.” THE FACE (UK)
“A madcap mix of Mexican wrestling, comedy, and vintage burlesque. I love, love, love it.” VANITY FAIR
“…a weird mix of cabaret, burlesque, Mexican Luchador wrestling with a live DJ, crowd interaction and commentary…depending on the night, people like Drew Carey turn up to do commentary for it. It is the most bizarre experience. The entire audience is dressed up and it’s like Halloween, everyone is in some weird costume. It was the greatest night of entertainment I have probably seen in my entire life.” ROVE MCMANUS
Lucha VaVOOM will be appearing at the El Jimador Mexican Wrestling Bar at all 2013 Big Day Out dates.
Mexican Masked Wrestling + Burlesque + Comedy = Lucha VaVOOM...
Lucha VaVOOM is a non-stop, action-packed scream-a-thon, where Mexican Masked wrestlers flip and fly, performing breathtaking acrobatic feats while battling evil luchadores. Historically speaking, Lucha VaVOOM brings the bizarre world of 60’s Mexican Lucha Cinema to life. Brave, masked wrestling crime fighters save the world from evil brains, vampires, the Bermuda Triangle etc; always with an obligatory stop at the local go-go club.
In-between matches, the finest, handpicked burlesque acts from around the world astound; at Lucha VaVOOM, we like a little sexo with our violencia. Raucous aerial acts, Pogo-stick peelers, hula-hoop hotties; we’ve got it all!
But wait there’s more! Our color commentary is handled by comedians Tom Kenny, Dana Gould and Blaine Capatch. Other guest commentators include Fred Armisen, Brian Poussein, Patton Oswalt, Greg Proops, Jeffrey Ross and Bobcat Goldthwait. Even Jack Black sat in, proclaiming “Lucha VaVOOM is the sh*t!
It all began in August 2003 as a one off event. The overwhelming crowd response convinced Rita & Liz to do it again, and as soon as possible.
Ever since, Lucha VaVOOM has played at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles three times a year -- Valentines Day, Mid-summer, and Halloween. From there, Lucha brought it’s circus to Toronto, where they did two nights at the Koolhaus and made every newspaper and TV news program, including Much Music.
In 2005, Lucha VaVOOM was asked to be a part of the first HBO Las Vegas Comedy Festival, where they performed alongside Jon Stewart, Lewis Black and Dave Chapelle. That same year they performed at the famous Sony E3 party at Dodger Stadium, where they took the spotlight away from the Pussycat Dolls.
Lucha VaVOOM has gone on to perform in Chicago, San Francisco and Amsterdam, with more cities on the way.
They’ve also appeared on Jimmy Kimmel, CBS National News, G4's Attack of the Show, Channel X in Britain and A Current Affair just to name a few.
Websites
Big Day Out
Big Day Out - Lucha VaVOOM
www.bigdayout.com/mexican-wrestling-bar
Lucha VaVOOM official website
Media Man Int
Eva Rinaldi Photography
Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr - Lucha VaVOOM
www.flickr.com/photos/evarinaldiphotography/sets/72157632...
Wrestling News Media
Humpback Whale Breaching
Personal Note: Having moved several years ago to the Monterey Bay Area in Northern California, I decided to teach myself wildlife photography and concentrate on Marine Mammals of the Monterey Bay, which was self-published as a photo essay book. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is one of the most abundant marine sanctuaries in the World with extensive academic research facilities studying its inhabitants and health.
One of the species I have concentrated my efforts on has been the highly intelligent and entertaining Humpback Whale. For two years I am been trying to capture them breaching out of the water. With two flips of their flukes they can propel 35 to 50 tons of mammal completely out of the water! Prior to July 6, 2015 I have only been able to photograph them breaching from a distance.
Over the next two weeks I will be posting a series of images from this incredible experience.
Here are some of the photographic issues:
•They never stop moving, even when they place half of their brain on "rest" while the other half navigates for them. When that half has enough rest, the other half takes over.
•Your Whale Boat is moving about 80% of the time. If the Bay is choppy that means it is rocking back and forth as it propels itself forward.
•Other Whale Boats are positioned around the best sites and can ruin your shot.
•We can tell when a breaching Humpback is going to dive. What we cannot tell is if they are going to keep breaching or just feed on the bottom?
•Normally they breach once or twice and stop. The Blue Ocean Whale Watch boat captain has seen Humpbacks breach as many as 70 times. They are based in Moss Landing and I highly recommend them. You can book a trip at: blueoceanwhalewatch.com/contact.
•Therefore, you do not know how long they are going to stay under the water (5-7 mins. is normal) or WHERE OR WHEN THEY ARE GOING TO COME UP, which is always in a different place.
•I keep my camera under my chin and watch over the top of the lens. Once they start to breach, you have 3-5 seconds to find them in your viewfinder and squeeze off a series of shots. If they are less than 1/3rd of my viewfinder I know they are too far away.
•On the way back to port, three different whales did a "Lunge Feed" in unison just like in the Olympic synchronized swimming events. It was extraordinary, but It took us all by surprise and I could not even raise my camera in time.
•We all know whales communicate with each other, but this was an extraordinary example. The three whales dove together, communicated with each other and then raced to the surface side by side with their mouths wide open! They then captured the sardines, anchovies and or krill, filtered out the water, swallowed and dove again. They can take in enormous amounts of water (up to 70% of their body weight) filter out the fish and krill and eject the water.
•It is hard to describe, but three huge whales surfacing with their mouths open, side-by-side, perfectly in unison takes your breath away. I literally snapped my sunglasses in half during the whole breaching experience, but it was a small price to pay. If anyone had gotten a sharp image of these three whales, it would have been a cover story.
•Humpback whales (belong to the class of marine mammals known as rorquals that feed through extraordinarily energetic lunges during which they engulf large volumes of water equal to as much as 70% of their body mass. (Source: Marine Mammal Science)
For those of you that would like to know more about these incredible creatures please read below or visit the source: (www.marinemammalcenter.org/)
HUMPBACK WHALE: Megaptera novaeangliae (meaning of scientific name: (Large-Winged of New England)
BEHAVIOR: Acrobatic humpbacks regularly breach (jump out of the water), stroke each other, and slap the water with their flippers and flukes. Scientists believe these activities are forms of communication because they create a great deal of noise, which can be heard at long distances under water. Humpbacks swim in groups or pods of up to a dozen at calving grounds, and in smaller groups of three to four during migration. Unlike other baleen whales, they can often be seen feeding cooperatively.
DESCRIPTION: The humpback whale was given its common name because of the shape of its dorsal (back) fin and the way it looks when the animal is diving. Its scientific name, Megaptera, means, "large-winged" and refers to its long, white, wing-like flippers that are often as long as one-third of the animal's body length. Humpbacks are gray or black, except for the flippers, parts of the chest and belly, and sometimes the underside of the tail flukes. Each whale has its own unique pattern on the underside of its tail flukes, which can be used like "fingerprints" to identify individual whales. Unique to humpbacks are wartlike round protuberances (bumps or tubricales) that occur on the head forward of the blowhole and on the edges of the flippers. Humpbacks are baleen whales that have 14 to 35 long throat pleats that expand when the whale takes in water while feeding.
Northern Hemisphere humpbacks reach an average length of 49 to 52 feet (15-16 m), and southern humpbacks reach 60 feet (18 m). Females are generally larger than the males. The average weight for a mature adult is 35 to 50 tons.
RANGE/HABITAT: Humpbacks are found in all oceans to the edges of polar ice, and follow definite migration paths from their summer feeding grounds to warmer waters in the winter. In the North Pacific, where their populations reach 15,000, humpbacks feed in the summer along the coast from California to Alaska. In the winter, they migrate to breeding grounds off of Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Japan. The population in California migrates to Mexico and Costa Rica, whereas the Alaskan population migrates to Hawaii.
In feeding, they use baleen plates to strain other small fish such as krill or herring, and plankton out of the water. Their 270-to-400 baleen plates are dark and each is about two and a half feet long. Humpbacks use several different feeding methods. While "lunge feeding," they plow through concentrated areas of food with their huge mouths open, swelling with large quantities of food and water. During "bubble net feeding," which is unique to humpback whales, one or several whales blow a ring of bubbles from their blowholes that encircle a school of krill or fish. The whales then swim through the "net" with their mouths agape, taking in large amounts of food.
Humpbacks are best known for their haunting vocalizations or "singing." They have a rich repertoire that covers many octaves and includes frequencies beyond the threshold of human hearing. These songs, apparently sung by males, last as long as 20 minutes, after which they are repeated, often with slight changes. Each year, the song undergoes changes from the year before, but all males sing the same song. When a whale is singing, it floats suspended in the water, head down and relatively motionless. Behavior such as dominance, aggression, and mate attraction may be related to singing.
MATING AND BREEDING: Females give birth every two or more years. Pregnancies last for 12 months. The calves nurse for eight to eleven months. When weaned, the calves are 24-27 feet (8-9 m) long.
STATUS: Humpbacks are among the most endangered whales and less than 10% of their original population remains. However, in recent years, humpbacks have been observed more and more frequently feeding along the California coast. Nearly 1400 humpbacks feed along the California Coast in the summer and fall. The current word population is estimated between 35-40,000.
The Marine Mammal Center has helped several humpback whales over the years. One famous patient was Humphrey the humpback, who we helped twice. First in 1985, he swam up the Sacramento River, and then in 1990 he was stuck on a mudflat in San Francisco Bay. Both times, we successfully got him back out into ocean. In 2007, a mother and calf pair called Delta and Dawn, received world-wide attention as they swam 75 miles inland up the Sacramento River (going farther than Humphrey). Both had severe wounds from a ship strike. After antibiotics were administered to these free-swimming whales, a first in marine mammal history mom and calf returned to the ocean.
I found this Mockingbird doing the common wind acrobatic stunts that they do by using wind drafts and their wing and tail feathers. I believe some call it wind dancing. They are amusing to watch when they do this and can do some spectacular flips and twists. It's hard to tell from the photos, but the bird is riding the wind and hovering.
Nikon D7100
Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 AF-S VR IF-ED G
1/1000s
f/5.3
ISO 100
Focal Length 200mm
I found this Mockingbird doing the common wind acrobatic stunts that they do by using wind drafts and their wing and tail feathers. I believe some call it wind dancing. They are amusing to watch when they do this and can do some spectacular flips and twists. It's hard to tell from the photos, but the bird is riding the wind and hovering.
Nikon D7100
Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 AF-S VR IF-ED G
1/800s
f/5.3
ISO 100
Focal Length 200mm
Humpback Whale Breaching
Personal Note: Having moved several years ago to the Monterey Bay Area in Northern California, I decided to teach myself wildlife photography and concentrate on Marine Mammals of the Monterey Bay, which was self-published as a photo essay book. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is one of the most abundant marine sanctuaries in the World with extensive academic research facilities studying its inhabitants and health.
One of the species I have concentrated my efforts on has been the highly intelligent and entertaining Humpback Whale. For two years I am been trying to capture them breaching out of the water. With two flips of their flukes they can propel 35 to 50 tons of mammal completely out of the water! Prior to July 6, 2015 I have only been able to photograph them breaching from a distance.
Over the next two weeks I will be posting a series of images from this incredible experience.
Here are some of the photographic issues:
•They never stop moving, even when they place half of their brain on "rest" while the other half navigates for them. When that half has enough rest, the other half takes over.
•Your Whale Boat is moving about 80% of the time. If the Bay is choppy that means it is rocking back and forth as it propels itself forward.
•Other Whale Boats are positioned around the best sites and can ruin your shot.
•We can tell when a breaching Humpback is going to dive. What we cannot tell is if they are going to keep breaching or just feed on the bottom?
•Normally they breach once or twice and stop. The Blue Ocean Whale Watch boat captain has seen Humpbacks breach as many as 70 times. They are based in Moss Landing and I highly recommend them. You can book a trip at: blueoceanwhalewatch.com/contact.
•Therefore, you do not know how long they are going to stay under the water (5-7 mins. is normal) or WHERE OR WHEN THEY ARE GOING TO COME UP, which is always in a different place.
•I keep my camera under my chin and watch over the top of the lens. Once they start to breach, you have 3-5 seconds to find them in your viewfinder and squeeze off a series of shots. If they are less than 1/3rd of my viewfinder I know they are too far away.
•On the way back to port, three different whales did a "Lunge Feed" in unison just like in the Olympic synchronized swimming events. It was extraordinary, but It took us all by surprise and I could not even raise my camera in time.
•We all know whales communicate with each other, but this was an extraordinary example. The three whales dove together, communicated with each other and then raced to the surface side by side with their mouths wide open! They then captured the sardines, anchovies and or krill, filtered out the water, swallowed and dove again. They can take in enormous amounts of water (up to 70% of their body weight) filter out the fish and krill and eject the water.
•It is hard to describe, but three huge whales surfacing with their mouths open, side-by-side, perfectly in unison takes your breath away. I literally snapped my sunglasses in half during the whole breaching experience, but it was a small price to pay. If anyone had gotten a sharp image of these three whales, it would have been a cover story.
•Humpback whales (belong to the class of marine mammals known as rorquals that feed through extraordinarily energetic lunges during which they engulf large volumes of water equal to as much as 70% of their body mass. (Source: Marine Mammal Science)
For those of you that would like to know more about these incredible creatures please read below or visit the source: (www.marinemammalcenter.org/)
HUMPBACK WHALE: Megaptera novaeangliae (meaning of scientific name: (Large-Winged of New England)
BEHAVIOR: Acrobatic humpbacks regularly breach (jump out of the water), stroke each other, and slap the water with their flippers and flukes. Scientists believe these activities are forms of communication because they create a great deal of noise, which can be heard at long distances under water. Humpbacks swim in groups or pods of up to a dozen at calving grounds, and in smaller groups of three to four during migration. Unlike other baleen whales, they can often be seen feeding cooperatively.
DESCRIPTION: The humpback whale was given its common name because of the shape of its dorsal (back) fin and the way it looks when the animal is diving. Its scientific name, Megaptera, means, "large-winged" and refers to its long, white, wing-like flippers that are often as long as one-third of the animal's body length. Humpbacks are gray or black, except for the flippers, parts of the chest and belly, and sometimes the underside of the tail flukes. Each whale has its own unique pattern on the underside of its tail flukes, which can be used like "fingerprints" to identify individual whales. Unique to humpbacks are wartlike round protuberances (bumps or tubricales) that occur on the head forward of the blowhole and on the edges of the flippers. Humpbacks are baleen whales that have 14 to 35 long throat pleats that expand when the whale takes in water while feeding.
Northern Hemisphere humpbacks reach an average length of 49 to 52 feet (15-16 m), and southern humpbacks reach 60 feet (18 m). Females are generally larger than the males. The average weight for a mature adult is 35 to 50 tons.
RANGE/HABITAT: Humpbacks are found in all oceans to the edges of polar ice, and follow definite migration paths from their summer feeding grounds to warmer waters in the winter. In the North Pacific, where their populations reach 15,000, humpbacks feed in the summer along the coast from California to Alaska. In the winter, they migrate to breeding grounds off of Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Japan. The population in California migrates to Mexico and Costa Rica, whereas the Alaskan population migrates to Hawaii.
In feeding, they use baleen plates to strain other small fish such as krill or herring, and plankton out of the water. Their 270-to-400 baleen plates are dark and each is about two and a half feet long. Humpbacks use several different feeding methods. While "lunge feeding," they plow through concentrated areas of food with their huge mouths open, swelling with large quantities of food and water. During "bubble net feeding," which is unique to humpback whales, one or several whales blow a ring of bubbles from their blowholes that encircle a school of krill or fish. The whales then swim through the "net" with their mouths agape, taking in large amounts of food.
Humpbacks are best known for their haunting vocalizations or "singing." They have a rich repertoire that covers many octaves and includes frequencies beyond the threshold of human hearing. These songs, apparently sung by males, last as long as 20 minutes, after which they are repeated, often with slight changes. Each year, the song undergoes changes from the year before, but all males sing the same song. When a whale is singing, it floats suspended in the water, head down and relatively motionless. Behavior such as dominance, aggression, and mate attraction may be related to singing.
MATING AND BREEDING: Females give birth every two or more years. Pregnancies last for 12 months. The calves nurse for eight to eleven months. When weaned, the calves are 24-27 feet (8-9 m) long.
STATUS: Humpbacks are among the most endangered whales and less than 10% of their original population remains. However, in recent years, humpbacks have been observed more and more frequently feeding along the California coast. Nearly 1400 humpbacks feed along the California Coast in the summer and fall. The current word population is estimated between 35-40,000.
The Marine Mammal Center has helped several humpback whales over the years. One famous patient was Humphrey the humpback, who we helped twice. First in 1985, he swam up the Sacramento River, and then in 1990 he was stuck on a mudflat in San Francisco Bay. Both times, we successfully got him back out into ocean. In 2007, a mother and calf pair called Delta and Dawn, received world-wide attention as they swam 75 miles inland up the Sacramento River (going farther than Humphrey). Both had severe wounds from a ship strike. After antibiotics were administered to these free-swimming whales, a first in marine mammal history mom and calf returned to the ocean.
Humpback Whale Breaching
Personal Note: Having moved several years ago to the Monterey Bay Area in Northern California, I decided to teach myself wildlife photography and concentrate on Marine Mammals of the Monterey Bay, which was self-published as a photo essay book. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is one of the most abundant marine sanctuaries in the World with extensive academic research facilities studying its inhabitants and health.
One of the species I have concentrated my efforts on has been the highly intelligent and entertaining Humpback Whale. For two years I am been trying to capture them breaching out of the water. With two flips of their flukes they can propel 35 to 50 tons of mammal completely out of the water! Prior to July 6, 2015 I have only been able to photograph them breaching from a distance.
Over the next two weeks I will be posting a series of images from this incredible experience.
Here are some of the photographic issues:
•They never stop moving, even when they place half of their brain on "rest" while the other half navigates for them. When that half has enough rest, the other half takes over.
•Your Whale Boat is moving about 80% of the time. If the Bay is choppy that means it is rocking back and forth as it propels itself forward.
•Other Whale Boats are positioned around the best sites and can ruin your shot.
•We can tell when a breaching Humpback is going to dive. What we cannot tell is if they are going to keep breaching or just feed on the bottom?
•Normally they breach once or twice and stop. The Blue Ocean Whale Watch boat captain has seen Humpbacks breach as many as 70 times. They are based in Moss Landing and I highly recommend them. You can book a trip at: blueoceanwhalewatch.com/contact.
•Therefore, you do not know how long they are going to stay under the water (5-7 mins. is normal) or WHERE OR WHEN THEY ARE GOING TO COME UP, which is always in a different place.
•I keep my camera under my chin and watch over the top of the lens. Once they start to breach, you have 3-5 seconds to find them in your viewfinder and squeeze off a series of shots. If they are less than 1/3rd of my viewfinder I know they are too far away.
•On the way back to port, three different whales did a "Lunge Feed" in unison just like in the Olympic synchronized swimming events. It was extraordinary, but It took us all by surprise and I could not even raise my camera in time.
•We all know whales communicate with each other, but this was an extraordinary example. The three whales dove together, communicated with each other and then raced to the surface side by side with their mouths wide open! They then captured the sardines, anchovies and or krill, filtered out the water, swallowed and dove again. They can take in enormous amounts of water (up to 70% of their body weight) filter out the fish and krill and eject the water.
•It is hard to describe, but three huge whales surfacing with their mouths open, side-by-side, perfectly in unison takes your breath away. I literally snapped my sunglasses in half during the whole breaching experience, but it was a small price to pay. If anyone had gotten a sharp image of these three whales, it would have been a cover story.
•Humpback whales (belong to the class of marine mammals known as rorquals that feed through extraordinarily energetic lunges during which they engulf large volumes of water equal to as much as 70% of their body mass. (Source: Marine Mammal Science)
For those of you that would like to know more about these incredible creatures please read below or visit the source: (www.marinemammalcenter.org/)
HUMPBACK WHALE: Megaptera novaeangliae (meaning of scientific name: (Large-Winged of New England)
BEHAVIOR: Acrobatic humpbacks regularly breach (jump out of the water), stroke each other, and slap the water with their flippers and flukes. Scientists believe these activities are forms of communication because they create a great deal of noise, which can be heard at long distances under water. Humpbacks swim in groups or pods of up to a dozen at calving grounds, and in smaller groups of three to four during migration. Unlike other baleen whales, they can often be seen feeding cooperatively.
DESCRIPTION: The humpback whale was given its common name because of the shape of its dorsal (back) fin and the way it looks when the animal is diving. Its scientific name, Megaptera, means, "large-winged" and refers to its long, white, wing-like flippers that are often as long as one-third of the animal's body length. Humpbacks are gray or black, except for the flippers, parts of the chest and belly, and sometimes the underside of the tail flukes. Each whale has its own unique pattern on the underside of its tail flukes, which can be used like "fingerprints" to identify individual whales. Unique to humpbacks are wartlike round protuberances (bumps or tubricales) that occur on the head forward of the blowhole and on the edges of the flippers. Humpbacks are baleen whales that have 14 to 35 long throat pleats that expand when the whale takes in water while feeding.
Northern Hemisphere humpbacks reach an average length of 49 to 52 feet (15-16 m), and southern humpbacks reach 60 feet (18 m). Females are generally larger than the males. The average weight for a mature adult is 35 to 50 tons.
RANGE/HABITAT: Humpbacks are found in all oceans to the edges of polar ice, and follow definite migration paths from their summer feeding grounds to warmer waters in the winter. In the North Pacific, where their populations reach 15,000, humpbacks feed in the summer along the coast from California to Alaska. In the winter, they migrate to breeding grounds off of Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Japan. The population in California migrates to Mexico and Costa Rica, whereas the Alaskan population migrates to Hawaii.
In feeding, they use baleen plates to strain other small fish such as krill or herring, and plankton out of the water. Their 270-to-400 baleen plates are dark and each is about two and a half feet long. Humpbacks use several different feeding methods. While "lunge feeding," they plow through concentrated areas of food with their huge mouths open, swelling with large quantities of food and water. During "bubble net feeding," which is unique to humpback whales, one or several whales blow a ring of bubbles from their blowholes that encircle a school of krill or fish. The whales then swim through the "net" with their mouths agape, taking in large amounts of food.
Humpbacks are best known for their haunting vocalizations or "singing." They have a rich repertoire that covers many octaves and includes frequencies beyond the threshold of human hearing. These songs, apparently sung by males, last as long as 20 minutes, after which they are repeated, often with slight changes. Each year, the song undergoes changes from the year before, but all males sing the same song. When a whale is singing, it floats suspended in the water, head down and relatively motionless. Behavior such as dominance, aggression, and mate attraction may be related to singing.
MATING AND BREEDING: Females give birth every two or more years. Pregnancies last for 12 months. The calves nurse for eight to eleven months. When weaned, the calves are 24-27 feet (8-9 m) long.
STATUS: Humpbacks are among the most endangered whales and less than 10% of their original population remains. However, in recent years, humpbacks have been observed more and more frequently feeding along the California coast. Nearly 1400 humpbacks feed along the California Coast in the summer and fall. The current word population is estimated between 35-40,000.
The Marine Mammal Center has helped several humpback whales over the years. One famous patient was Humphrey the humpback, who we helped twice. First in 1985, he swam up the Sacramento River, and then in 1990 he was stuck on a mudflat in San Francisco Bay. Both times, we successfully got him back out into ocean. In 2007, a mother and calf pair called Delta and Dawn, received world-wide attention as they swam 75 miles inland up the Sacramento River (going farther than Humphrey). Both had severe wounds from a ship strike. After antibiotics were administered to these free-swimming whales, a first in marine mammal history mom and calf returned to the ocean.
Humpback Whale Breaching
Personal Note: Having moved several years ago to the Monterey Bay Area in Northern California, I decided to teach myself wildlife photography and concentrate on Marine Mammals of the Monterey Bay, which was self-published as a photo essay book. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is one of the most abundant marine sanctuaries in the World with extensive academic research facilities studying its inhabitants and health.
One of the species I have concentrated my efforts on has been the highly intelligent and entertaining Humpback Whale. For two years I am been trying to capture them breaching out of the water. With two flips of their flukes they can propel 35 to 50 tons of mammal completely out of the water! Prior to July 6, 2015 I have only been able to photograph them breaching from a distance.
Over the next two weeks I will be posting a series of images from this incredible experience.
Here are some of the photographic issues:
•They never stop moving, even when they place half of their brain on "rest" while the other half navigates for them. When that half has enough rest, the other half takes over.
•Your Whale Boat is moving about 80% of the time. If the Bay is choppy that means it is rocking back and forth as it propels itself forward.
•Other Whale Boats are positioned around the best sites and can ruin your shot.
•We can tell when a breaching Humpback is going to dive. What we cannot tell is if they are going to keep breaching or just feed on the bottom?
•Normally they breach once or twice and stop. The Blue Ocean Whale Watch boat captain has seen Humpbacks breach as many as 70 times. They are based in Moss Landing and I highly recommend them. You can book a trip at: blueoceanwhalewatch.com/contact.
•Therefore, you do not know how long they are going to stay under the water (5-7 mins. is normal) or WHERE OR WHEN THEY ARE GOING TO COME UP, which is always in a different place.
•I keep my camera under my chin and watch over the top of the lens. Once they start to breach, you have 3-5 seconds to find them in your viewfinder and squeeze off a series of shots. If they are less than 1/3rd of my viewfinder I know they are too far away.
•On the way back to port, three different whales did a "Lunge Feed" in unison just like in the Olympic synchronized swimming events. It was extraordinary, but It took us all by surprise and I could not even raise my camera in time.
•We all know whales communicate with each other, but this was an extraordinary example. The three whales dove together, communicated with each other and then raced to the surface side by side with their mouths wide open! They then captured the sardines, anchovies and or krill, filtered out the water, swallowed and dove again. They can take in enormous amounts of water (up to 70% of their body weight) filter out the fish and krill and eject the water.
•It is hard to describe, but three huge whales surfacing with their mouths open, side-by-side, perfectly in unison takes your breath away. I literally snapped my sunglasses in half during the whole breaching experience, but it was a small price to pay. If anyone had gotten a sharp image of these three whales, it would have been a cover story.
•Humpback whales (belong to the class of marine mammals known as rorquals that feed through extraordinarily energetic lunges during which they engulf large volumes of water equal to as much as 70% of their body mass. (Source: Marine Mammal Science)
For those of you that would like to know more about these incredible creatures please read below or visit the source: (www.marinemammalcenter.org/)
HUMPBACK WHALE: Megaptera novaeangliae (meaning of scientific name: (Large-Winged of New England)
BEHAVIOR: Acrobatic humpbacks regularly breach (jump out of the water), stroke each other, and slap the water with their flippers and flukes. Scientists believe these activities are forms of communication because they create a great deal of noise, which can be heard at long distances under water. Humpbacks swim in groups or pods of up to a dozen at calving grounds, and in smaller groups of three to four during migration. Unlike other baleen whales, they can often be seen feeding cooperatively.
DESCRIPTION: The humpback whale was given its common name because of the shape of its dorsal (back) fin and the way it looks when the animal is diving. Its scientific name, Megaptera, means, "large-winged" and refers to its long, white, wing-like flippers that are often as long as one-third of the animal's body length. Humpbacks are gray or black, except for the flippers, parts of the chest and belly, and sometimes the underside of the tail flukes. Each whale has its own unique pattern on the underside of its tail flukes, which can be used like "fingerprints" to identify individual whales. Unique to humpbacks are wartlike round protuberances (bumps or tubricales) that occur on the head forward of the blowhole and on the edges of the flippers. Humpbacks are baleen whales that have 14 to 35 long throat pleats that expand when the whale takes in water while feeding.
Northern Hemisphere humpbacks reach an average length of 49 to 52 feet (15-16 m), and southern humpbacks reach 60 feet (18 m). Females are generally larger than the males. The average weight for a mature adult is 35 to 50 tons.
RANGE/HABITAT: Humpbacks are found in all oceans to the edges of polar ice, and follow definite migration paths from their summer feeding grounds to warmer waters in the winter. In the North Pacific, where their populations reach 15,000, humpbacks feed in the summer along the coast from California to Alaska. In the winter, they migrate to breeding grounds off of Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Japan. The population in California migrates to Mexico and Costa Rica, whereas the Alaskan population migrates to Hawaii.
In feeding, they use baleen plates to strain other small fish such as krill or herring, and plankton out of the water. Their 270-to-400 baleen plates are dark and each is about two and a half feet long. Humpbacks use several different feeding methods. While "lunge feeding," they plow through concentrated areas of food with their huge mouths open, swelling with large quantities of food and water. During "bubble net feeding," which is unique to humpback whales, one or several whales blow a ring of bubbles from their blowholes that encircle a school of krill or fish. The whales then swim through the "net" with their mouths agape, taking in large amounts of food.
Humpbacks are best known for their haunting vocalizations or "singing." They have a rich repertoire that covers many octaves and includes frequencies beyond the threshold of human hearing. These songs, apparently sung by males, last as long as 20 minutes, after which they are repeated, often with slight changes. Each year, the song undergoes changes from the year before, but all males sing the same song. When a whale is singing, it floats suspended in the water, head down and relatively motionless. Behavior such as dominance, aggression, and mate attraction may be related to singing.
MATING AND BREEDING: Females give birth every two or more years. Pregnancies last for 12 months. The calves nurse for eight to eleven months. When weaned, the calves are 24-27 feet (8-9 m) long.
STATUS: Humpbacks are among the most endangered whales and less than 10% of their original population remains. However, in recent years, humpbacks have been observed more and more frequently feeding along the California coast. Nearly 1400 humpbacks feed along the California Coast in the summer and fall. The current word population is estimated between 35-40,000.
The Marine Mammal Center has helped several humpback whales over the years. One famous patient was Humphrey the humpback, who we helped twice. First in 1985, he swam up the Sacramento River, and then in 1990 he was stuck on a mudflat in San Francisco Bay. Both times, we successfully got him back out into ocean. In 2007, a mother and calf pair called Delta and Dawn, received world-wide attention as they swam 75 miles inland up the Sacramento River (going farther than Humphrey). Both had severe wounds from a ship strike. After antibiotics were administered to these free-swimming whales, a first in marine mammal history mom and calf returned to the ocean.
Humpback Whale Breaching
Personal Note: Having moved several years ago to the Monterey Bay Area in Northern California, I decided to teach myself wildlife photography and concentrate on Marine Mammals of the Monterey Bay, which was self-published as a photo essay book. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is one of the most abundant marine sanctuaries in the World with extensive academic research facilities studying its inhabitants and health.
One of the species I have concentrated my efforts on has been the highly intelligent and entertaining Humpback Whale. For two years I am been trying to capture them breaching out of the water. With two flips of their flukes they can propel 35 to 50 tons of mammal completely out of the water! Prior to July 6, 2015 I have only been able to photograph them breaching from a distance.
Over the next two weeks I will be posting a series of images from this incredible experience.
Here are some of the photographic issues:
•They never stop moving, even when they place half of their brain on "rest" while the other half navigates for them. When that half has enough rest, the other half takes over.
•Your Whale Boat is moving about 80% of the time. If the Bay is choppy that means it is rocking back and forth as it propels itself forward.
•Other Whale Boats are positioned around the best sites and can ruin your shot.
•We can tell when a breaching Humpback is going to dive. What we cannot tell is if they are going to keep breaching or just feed on the bottom?
•Normally they breach once or twice and stop. The Blue Ocean Whale Watch boat captain has seen Humpbacks breach as many as 70 times. They are based in Moss Landing and I highly recommend them. You can book a trip at: blueoceanwhalewatch.com/contact.
•Therefore, you do not know how long they are going to stay under the water (5-7 mins. is normal) or WHERE OR WHEN THEY ARE GOING TO COME UP, which is always in a different place.
•I keep my camera under my chin and watch over the top of the lens. Once they start to breach, you have 3-5 seconds to find them in your viewfinder and squeeze off a series of shots. If they are less than 1/3rd of my viewfinder I know they are too far away.
•On the way back to port, three different whales did a "Lunge Feed" in unison just like in the Olympic synchronized swimming events. It was extraordinary, but It took us all by surprise and I could not even raise my camera in time.
•We all know whales communicate with each other, but this was an extraordinary example. The three whales dove together, communicated with each other and then raced to the surface side by side with their mouths wide open! They then captured the sardines, anchovies and or krill, filtered out the water, swallowed and dove again. They can take in enormous amounts of water (up to 70% of their body weight) filter out the fish and krill and eject the water.
•It is hard to describe, but three huge whales surfacing with their mouths open, side-by-side, perfectly in unison takes your breath away. I literally snapped my sunglasses in half during the whole breaching experience, but it was a small price to pay. If anyone had gotten a sharp image of these three whales, it would have been a cover story.
•Humpback whales (belong to the class of marine mammals known as rorquals that feed through extraordinarily energetic lunges during which they engulf large volumes of water equal to as much as 70% of their body mass. (Source: Marine Mammal Science)
For those of you that would like to know more about these incredible creatures please read below or visit the source: (www.marinemammalcenter.org/)
HUMPBACK WHALE: Megaptera novaeangliae (meaning of scientific name: (Large-Winged of New England)
BEHAVIOR: Acrobatic humpbacks regularly breach (jump out of the water), stroke each other, and slap the water with their flippers and flukes. Scientists believe these activities are forms of communication because they create a great deal of noise, which can be heard at long distances under water. Humpbacks swim in groups or pods of up to a dozen at calving grounds, and in smaller groups of three to four during migration. Unlike other baleen whales, they can often be seen feeding cooperatively.
DESCRIPTION: The humpback whale was given its common name because of the shape of its dorsal (back) fin and the way it looks when the animal is diving. Its scientific name, Megaptera, means, "large-winged" and refers to its long, white, wing-like flippers that are often as long as one-third of the animal's body length. Humpbacks are gray or black, except for the flippers, parts of the chest and belly, and sometimes the underside of the tail flukes. Each whale has its own unique pattern on the underside of its tail flukes, which can be used like "fingerprints" to identify individual whales. Unique to humpbacks are wartlike round protuberances (bumps or tubricales) that occur on the head forward of the blowhole and on the edges of the flippers. Humpbacks are baleen whales that have 14 to 35 long throat pleats that expand when the whale takes in water while feeding.
Northern Hemisphere humpbacks reach an average length of 49 to 52 feet (15-16 m), and southern humpbacks reach 60 feet (18 m). Females are generally larger than the males. The average weight for a mature adult is 35 to 50 tons.
RANGE/HABITAT: Humpbacks are found in all oceans to the edges of polar ice, and follow definite migration paths from their summer feeding grounds to warmer waters in the winter. In the North Pacific, where their populations reach 15,000, humpbacks feed in the summer along the coast from California to Alaska. In the winter, they migrate to breeding grounds off of Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Japan. The population in California migrates to Mexico and Costa Rica, whereas the Alaskan population migrates to Hawaii.
In feeding, they use baleen plates to strain other small fish such as krill or herring, and plankton out of the water. Their 270-to-400 baleen plates are dark and each is about two and a half feet long. Humpbacks use several different feeding methods. While "lunge feeding," they plow through concentrated areas of food with their huge mouths open, swelling with large quantities of food and water. During "bubble net feeding," which is unique to humpback whales, one or several whales blow a ring of bubbles from their blowholes that encircle a school of krill or fish. The whales then swim through the "net" with their mouths agape, taking in large amounts of food.
Humpbacks are best known for their haunting vocalizations or "singing." They have a rich repertoire that covers many octaves and includes frequencies beyond the threshold of human hearing. These songs, apparently sung by males, last as long as 20 minutes, after which they are repeated, often with slight changes. Each year, the song undergoes changes from the year before, but all males sing the same song. When a whale is singing, it floats suspended in the water, head down and relatively motionless. Behavior such as dominance, aggression, and mate attraction may be related to singing.
MATING AND BREEDING: Females give birth every two or more years. Pregnancies last for 12 months. The calves nurse for eight to eleven months. When weaned, the calves are 24-27 feet (8-9 m) long.
STATUS: Humpbacks are among the most endangered whales and less than 10% of their original population remains. However, in recent years, humpbacks have been observed more and more frequently feeding along the California coast. Nearly 1400 humpbacks feed along the California Coast in the summer and fall. The current word population is estimated between 35-40,000.
The Marine Mammal Center has helped several humpback whales over the years. One famous patient was Humphrey the humpback, who we helped twice. First in 1985, he swam up the Sacramento River, and then in 1990 he was stuck on a mudflat in San Francisco Bay. Both times, we successfully got him back out into ocean. In 2007, a mother and calf pair called Delta and Dawn, received world-wide attention as they swam 75 miles inland up the Sacramento River (going farther than Humphrey). Both had severe wounds from a ship strike. After antibiotics were administered to these free-swimming whales, a first in marine mammal history mom and calf returned to the ocean.
Humpback Whale Breaching
Personal Note: Having moved several years ago to the Monterey Bay Area in Northern California, I decided to teach myself wildlife photography and concentrate on Marine Mammals of the Monterey Bay, which was self-published as a photo essay book. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is one of the most abundant marine sanctuaries in the World with extensive academic research facilities studying its inhabitants and health.
One of the species I have concentrated my efforts on has been the highly intelligent and entertaining Humpback Whale. For two years I am been trying to capture them breaching out of the water. With two flips of their flukes they can propel 35 to 50 tons of mammal completely out of the water! Prior to July 6, 2015 I have only been able to photograph them breaching from a distance.
Over the next two weeks I will be posting a series of images from this incredible experience.
Here are some of the photographic issues:
•They never stop moving, even when they place half of their brain on "rest" while the other half navigates for them. When that half has enough rest, the other half takes over.
•Your Whale Boat is moving about 80% of the time. If the Bay is choppy that means it is rocking back and forth as it propels itself forward.
•Other Whale Boats are positioned around the best sites and can ruin your shot.
•We can tell when a breaching Humpback is going to dive. What we cannot tell is if they are going to keep breaching or just feed on the bottom?
•Normally they breach once or twice and stop. The Blue Ocean Whale Watch boat captain has seen Humpbacks breach as many as 70 times. They are based in Moss Landing and I highly recommend them. You can book a trip at: blueoceanwhalewatch.com/contact.
•Therefore, you do not know how long they are going to stay under the water (5-7 mins. is normal) or WHERE OR WHEN THEY ARE GOING TO COME UP, which is always in a different place.
•I keep my camera under my chin and watch over the top of the lens. Once they start to breach, you have 3-5 seconds to find them in your viewfinder and squeeze off a series of shots. If they are less than 1/3rd of my viewfinder I know they are too far away.
•On the way back to port, three different whales did a "Lunge Feed" in unison just like in the Olympic swimming events. It was extraordinary, but It took us all by surprise and I could not even raise my camera in time.
•We all know whales communicate with each other, but this was an extraordinary example. The three whales dove together, communicated with each other and then raced to the surface side by side with their mouths wide open! They then captured the sardines, anchovies and or krill, filtered out the water, swallowed and dove again.
•It is hard to describe, but three huge whales surfacing with their mouths open, side-by-side, perfectly in unison takes your breath away. I literally snapped my sunglasses in half during the whole breaching experience, but it was a small price to pay. If anyone had gotten a sharp image of these three whales, it would have been a cover story.
•Humpback whales (belong to the class of marine mammals known as rorquals that feed through extraordinarily energetic lunges during which they engulf large volumes of water equal to as much as 70% of their body mass. (Source: Marine Mammal Science)
For those of you that would like to know more about these incredible creatures please read below or visit the source: (www.marinemammalcenter.org/)
HUMPBACK WHALE: Megaptera novaeangliae (meaning of scientific name: (Large-Winged of New England)
BEHAVIOR: Acrobatic humpbacks regularly breach (jump out of the water), stroke each other, and slap the water with their flippers and flukes. Scientists believe these activities are forms of communication because they create a great deal of noise, which can be heard at long distances under water. Humpbacks swim in groups or pods of up to a dozen at calving grounds, and in smaller groups of three to four during migration. Unlike other baleen whales, they can often be seen feeding cooperatively.
DESCRIPTION: The humpback whale was given its common name because of the shape of its dorsal (back) fin and the way it looks when the animal is diving. Its scientific name, Megaptera, means, "large-winged" and refers to its long, white, wing-like flippers that are often as long as one-third of the animal's body length. Humpbacks are gray or black, except for the flippers, parts of the chest and belly, and sometimes the underside of the tail flukes. Each whale has its own unique pattern on the underside of its tail flukes, which can be used like "fingerprints" to identify individual whales. Unique to humpbacks are wartlike round protuberances (bumps or tubricales) that occur on the head forward of the blowhole and on the edges of the flippers. Humpbacks are baleen whales that have 14 to 35 long throat pleats that expand when the whale takes in water while feeding.
Northern Hemisphere humpbacks reach an average length of 49 to 52 feet (15-16 m), and southern humpbacks reach 60 feet (18 m). Females are generally larger than the males. The average weight for a mature adult is 35 to 50 tons.
RANGE/HABITAT: Humpbacks are found in all oceans to the edges of polar ice, and follow definite migration paths from their summer feeding grounds to warmer waters in the winter. In the North Pacific, where their populations reach 15,000, humpbacks feed in the summer along the coast from California to Alaska. In the winter, they migrate to breeding grounds off of Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Japan. The population in California migrates to Mexico and Costa Rica, whereas the Alaskan population migrates to Hawaii.
In feeding, they use baleen plates to strain other small fish such as krill or herring, and plankton out of the water. Their 270-to-400 baleen plates are dark and each is about two and a half feet long. Humpbacks use several different feeding methods. While "lunge feeding," they plow through concentrated areas of food with their huge mouths open, swelling with large quantities of food and water. During "bubble net feeding," which is unique to humpback whales, one or several whales blow a ring of bubbles from their blowholes that encircle a school of krill or fish. The whales then swim through the "net" with their mouths agape, taking in large amounts of food.
Humpbacks are best known for their haunting vocalizations or "singing." They have a rich repertoire that covers many octaves and includes frequencies beyond the threshold of human hearing. These songs, apparently sung by males, last as long as 20 minutes, after which they are repeated, often with slight changes. Each year, the song undergoes changes from the year before, but all males sing the same song. When a whale is singing, it floats suspended in the water, head down and relatively motionless. Behavior such as dominance, aggression, and mate attraction may be related to singing.
MATING AND BREEDING: Females give birth every two or more years. Pregnancies last for 12 months. The calves nurse for eight to eleven months. When weaned, the calves are 24-27 feet (8-9 m) long.
STATUS: Humpbacks are among the most endangered whales and less than 10% of their original population remains. However, in recent years, humpbacks have been observed more and more frequently feeding along the California coast. Nearly 1400 humpbacks feed along the California Coast in the summer and fall. The current word population is estimated between 35-40,000.
The Marine Mammal Center has helped several humpback whales over the years. One famous patient was Humphrey the humpback, who we helped twice. First in 1985, he swam up the Sacramento River, and then in 1990 he was stuck on a mudflat in San Francisco Bay. Both times, we successfully got him back out into ocean. In 2007, a mother and calf pair called Delta and Dawn, received world-wide attention as they swam 75 miles inland up the Sacramento River (going farther than Humphrey). Both had severe wounds from a ship strike. After antibiotics were administered to these free-swimming whales, a first in marine mammal history mom and calf returned to the ocean.
Humpback Whale Breaching
Personal Note: Having moved several years ago to the Monterey Bay Area in Northern California, I decided to teach myself wildlife photography and concentrate on Marine Mammals of the Monterey Bay, which was self-published as a photo essay book. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is one of the most abundant marine sanctuaries in the World with extensive academic research facilities studying its inhabitants and health.
One of the species I have concentrated my efforts on has been the highly intelligent and entertaining Humpback Whale. For two years I am been trying to capture them breaching out of the water. With two flips of their flukes they can propel 35 to 50 tons of mammal completely out of the water! Prior to July 6, 2015 I have only been able to photograph them breaching from a distance.
Over the next two weeks I will be posting a series of images from this incredible experience.
Here are some of the photographic issues:
•They never stop moving, even when they place half of their brain on "rest" while the other half navigates for them. When that half has enough rest, the other half takes over.
•Your Whale Boat is moving about 80% of the time. If the Bay is choppy that means it is rocking back and forth as it propels itself forward.
•Other Whale Boats are positioned around the best sites and can ruin your shot.
•We can tell when a breaching Humpback is going to dive. What we cannot tell is if they are going to keep breaching or just feed on the bottom?
•Normally they breach once or twice and stop. The Blue Ocean Whale Watch boat captain has seen Humpbacks breach as many as 70 times. They are based in Moss Landing and I highly recommend them. You can book a trip at: blueoceanwhalewatch.com/contact.
•Therefore, you do not know how long they are going to stay under the water (5-7 mins. is normal) or WHERE OR WHEN THEY ARE GOING TO COME UP, which is always in a different place.
•I keep my camera under my chin and watch over the top of the lens. Once they start to breach, you have 3-5 seconds to find them in your viewfinder and squeeze off a series of shots. If they are less than 1/3rd of my viewfinder I know they are too far away.
•On the way back to port, three different whales did a "Lunge Feed" in unison just like in the Olympic synchronized swimming events. It was extraordinary, but It took us all by surprise and I could not even raise my camera in time.
•We all know whales communicate with each other, but this was an extraordinary example. The three whales dove together, communicated with each other and then raced to the surface side by side with their mouths wide open! They then captured the sardines, anchovies and or krill, filtered out the water, swallowed and dove again. They can take in enormous amounts of water (up to 70% of their body weight) filter out the fish and krill and eject the water.
•It is hard to describe, but three huge whales surfacing with their mouths open, side-by-side, perfectly in unison takes your breath away. I literally snapped my sunglasses in half during the whole breaching experience, but it was a small price to pay. If anyone had gotten a sharp image of these three whales, it would have been a cover story.
•Humpback whales (belong to the class of marine mammals known as rorquals that feed through extraordinarily energetic lunges during which they engulf large volumes of water equal to as much as 70% of their body mass. (Source: Marine Mammal Science)
For those of you that would like to know more about these incredible creatures please read below or visit the source: (www.marinemammalcenter.org/)
HUMPBACK WHALE: Megaptera novaeangliae (meaning of scientific name: (Large-Winged of New England)
BEHAVIOR: Acrobatic humpbacks regularly breach (jump out of the water), stroke each other, and slap the water with their flippers and flukes. Scientists believe these activities are forms of communication because they create a great deal of noise, which can be heard at long distances under water. Humpbacks swim in groups or pods of up to a dozen at calving grounds, and in smaller groups of three to four during migration. Unlike other baleen whales, they can often be seen feeding cooperatively.
DESCRIPTION: The humpback whale was given its common name because of the shape of its dorsal (back) fin and the way it looks when the animal is diving. Its scientific name, Megaptera, means, "large-winged" and refers to its long, white, wing-like flippers that are often as long as one-third of the animal's body length. Humpbacks are gray or black, except for the flippers, parts of the chest and belly, and sometimes the underside of the tail flukes. Each whale has its own unique pattern on the underside of its tail flukes, which can be used like "fingerprints" to identify individual whales. Unique to humpbacks are wartlike round protuberances (bumps or tubricales) that occur on the head forward of the blowhole and on the edges of the flippers. Humpbacks are baleen whales that have 14 to 35 long throat pleats that expand when the whale takes in water while feeding.
Northern Hemisphere humpbacks reach an average length of 49 to 52 feet (15-16 m), and southern humpbacks reach 60 feet (18 m). Females are generally larger than the males. The average weight for a mature adult is 35 to 50 tons.
RANGE/HABITAT: Humpbacks are found in all oceans to the edges of polar ice, and follow definite migration paths from their summer feeding grounds to warmer waters in the winter. In the North Pacific, where their populations reach 15,000, humpbacks feed in the summer along the coast from California to Alaska. In the winter, they migrate to breeding grounds off of Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Japan. The population in California migrates to Mexico and Costa Rica, whereas the Alaskan population migrates to Hawaii.
In feeding, they use baleen plates to strain other small fish such as krill or herring, and plankton out of the water. Their 270-to-400 baleen plates are dark and each is about two and a half feet long. Humpbacks use several different feeding methods. While "lunge feeding," they plow through concentrated areas of food with their huge mouths open, swelling with large quantities of food and water. During "bubble net feeding," which is unique to humpback whales, one or several whales blow a ring of bubbles from their blowholes that encircle a school of krill or fish. The whales then swim through the "net" with their mouths agape, taking in large amounts of food.
Humpbacks are best known for their haunting vocalizations or "singing." They have a rich repertoire that covers many octaves and includes frequencies beyond the threshold of human hearing. These songs, apparently sung by males, last as long as 20 minutes, after which they are repeated, often with slight changes. Each year, the song undergoes changes from the year before, but all males sing the same song. When a whale is singing, it floats suspended in the water, head down and relatively motionless. Behavior such as dominance, aggression, and mate attraction may be related to singing.
MATING AND BREEDING: Females give birth every two or more years. Pregnancies last for 12 months. The calves nurse for eight to eleven months. When weaned, the calves are 24-27 feet (8-9 m) long.
STATUS: Humpbacks are among the most endangered whales and less than 10% of their original population remains. However, in recent years, humpbacks have been observed more and more frequently feeding along the California coast. Nearly 1400 humpbacks feed along the California Coast in the summer and fall. The current word population is estimated between 35-40,000.
The Marine Mammal Center has helped several humpback whales over the years. One famous patient was Humphrey the humpback, who we helped twice. First in 1985, he swam up the Sacramento River, and then in 1990 he was stuck on a mudflat in San Francisco Bay. Both times, we successfully got him back out into ocean. In 2007, a mother and calf pair called Delta and Dawn, received world-wide attention as they swam 75 miles inland up the Sacramento River (going farther than Humphrey). Both had severe wounds from a ship strike. After antibiotics were administered to these free-swimming whales, a first in marine mammal history mom and calf returned to the ocean.
Light aircraft over the Gold Coast Airport, Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia. I was hoping to capture one of the big airliners that come into land incredibly low over the houses & the road, but it seems that I arrived just as they were on their lunch break! I waited for a while, but only saw this light aircraft & thought I'd take a practice shot. For anyone who knows a thing or two about flying, you'll see that it's flaps are down ready to land, I just flipped it on it's side to give it the effect that it was taken in the air from another aircraft, while it was carrying out an acrobatic manoeuvre.
Humpback Whale Breaching
Personal Note: Having moved several years ago to the Monterey Bay Area in Northern California, I decided to teach myself wildlife photography and concentrate on Marine Mammals of the Monterey Bay, which was self-published as a photo essay book. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is one of the most abundant marine sanctuaries in the World with extensive academic research facilities studying its inhabitants and health.
One of the species I have concentrated my efforts on has been the highly intelligent and entertaining Humpback Whale. For two years I am been trying to capture them breaching out of the water. With two flips of their flukes they can propel 35 to 50 tons of mammal completely out of the water! Prior to July 6, 2015 I have only been able to photograph them breaching from a distance.
Over the next two weeks I will be posting a series of images from this incredible experience.
Here are some of the photographic issues:
•They never stop moving, even when they place half of their brain on "rest" while the other half navigates for them. When that half has enough rest, the other half takes over.
•Your Whale Boat is moving about 80% of the time. If the Bay is choppy that means it is rocking back and forth as it propels itself forward.
•Other Whale Boats are positioned around the best sites and can ruin your shot.
•We can tell when a breaching Humpback is going to dive. What we cannot tell is if they are going to keep breaching or just feed on the bottom?
•Normally they breach once or twice and stop. The Blue Ocean Whale Watch boat captain has seen Humpbacks breach as many as 70 times. They are based in Moss Landing and I highly recommend them. You can book a trip at: blueoceanwhalewatch.com/contact.
•Therefore, you do not know how long they are going to stay under the water (5-7 mins. is normal) or WHERE OR WHEN THEY ARE GOING TO COME UP, which is always in a different place.
•I keep my camera under my chin and watch over the top of the lens. Once they start to breach, you have 3-5 seconds to find them in your viewfinder and squeeze off a series of shots. If they are less than 1/3rd of my viewfinder I know they are too far away.
•On the way back to port, three different whales did a "Lunge Feed" in unison just like in the Olympic synchronized swimming events. It was extraordinary, but It took us all by surprise and I could not even raise my camera in time.
•We all know whales communicate with each other, but this was an extraordinary example. The three whales dove together, communicated with each other and then raced to the surface side by side with their mouths wide open! They then captured the sardines, anchovies and or krill, filtered out the water, swallowed and dove again. They can take in enormous amounts of water (up to 70% of their body weight) filter out the fish and krill and eject the water.
•It is hard to describe, but three huge whales surfacing with their mouths open, side-by-side, perfectly in unison takes your breath away. I literally snapped my sunglasses in half during the whole breaching experience, but it was a small price to pay. If anyone had gotten a sharp image of these three whales, it would have been a cover story.
•Humpback whales (belong to the class of marine mammals known as rorquals that feed through extraordinarily energetic lunges during which they engulf large volumes of water equal to as much as 70% of their body mass. (Source: Marine Mammal Science)
For those of you that would like to know more about these incredible creatures please read below or visit the source: (www.marinemammalcenter.org/)
HUMPBACK WHALE: Megaptera novaeangliae (meaning of scientific name: (Large-Winged of New England)
BEHAVIOR: Acrobatic humpbacks regularly breach (jump out of the water), stroke each other, and slap the water with their flippers and flukes. Scientists believe these activities are forms of communication because they create a great deal of noise, which can be heard at long distances under water. Humpbacks swim in groups or pods of up to a dozen at calving grounds, and in smaller groups of three to four during migration. Unlike other baleen whales, they can often be seen feeding cooperatively.
DESCRIPTION: The humpback whale was given its common name because of the shape of its dorsal (back) fin and the way it looks when the animal is diving. Its scientific name, Megaptera, means, "large-winged" and refers to its long, white, wing-like flippers that are often as long as one-third of the animal's body length. Humpbacks are gray or black, except for the flippers, parts of the chest and belly, and sometimes the underside of the tail flukes. Each whale has its own unique pattern on the underside of its tail flukes, which can be used like "fingerprints" to identify individual whales. Unique to humpbacks are wartlike round protuberances (bumps or tubricales) that occur on the head forward of the blowhole and on the edges of the flippers. Humpbacks are baleen whales that have 14 to 35 long throat pleats that expand when the whale takes in water while feeding.
Northern Hemisphere humpbacks reach an average length of 49 to 52 feet (15-16 m), and southern humpbacks reach 60 feet (18 m). Females are generally larger than the males. The average weight for a mature adult is 35 to 50 tons.
RANGE/HABITAT: Humpbacks are found in all oceans to the edges of polar ice, and follow definite migration paths from their summer feeding grounds to warmer waters in the winter. In the North Pacific, where their populations reach 15,000, humpbacks feed in the summer along the coast from California to Alaska. In the winter, they migrate to breeding grounds off of Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Japan. The population in California migrates to Mexico and Costa Rica, whereas the Alaskan population migrates to Hawaii.
In feeding, they use baleen plates to strain other small fish such as krill or herring, and plankton out of the water. Their 270-to-400 baleen plates are dark and each is about two and a half feet long. Humpbacks use several different feeding methods. While "lunge feeding," they plow through concentrated areas of food with their huge mouths open, swelling with large quantities of food and water. During "bubble net feeding," which is unique to humpback whales, one or several whales blow a ring of bubbles from their blowholes that encircle a school of krill or fish. The whales then swim through the "net" with their mouths agape, taking in large amounts of food.
Humpbacks are best known for their haunting vocalizations or "singing." They have a rich repertoire that covers many octaves and includes frequencies beyond the threshold of human hearing. These songs, apparently sung by males, last as long as 20 minutes, after which they are repeated, often with slight changes. Each year, the song undergoes changes from the year before, but all males sing the same song. When a whale is singing, it floats suspended in the water, head down and relatively motionless. Behavior such as dominance, aggression, and mate attraction may be related to singing.
MATING AND BREEDING: Females give birth every two or more years. Pregnancies last for 12 months. The calves nurse for eight to eleven months. When weaned, the calves are 24-27 feet (8-9 m) long.
STATUS: Humpbacks are among the most endangered whales and less than 10% of their original population remains. However, in recent years, humpbacks have been observed more and more frequently feeding along the California coast. Nearly 1400 humpbacks feed along the California Coast in the summer and fall. The current word population is estimated between 35-40,000.
The Marine Mammal Center has helped several humpback whales over the years. One famous patient was Humphrey the humpback, who we helped twice. First in 1985, he swam up the Sacramento River, and then in 1990 he was stuck on a mudflat in San Francisco Bay. Both times, we successfully got him back out into ocean. In 2007, a mother and calf pair called Delta and Dawn, received world-wide attention as they swam 75 miles inland up the Sacramento River (going farther than Humphrey). Both had severe wounds from a ship strike. After antibiotics were administered to these free-swimming whales, a first in marine mammal history mom and calf returned to the ocean.
I found this Mockingbird doing the common wind acrobatic stunts that they do by using wind drafts and their wing and tail feathers. I believe some call it wind dancing. They are amusing to watch when they do this and can do some spectacular flips and twists. It's hard to tell from the photos, but the bird is riding the wind and hovering. It's hard to tell from the photos, but the bird is riding the wind and hovering.
Nikon D7100
Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 AF-S VR IF-ED G
1/800s
f/5.3
ISO 100
Focal Length 200mm
A teeterboard (also known as a Korean Plank) resembles the "old-fashioned" style park seesaw. The strongest teeterboards are made of oak (usually 9 feet in length). It is divided in the middle by a fulcrum made of welded steel. At each end of the board is a specifically-measured square padded area, where the flyer would stand on a 45-degree incline prepared to signal the "pushers" before being catapulted into the air. The well-trained and rehearsed flyer performs various aerial somersaulting skills, either landing on: padded mats, a human pyramid, a specialized landing chair, stilts or even a Russian barre.
The teeterboard is manned by a team of: flyers, catchers, spotters and pushers. Some of the team people share some of the acrobatic "roles". In the early 60s the finest teeterboard acts, trained in the Eastern Bloc countries, performed their thirteen-plus person troupe with Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.
Humpback Whale Breaching
Personal Note: Having moved several years ago to the Monterey Bay Area in Northern California, I decided to teach myself wildlife photography and concentrate on Marine Mammals of the Monterey Bay, which was self-published as a photo essay book. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is one of the most abundant marine sanctuaries in the World with extensive academic research facilities studying its inhabitants and health.
One of the species I have concentrated my efforts on has been the highly intelligent and entertaining Humpback Whale. For two years I am been trying to capture them breaching out of the water. With two flips of their flukes they can propel 35 to 50 tons of mammal completely out of the water! Prior to July 6, 2015 I have only been able to photograph them breaching from a distance.
Over the next two weeks I will be posting a series of images from this incredible experience.
Here are some of the photographic issues:
•They never stop moving, even when they place half of their brain on "rest" while the other half navigates for them. When that half has enough rest, the other half takes over.
•Your Whale Boat is moving about 80% of the time. If the Bay is choppy that means it is rocking back and forth as it propels itself forward.
•Other Whale Boats are positioned around the best sites and can ruin your shot.
•We can tell when a breaching Humpback is going to dive. What we cannot tell is if they are going to keep breaching or just feed on the bottom?
•Normally they breach once or twice and stop. The Blue Ocean Whale Watch boat captain has seen Humpbacks breach as many as 70 times. They are based in Moss Landing and I highly recommend them. You can book a trip at: blueoceanwhalewatch.com/contact.
•Therefore, you do not know how long they are going to stay under the water (5-7 mins. is normal) or WHERE OR WHEN THEY ARE GOING TO COME UP, which is always in a different place.
•I keep my camera under my chin and watch over the top of the lens. Once they start to breach, you have 3-5 seconds to find them in your viewfinder and squeeze off a series of shots. If they are less than 1/3rd of my viewfinder I know they are too far away.
•On the way back to port, three different whales did a "Lunge Feed" in unison just like in the Olympic synchronized swimming events. It was extraordinary, but It took us all by surprise and I could not even raise my camera in time.
•We all know whales communicate with each other, but this was an extraordinary example. The three whales dove together, communicated with each other and then raced to the surface side by side with their mouths wide open! They then captured the sardines, anchovies and or krill, filtered out the water, swallowed and dove again. They can take in enormous amounts of water (up to 70% of their body weight) filter out the fish and krill and eject the water.
•It is hard to describe, but three huge whales surfacing with their mouths open, side-by-side, perfectly in unison takes your breath away. I literally snapped my sunglasses in half during the whole breaching experience, but it was a small price to pay. If anyone had gotten a sharp image of these three whales, it would have been a cover story.
•Humpback whales (belong to the class of marine mammals known as rorquals that feed through extraordinarily energetic lunges during which they engulf large volumes of water equal to as much as 70% of their body mass. (Source: Marine Mammal Science)
For those of you that would like to know more about these incredible creatures please read below or visit the source: (www.marinemammalcenter.org/)
HUMPBACK WHALE: Megaptera novaeangliae (meaning of scientific name: (Large-Winged of New England)
BEHAVIOR: Acrobatic humpbacks regularly breach (jump out of the water), stroke each other, and slap the water with their flippers and flukes. Scientists believe these activities are forms of communication because they create a great deal of noise, which can be heard at long distances under water. Humpbacks swim in groups or pods of up to a dozen at calving grounds, and in smaller groups of three to four during migration. Unlike other baleen whales, they can often be seen feeding cooperatively.
DESCRIPTION: The humpback whale was given its common name because of the shape of its dorsal (back) fin and the way it looks when the animal is diving. Its scientific name, Megaptera, means, "large-winged" and refers to its long, white, wing-like flippers that are often as long as one-third of the animal's body length. Humpbacks are gray or black, except for the flippers, parts of the chest and belly, and sometimes the underside of the tail flukes. Each whale has its own unique pattern on the underside of its tail flukes, which can be used like "fingerprints" to identify individual whales. Unique to humpbacks are wartlike round protuberances (bumps or tubricales) that occur on the head forward of the blowhole and on the edges of the flippers. Humpbacks are baleen whales that have 14 to 35 long throat pleats that expand when the whale takes in water while feeding.
Northern Hemisphere humpbacks reach an average length of 49 to 52 feet (15-16 m), and southern humpbacks reach 60 feet (18 m). Females are generally larger than the males. The average weight for a mature adult is 35 to 50 tons.
RANGE/HABITAT: Humpbacks are found in all oceans to the edges of polar ice, and follow definite migration paths from their summer feeding grounds to warmer waters in the winter. In the North Pacific, where their populations reach 15,000, humpbacks feed in the summer along the coast from California to Alaska. In the winter, they migrate to breeding grounds off of Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Japan. The population in California migrates to Mexico and Costa Rica, whereas the Alaskan population migrates to Hawaii.
In feeding, they use baleen plates to strain other small fish such as krill or herring, and plankton out of the water. Their 270-to-400 baleen plates are dark and each is about two and a half feet long. Humpbacks use several different feeding methods. While "lunge feeding," they plow through concentrated areas of food with their huge mouths open, swelling with large quantities of food and water. During "bubble net feeding," which is unique to humpback whales, one or several whales blow a ring of bubbles from their blowholes that encircle a school of krill or fish. The whales then swim through the "net" with their mouths agape, taking in large amounts of food.
Humpbacks are best known for their haunting vocalizations or "singing." They have a rich repertoire that covers many octaves and includes frequencies beyond the threshold of human hearing. These songs, apparently sung by males, last as long as 20 minutes, after which they are repeated, often with slight changes. Each year, the song undergoes changes from the year before, but all males sing the same song. When a whale is singing, it floats suspended in the water, head down and relatively motionless. Behavior such as dominance, aggression, and mate attraction may be related to singing.
MATING AND BREEDING: Females give birth every two or more years. Pregnancies last for 12 months. The calves nurse for eight to eleven months. When weaned, the calves are 24-27 feet (8-9 m) long.
STATUS: Humpbacks are among the most endangered whales and less than 10% of their original population remains. However, in recent years, humpbacks have been observed more and more frequently feeding along the California coast. Nearly 1400 humpbacks feed along the California Coast in the summer and fall. The current word population is estimated between 35-40,000.
The Marine Mammal Center has helped several humpback whales over the years. One famous patient was Humphrey the humpback, who we helped twice. First in 1985, he swam up the Sacramento River, and then in 1990 he was stuck on a mudflat in San Francisco Bay. Both times, we successfully got him back out into ocean. In 2007, a mother and calf pair called Delta and Dawn, received world-wide attention as they swam 75 miles inland up the Sacramento River (going farther than Humphrey). Both had severe wounds from a ship strike. After antibiotics were administered to these free-swimming whales, a first in marine mammal history mom and calf returned to the ocean.
Humpback Whale Breaching
Personal Note: Having moved several years ago to the Monterey Bay Area in Northern California, I decided to teach myself wildlife photography and concentrate on Marine Mammals of the Monterey Bay, which was self-published as a photo essay book. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is one of the most abundant marine sanctuaries in the World with extensive academic research facilities studying its inhabitants and health.
One of the species I have concentrated my efforts on has been the highly intelligent and entertaining Humpback Whale. For two years I am been trying to capture them breaching out of the water. With two flips of their flukes they can propel 35 to 50 tons of mammal completely out of the water! Prior to July 6, 2015 I have only been able to photograph them breaching from a distance.
Over the next two weeks I will be posting a series of images from this incredible experience.
Here are some of the photographic issues:
•They never stop moving, even when they place half of their brain on "rest" while the other half navigates for them. When that half has enough rest, the other half takes over.
•Your Whale Boat is moving about 80% of the time. If the Bay is choppy that means it is rocking back and forth as it propels itself forward.
•Other Whale Boats are positioned around the best sites and can ruin your shot.
•We can tell when a breaching Humpback is going to dive. What we cannot tell is if they are going to keep breaching or just feed on the bottom?
•Normally they breach once or twice and stop. The Blue Ocean Whale Watch boat captain has seen Humpbacks breach as many as 70 times. They are based in Moss Landing and I highly recommend them. You can book a trip at: blueoceanwhalewatch.com/contact.
•Therefore, you do not know how long they are going to stay under the water (5-7 mins. is normal) or WHERE OR WHEN THEY ARE GOING TO COME UP, which is always in a different place.
•I keep my camera under my chin and watch over the top of the lens. Once they start to breach, you have 3-5 seconds to find them in your viewfinder and squeeze off a series of shots. If they are less than 1/3rd of my viewfinder I know they are too far away.
•On the way back to port, three different whales did a "Lunge Feed" in unison just like in the Olympic synchronized swimming events. It was extraordinary, but It took us all by surprise and I could not even raise my camera in time.
•We all know whales communicate with each other, but this was an extraordinary example. The three whales dove together, communicated with each other and then raced to the surface side by side with their mouths wide open! They then captured the sardines, anchovies and or krill, filtered out the water, swallowed and dove again. They can take in enormous amounts of water (up to 70% of their body weight) filter out the fish and krill and eject the water.
•It is hard to describe, but three huge whales surfacing with their mouths open, side-by-side, perfectly in unison takes your breath away. I literally snapped my sunglasses in half during the whole breaching experience, but it was a small price to pay. If anyone had gotten a sharp image of these three whales, it would have been a cover story.
•Humpback whales (belong to the class of marine mammals known as rorquals that feed through extraordinarily energetic lunges during which they engulf large volumes of water equal to as much as 70% of their body mass. (Source: Marine Mammal Science)
For those of you that would like to know more about these incredible creatures please read below or visit the source: (www.marinemammalcenter.org/)
HUMPBACK WHALE: Megaptera novaeangliae (meaning of scientific name: (Large-Winged of New England)
BEHAVIOR: Acrobatic humpbacks regularly breach (jump out of the water), stroke each other, and slap the water with their flippers and flukes. Scientists believe these activities are forms of communication because they create a great deal of noise, which can be heard at long distances under water. Humpbacks swim in groups or pods of up to a dozen at calving grounds, and in smaller groups of three to four during migration. Unlike other baleen whales, they can often be seen feeding cooperatively.
DESCRIPTION: The humpback whale was given its common name because of the shape of its dorsal (back) fin and the way it looks when the animal is diving. Its scientific name, Megaptera, means, "large-winged" and refers to its long, white, wing-like flippers that are often as long as one-third of the animal's body length. Humpbacks are gray or black, except for the flippers, parts of the chest and belly, and sometimes the underside of the tail flukes. Each whale has its own unique pattern on the underside of its tail flukes, which can be used like "fingerprints" to identify individual whales. Unique to humpbacks are wartlike round protuberances (bumps or tubricales) that occur on the head forward of the blowhole and on the edges of the flippers. Humpbacks are baleen whales that have 14 to 35 long throat pleats that expand when the whale takes in water while feeding.
Northern Hemisphere humpbacks reach an average length of 49 to 52 feet (15-16 m), and southern humpbacks reach 60 feet (18 m). Females are generally larger than the males. The average weight for a mature adult is 35 to 50 tons.
RANGE/HABITAT: Humpbacks are found in all oceans to the edges of polar ice, and follow definite migration paths from their summer feeding grounds to warmer waters in the winter. In the North Pacific, where their populations reach 15,000, humpbacks feed in the summer along the coast from California to Alaska. In the winter, they migrate to breeding grounds off of Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Japan. The population in California migrates to Mexico and Costa Rica, whereas the Alaskan population migrates to Hawaii.
In feeding, they use baleen plates to strain other small fish such as krill or herring, and plankton out of the water. Their 270-to-400 baleen plates are dark and each is about two and a half feet long. Humpbacks use several different feeding methods. While "lunge feeding," they plow through concentrated areas of food with their huge mouths open, swelling with large quantities of food and water. During "bubble net feeding," which is unique to humpback whales, one or several whales blow a ring of bubbles from their blowholes that encircle a school of krill or fish. The whales then swim through the "net" with their mouths agape, taking in large amounts of food.
Humpbacks are best known for their haunting vocalizations or "singing." They have a rich repertoire that covers many octaves and includes frequencies beyond the threshold of human hearing. These songs, apparently sung by males, last as long as 20 minutes, after which they are repeated, often with slight changes. Each year, the song undergoes changes from the year before, but all males sing the same song. When a whale is singing, it floats suspended in the water, head down and relatively motionless. Behavior such as dominance, aggression, and mate attraction may be related to singing.
MATING AND BREEDING: Females give birth every two or more years. Pregnancies last for 12 months. The calves nurse for eight to eleven months. When weaned, the calves are 24-27 feet (8-9 m) long.
STATUS: Humpbacks are among the most endangered whales and less than 10% of their original population remains. However, in recent years, humpbacks have been observed more and more frequently feeding along the California coast. Nearly 1400 humpbacks feed along the California Coast in the summer and fall. The current word population is estimated between 35-40,000.
The Marine Mammal Center has helped several humpback whales over the years. One famous patient was Humphrey the humpback, who we helped twice. First in 1985, he swam up the Sacramento River, and then in 1990 he was stuck on a mudflat in San Francisco Bay. Both times, we successfully got him back out into ocean. In 2007, a mother and calf pair called Delta and Dawn, received world-wide attention as they swam 75 miles inland up the Sacramento River (going farther than Humphrey). Both had severe wounds from a ship strike. After antibiotics were administered to these free-swimming whales, a first in marine mammal history mom and calf returned to the ocean.
Humpback Whale Breaching
Personal Note: Having moved several years ago to the Monterey Bay Area in Northern California, I decided to teach myself wildlife photography and concentrate on Marine Mammals of the Monterey Bay, which was self-published as a photo essay book. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is one of the most abundant marine sanctuaries in the World with extensive academic research facilities studying its inhabitants and health.
One of the species I have concentrated my efforts on has been the highly intelligent and entertaining Humpback Whale. For two years I am been trying to capture them breaching out of the water. With two flips of their flukes they can propel 35 to 50 tons of mammal completely out of the water! Prior to July 6, 2015 I have only been able to photograph them breaching from a distance.
Over the next two weeks I will be posting a series of images from this incredible experience.
Here are some of the photographic issues:
•They never stop moving, even when they place half of their brain on "rest" while the other half navigates for them. When that half has enough rest, the other half takes over.
•Your Whale Boat is moving about 80% of the time. If the Bay is choppy that means it is rocking back and forth as it propels itself forward.
•Other Whale Boats are positioned around the best sites and can ruin your shot.
•We can tell when a breaching Humpback is going to dive. What we cannot tell is if they are going to keep breaching or just feed on the bottom?
•Normally they breach once or twice and stop. The Blue Ocean Whale Watch boat captain has seen Humpbacks breach as many as 70 times. They are based in Moss Landing and I highly recommend them. You can book a trip at: blueoceanwhalewatch.com/contact.
•Therefore, you do not know how long they are going to stay under the water (5-7 mins. is normal) or WHERE OR WHEN THEY ARE GOING TO COME UP, which is always in a different place.
•I keep my camera under my chin and watch over the top of the lens. Once they start to breach, you have 3-5 seconds to find them in your viewfinder and squeeze off a series of shots. If they are less than 1/3rd of my viewfinder I know they are too far away.
•On the way back to port, three different whales did a "Lunge Feed" in unison just like in the Olympic synchronized swimming events. It was extraordinary, but It took us all by surprise and I could not even raise my camera in time.
•We all know whales communicate with each other, but this was an extraordinary example. The three whales dove together, communicated with each other and then raced to the surface side by side with their mouths wide open! They then captured the sardines, anchovies and or krill, filtered out the water, swallowed and dove again. They can take in enormous amounts of water (up to 70% of their body weight) filter out the fish and krill and eject the water.
•It is hard to describe, but three huge whales surfacing with their mouths open, side-by-side, perfectly in unison takes your breath away. I literally snapped my sunglasses in half during the whole breaching experience, but it was a small price to pay. If anyone had gotten a sharp image of these three whales, it would have been a cover story.
•Humpback whales (belong to the class of marine mammals known as rorquals that feed through extraordinarily energetic lunges during which they engulf large volumes of water equal to as much as 70% of their body mass. (Source: Marine Mammal Science)
For those of you that would like to know more about these incredible creatures please read below or visit the source: (www.marinemammalcenter.org/)
HUMPBACK WHALE: Megaptera novaeangliae (meaning of scientific name: (Large-Winged of New England)
BEHAVIOR: Acrobatic humpbacks regularly breach (jump out of the water), stroke each other, and slap the water with their flippers and flukes. Scientists believe these activities are forms of communication because they create a great deal of noise, which can be heard at long distances under water. Humpbacks swim in groups or pods of up to a dozen at calving grounds, and in smaller groups of three to four during migration. Unlike other baleen whales, they can often be seen feeding cooperatively.
DESCRIPTION: The humpback whale was given its common name because of the shape of its dorsal (back) fin and the way it looks when the animal is diving. Its scientific name, Megaptera, means, "large-winged" and refers to its long, white, wing-like flippers that are often as long as one-third of the animal's body length. Humpbacks are gray or black, except for the flippers, parts of the chest and belly, and sometimes the underside of the tail flukes. Each whale has its own unique pattern on the underside of its tail flukes, which can be used like "fingerprints" to identify individual whales. Unique to humpbacks are wartlike round protuberances (bumps or tubricales) that occur on the head forward of the blowhole and on the edges of the flippers. Humpbacks are baleen whales that have 14 to 35 long throat pleats that expand when the whale takes in water while feeding.
Northern Hemisphere humpbacks reach an average length of 49 to 52 feet (15-16 m), and southern humpbacks reach 60 feet (18 m). Females are generally larger than the males. The average weight for a mature adult is 35 to 50 tons.
RANGE/HABITAT: Humpbacks are found in all oceans to the edges of polar ice, and follow definite migration paths from their summer feeding grounds to warmer waters in the winter. In the North Pacific, where their populations reach 15,000, humpbacks feed in the summer along the coast from California to Alaska. In the winter, they migrate to breeding grounds off of Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Japan. The population in California migrates to Mexico and Costa Rica, whereas the Alaskan population migrates to Hawaii.
In feeding, they use baleen plates to strain other small fish such as krill or herring, and plankton out of the water. Their 270-to-400 baleen plates are dark and each is about two and a half feet long. Humpbacks use several different feeding methods. While "lunge feeding," they plow through concentrated areas of food with their huge mouths open, swelling with large quantities of food and water. During "bubble net feeding," which is unique to humpback whales, one or several whales blow a ring of bubbles from their blowholes that encircle a school of krill or fish. The whales then swim through the "net" with their mouths agape, taking in large amounts of food.
Humpbacks are best known for their haunting vocalizations or "singing." They have a rich repertoire that covers many octaves and includes frequencies beyond the threshold of human hearing. These songs, apparently sung by males, last as long as 20 minutes, after which they are repeated, often with slight changes. Each year, the song undergoes changes from the year before, but all males sing the same song. When a whale is singing, it floats suspended in the water, head down and relatively motionless. Behavior such as dominance, aggression, and mate attraction may be related to singing.
MATING AND BREEDING: Females give birth every two or more years. Pregnancies last for 12 months. The calves nurse for eight to eleven months. When weaned, the calves are 24-27 feet (8-9 m) long.
STATUS: Humpbacks are among the most endangered whales and less than 10% of their original population remains. However, in recent years, humpbacks have been observed more and more frequently feeding along the California coast. Nearly 1400 humpbacks feed along the California Coast in the summer and fall. The current word population is estimated between 35-40,000.
The Marine Mammal Center has helped several humpback whales over the years. One famous patient was Humphrey the humpback, who we helped twice. First in 1985, he swam up the Sacramento River, and then in 1990 he was stuck on a mudflat in San Francisco Bay. Both times, we successfully got him back out into ocean. In 2007, a mother and calf pair called Delta and Dawn, received world-wide attention as they swam 75 miles inland up the Sacramento River (going farther than Humphrey). Both had severe wounds from a ship strike. After antibiotics were administered to these free-swimming whales, a first in marine mammal history mom and calf returned to the ocean.
A man flips from a big run-up down at Bondi Beach, NSW, Australia during a impromptu showcase of acrobatic ability.
Humpback Whale Breaching
Personal Note: Having moved several years ago to the Monterey Bay Area in Northern California, I decided to teach myself wildlife photography and concentrate on Marine Mammals of the Monterey Bay, which was self-published as a photo essay book. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is one of the most abundant marine sanctuaries in the World with extensive academic research facilities studying its inhabitants and health.
One of the species I have concentrated my efforts on has been the highly intelligent and entertaining Humpback Whale. For two years I am been trying to capture them breaching out of the water. With two flips of their flukes they can propel 35 to 50 tons of mammal completely out of the water! Prior to July 6, 2015 I have only been able to photograph them breaching from a distance.
Over the next two weeks I will be posting a series of images from this incredible experience.
Here are some of the photographic issues:
•They never stop moving, even when they place half of their brain on "rest" while the other half navigates for them. When that half has enough rest, the other half takes over.
•Your Whale Boat is moving about 80% of the time. If the Bay is choppy that means it is rocking back and forth as it propels itself forward.
•Other Whale Boats are positioned around the best sites and can ruin your shot.
•We can tell when a breaching Humpback is going to dive. What we cannot tell is if they are going to keep breaching or just feed on the bottom?
•Normally they breach once or twice and stop. The Blue Ocean Whale Watch boat captain has seen Humpbacks breach as many as 70 times. They are based in Moss Landing and I highly recommend them. You can book a trip at: blueoceanwhalewatch.com/contact.
•Therefore, you do not know how long they are going to stay under the water (5-7 mins. is normal) or WHERE OR WHEN THEY ARE GOING TO COME UP, which is always in a different place.
•I keep my camera under my chin and watch over the top of the lens. Once they start to breach, you have 3-5 seconds to find them in your viewfinder and squeeze off a series of shots. If they are less than 1/3rd of my viewfinder I know they are too far away.
•On the way back to port, three different whales did a "Lunge Feed" in unison just like in the Olympic synchronized swimming events. It was extraordinary, but It took us all by surprise and I could not even raise my camera in time.
•We all know whales communicate with each other, but this was an extraordinary example. The three whales dove together, communicated with each other and then raced to the surface side by side with their mouths wide open! They then captured the sardines, anchovies and or krill, filtered out the water, swallowed and dove again. They can take in enormous amounts of water (up to 70% of their body weight) filter out the fish and krill and eject the water.
•It is hard to describe, but three huge whales surfacing with their mouths open, side-by-side, perfectly in unison takes your breath away. I literally snapped my sunglasses in half during the whole breaching experience, but it was a small price to pay. If anyone had gotten a sharp image of these three whales, it would have been a cover story.
•Humpback whales (belong to the class of marine mammals known as rorquals that feed through extraordinarily energetic lunges during which they engulf large volumes of water equal to as much as 70% of their body mass. (Source: Marine Mammal Science)
For those of you that would like to know more about these incredible creatures please read below or visit the source: (www.marinemammalcenter.org/)
HUMPBACK WHALE: Megaptera novaeangliae (meaning of scientific name: (Large-Winged of New England)
BEHAVIOR: Acrobatic humpbacks regularly breach (jump out of the water), stroke each other, and slap the water with their flippers and flukes. Scientists believe these activities are forms of communication because they create a great deal of noise, which can be heard at long distances under water. Humpbacks swim in groups or pods of up to a dozen at calving grounds, and in smaller groups of three to four during migration. Unlike other baleen whales, they can often be seen feeding cooperatively.
DESCRIPTION: The humpback whale was given its common name because of the shape of its dorsal (back) fin and the way it looks when the animal is diving. Its scientific name, Megaptera, means, "large-winged" and refers to its long, white, wing-like flippers that are often as long as one-third of the animal's body length. Humpbacks are gray or black, except for the flippers, parts of the chest and belly, and sometimes the underside of the tail flukes. Each whale has its own unique pattern on the underside of its tail flukes, which can be used like "fingerprints" to identify individual whales. Unique to humpbacks are wartlike round protuberances (bumps or tubricales) that occur on the head forward of the blowhole and on the edges of the flippers. Humpbacks are baleen whales that have 14 to 35 long throat pleats that expand when the whale takes in water while feeding.
Northern Hemisphere humpbacks reach an average length of 49 to 52 feet (15-16 m), and southern humpbacks reach 60 feet (18 m). Females are generally larger than the males. The average weight for a mature adult is 35 to 50 tons.
RANGE/HABITAT: Humpbacks are found in all oceans to the edges of polar ice, and follow definite migration paths from their summer feeding grounds to warmer waters in the winter. In the North Pacific, where their populations reach 15,000, humpbacks feed in the summer along the coast from California to Alaska. In the winter, they migrate to breeding grounds off of Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Japan. The population in California migrates to Mexico and Costa Rica, whereas the Alaskan population migrates to Hawaii.
In feeding, they use baleen plates to strain other small fish such as krill or herring, and plankton out of the water. Their 270-to-400 baleen plates are dark and each is about two and a half feet long. Humpbacks use several different feeding methods. While "lunge feeding," they plow through concentrated areas of food with their huge mouths open, swelling with large quantities of food and water. During "bubble net feeding," which is unique to humpback whales, one or several whales blow a ring of bubbles from their blowholes that encircle a school of krill or fish. The whales then swim through the "net" with their mouths agape, taking in large amounts of food.
Humpbacks are best known for their haunting vocalizations or "singing." They have a rich repertoire that covers many octaves and includes frequencies beyond the threshold of human hearing. These songs, apparently sung by males, last as long as 20 minutes, after which they are repeated, often with slight changes. Each year, the song undergoes changes from the year before, but all males sing the same song. When a whale is singing, it floats suspended in the water, head down and relatively motionless. Behavior such as dominance, aggression, and mate attraction may be related to singing.
MATING AND BREEDING: Females give birth every two or more years. Pregnancies last for 12 months. The calves nurse for eight to eleven months. When weaned, the calves are 24-27 feet (8-9 m) long.
STATUS: Humpbacks are among the most endangered whales and less than 10% of their original population remains. However, in recent years, humpbacks have been observed more and more frequently feeding along the California coast. Nearly 1400 humpbacks feed along the California Coast in the summer and fall. The current word population is estimated between 35-40,000.
The Marine Mammal Center has helped several humpback whales over the years. One famous patient was Humphrey the humpback, who we helped twice. First in 1985, he swam up the Sacramento River, and then in 1990 he was stuck on a mudflat in San Francisco Bay. Both times, we successfully got him back out into ocean. In 2007, a mother and calf pair called Delta and Dawn, received world-wide attention as they swam 75 miles inland up the Sacramento River (going farther than Humphrey). Both had severe wounds from a ship strike. After antibiotics were administered to these free-swimming whales, a first in marine mammal history mom and calf returned to the ocean.
Humpback Whale Breaching
Personal Note: Having moved several years ago to the Monterey Bay Area in Northern California, I decided to teach myself wildlife photography and concentrate on Marine Mammals of the Monterey Bay, which was self-published as a photo essay book. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is one of the most abundant marine sanctuaries in the World with extensive academic research facilities studying its inhabitants and health.
One of the species I have concentrated my efforts on has been the highly intelligent and entertaining Humpback Whale. For two years I am been trying to capture them breaching out of the water. With two flips of their flukes they can propel 35 to 50 tons of mammal completely out of the water! Prior to July 6, 2015 I have only been able to photograph them breaching from a distance.
Over the next two weeks I will be posting a series of images from this incredible experience.
Here are some of the photographic issues:
•They never stop moving, even when they place half of their brain on "rest" while the other half navigates for them. When that half has enough rest, the other half takes over.
•Your Whale Boat is moving about 80% of the time. If the Bay is choppy that means it is rocking back and forth as it propels itself forward.
•Other Whale Boats are positioned around the best sites and can ruin your shot.
•We can tell when a breaching Humpback is going to dive. What we cannot tell is if they are going to keep breaching or just feed on the bottom?
•Normally they breach once or twice and stop. The Blue Ocean Whale Watch boat captain has seen Humpbacks breach as many as 70 times. They are based in Moss Landing and I highly recommend them. You can book a trip at: blueoceanwhalewatch.com/contact.
•Therefore, you do not know how long they are going to stay under the water (5-7 mins. is normal) or WHERE OR WHEN THEY ARE GOING TO COME UP, which is always in a different place.
•I keep my camera under my chin and watch over the top of the lens. Once they start to breach, you have 3-5 seconds to find them in your viewfinder and squeeze off a series of shots. If they are less than 1/3rd of my viewfinder I know they are too far away.
•On the way back to port, three different whales did a "Lunge Feed" in unison just like in the Olympic synchronized swimming events. It was extraordinary, but It took us all by surprise and I could not even raise my camera in time.
•We all know whales communicate with each other, but this was an extraordinary example. The three whales dove together, communicated with each other and then raced to the surface side by side with their mouths wide open! They then captured the sardines, anchovies and or krill, filtered out the water, swallowed and dove again. They can take in enormous amounts of water (up to 70% of their body weight) filter out the fish and krill and eject the water.
•It is hard to describe, but three huge whales surfacing with their mouths open, side-by-side, perfectly in unison takes your breath away. I literally snapped my sunglasses in half during the whole breaching experience, but it was a small price to pay. If anyone had gotten a sharp image of these three whales, it would have been a cover story.
•Humpback whales (belong to the class of marine mammals known as rorquals that feed through extraordinarily energetic lunges during which they engulf large volumes of water equal to as much as 70% of their body mass. (Source: Marine Mammal Science)
For those of you that would like to know more about these incredible creatures please read below or visit the source: (www.marinemammalcenter.org/)
HUMPBACK WHALE: Megaptera novaeangliae (meaning of scientific name: (Large-Winged of New England)
BEHAVIOR: Acrobatic humpbacks regularly breach (jump out of the water), stroke each other, and slap the water with their flippers and flukes. Scientists believe these activities are forms of communication because they create a great deal of noise, which can be heard at long distances under water. Humpbacks swim in groups or pods of up to a dozen at calving grounds, and in smaller groups of three to four during migration. Unlike other baleen whales, they can often be seen feeding cooperatively.
DESCRIPTION: The humpback whale was given its common name because of the shape of its dorsal (back) fin and the way it looks when the animal is diving. Its scientific name, Megaptera, means, "large-winged" and refers to its long, white, wing-like flippers that are often as long as one-third of the animal's body length. Humpbacks are gray or black, except for the flippers, parts of the chest and belly, and sometimes the underside of the tail flukes. Each whale has its own unique pattern on the underside of its tail flukes, which can be used like "fingerprints" to identify individual whales. Unique to humpbacks are wartlike round protuberances (bumps or tubricales) that occur on the head forward of the blowhole and on the edges of the flippers. Humpbacks are baleen whales that have 14 to 35 long throat pleats that expand when the whale takes in water while feeding.
Northern Hemisphere humpbacks reach an average length of 49 to 52 feet (15-16 m), and southern humpbacks reach 60 feet (18 m). Females are generally larger than the males. The average weight for a mature adult is 35 to 50 tons.
RANGE/HABITAT: Humpbacks are found in all oceans to the edges of polar ice, and follow definite migration paths from their summer feeding grounds to warmer waters in the winter. In the North Pacific, where their populations reach 15,000, humpbacks feed in the summer along the coast from California to Alaska. In the winter, they migrate to breeding grounds off of Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Japan. The population in California migrates to Mexico and Costa Rica, whereas the Alaskan population migrates to Hawaii.
In feeding, they use baleen plates to strain other small fish such as krill or herring, and plankton out of the water. Their 270-to-400 baleen plates are dark and each is about two and a half feet long. Humpbacks use several different feeding methods. While "lunge feeding," they plow through concentrated areas of food with their huge mouths open, swelling with large quantities of food and water. During "bubble net feeding," which is unique to humpback whales, one or several whales blow a ring of bubbles from their blowholes that encircle a school of krill or fish. The whales then swim through the "net" with their mouths agape, taking in large amounts of food.
Humpbacks are best known for their haunting vocalizations or "singing." They have a rich repertoire that covers many octaves and includes frequencies beyond the threshold of human hearing. These songs, apparently sung by males, last as long as 20 minutes, after which they are repeated, often with slight changes. Each year, the song undergoes changes from the year before, but all males sing the same song. When a whale is singing, it floats suspended in the water, head down and relatively motionless. Behavior such as dominance, aggression, and mate attraction may be related to singing.
MATING AND BREEDING: Females give birth every two or more years. Pregnancies last for 12 months. The calves nurse for eight to eleven months. When weaned, the calves are 24-27 feet (8-9 m) long.
STATUS: Humpbacks are among the most endangered whales and less than 10% of their original population remains. However, in recent years, humpbacks have been observed more and more frequently feeding along the California coast. Nearly 1400 humpbacks feed along the California Coast in the summer and fall. The current word population is estimated between 35-40,000.
The Marine Mammal Center has helped several humpback whales over the years. One famous patient was Humphrey the humpback, who we helped twice. First in 1985, he swam up the Sacramento River, and then in 1990 he was stuck on a mudflat in San Francisco Bay. Both times, we successfully got him back out into ocean. In 2007, a mother and calf pair called Delta and Dawn, received world-wide attention as they swam 75 miles inland up the Sacramento River (going farther than Humphrey). Both had severe wounds from a ship strike. After antibiotics were administered to these free-swimming whales, a first in marine mammal history mom and calf returned to the ocean.
One of the acrobatic acts. The young lady was flipped and tossed about by three gentlemen. I thought that this was a pretty good silhouetted photo.
The Teen ents team put on a light hearted ''Mr and Mrs Sugar Beach comp'' one lunchtime around the pool, for the teens, which was won by a Swiss brother and sister, but this is one of the guys who ran it showing us his acrobatic skills, here doing a series of 4/5 back flips. He was very agile, and they could do some ''tricks'' with a football. Impressed all the teens anyway !
Mauritius, August 2013
Phantoms Doubled-Down in Atlantic City
December 5, 2010
Atlantic City, NJ-A largely Phantoms supporting crowd in Atlantic City was not enough to help push Adirondack to victory as the Albany Devils won round 3 of the Time Warner Cable Cup 4-2 on Sunday evening.
Albany now leads the Time Warner Cable Cup 2-1 but there are still 9 games to be played between the local rivals.
Kevin Marshall scored his first of the year and Luke Pither rifled home his third but Adirondack had difficulties solving Devils' goalie Jeff Frazee on their other opportunities. Mike Testwuide assisted on both Phantoms goals.
The game was the second of Flyers goalie Michael Leighton's six day conditioning stint with the Phantoms. He made 23 saves on 27 shots.
Nick Palmieri and Adam Henrique were able to capitalize on early opportunities in the Phantoms zone to give the Devils the early 2-0 lead.
Mike Testwuide picked off a puck at center and Kevin Marshall took advantage of open space up the left-wing. His shot appeared to glance off the leg pad of Frazee and into the goal for Marshall's first tally of the year.
Adirondack picked up the energy in the 2nd period but Frazee was able to make a couple of acrobatic stops among his 12 saves in the frame. The Phantoms had a power play opportunity in the 3rd period with a chance to tie the game and had a couple more good shots but it was Trevor Kell who was able to steal the puck in the Phantoms zone and shoot one past Leighton on a shorthanded tally to boost Albany's lead to 3-1.
Luke Pither got it back for the Phantoms about a minute later. His top-shelf laser from the left-wing dot came after Mike Testwuide gained the line right up the middle and then flipped it over to the right wing to Denis Hamel who opted against shooting when he saw Pither open on the other side.
Adirondack kept the heat up but was unable to come up with the equalizer. Tim Sestito's shot from the right wing was saved by Leighton but Michael Swift scored on the rebound for a 4-2 Devils lead with 6:07 remaining.
Both teams went 0-for-3 on the power play. Adirondack outshot Albany in the 3rd period 11-6 and on the game 28-27. The next game of the Time Warner Cable Cup rivalry is January 1 at 7:00 at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
The game was one of four home games for the Devils at historic Boardwalk Hall but the majority of the fans were wearing Phantoms and Flyers gear many having made the hour drive from Philadelphia for the game. It was the first pro hockey game in Atlantic City since 2006 when the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies played in the ECHL.
Adirondack Phantoms 2 at Albany Devils 4 - Status: Unofficial Final
Sunday, December 5, 2010 - Boardwalk Hall
Adirondack 1 0 1 - 2
Albany 2 0 2 - 4
1st Period-1, Albany, Palmieri 5 (McIntyre), 5:28. 2, Albany, Henrique 7 (Anderson), 8:16. 3, Adirondack, Marshall 1 (Testwuide), 13:13. Penalties-Lehtivuori Adk (interference), 1:49; Clackson Adk (fighting), 4:23; Letourneau-Leblond Alb (fighting), 4:23; Marshall Adk (roughing), 8:55; Charleston Alb (roughing), 8:55; Lehtivuori Adk (slashing), 10:38; Testwuide Adk (cross-checking, fighting), 15:24; Davison Alb (fighting), 15:24.
2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Syvret Adk (fighting), 12:13; Robitaille Alb (unsportsmanlike conduct, misconduct - unsportsmanlike conduct), 12:13; Swift Alb (fighting), 12:13.
3rd Period-4, Albany, Kell 1 4:46 (SH). 5, Adirondack, Pither 3 (Hamel, Testwuide), 5:42. 6, Albany, Swift 5 (Kell, Sestito), 13:53. Penalties-Anderson Alb (closing hand on puck), 3:06; McIntyre Alb (tripping), 14:30.
Shots on Goal-Adirondack 5-12-11-28. Albany 11-10-6-27.
Power Play Opportunities-Adirondack 0 / 3; Albany 0 / 3.
Goalies-Adirondack, Leighton 0-1-0 (27 shots-23 saves). Albany, Frazee 7-7-0 (28 shots-26 saves).
A-5,134
Referees-Chris Cozzan (18).
Linesmen-Mike McDevitt (13), Leo Boylan (97).
a 3D photo of acrobatic dancers performing in the New York subway.
The image does not require special glasses to view in 3D. View the image as you would a magic eye poster. Relax your eyes until the two pictures merge into one and you will see it in 3D.
If it is too difficult then reduce the size of the browser window to reduce the size of the image. Reducing image size should not be necessary on smartphones.
The image was VERY hard to get. On the camera I use there is considerable lag between when you press the shutter and the camera takes the picture because it has an extra time consuming step to go through that non 3D cameras don't have to.
So it was very difficult to estimate when a performer was going to be in the middle of a flip at the time the camera would capture the image. Still, after many tries I was able to get a few shots of the performers in mid leap.
One windy day in the mid-1990s, less than ten years after leaving the Soviet Union for life in the West, a husband-and-wife artist team grab a video camera and descend from their studio into the mostly deserted streets of Chelsea. In a neighborhood where taxi garages still outnumber art galleries, they begin filming pieces of litter and random objects as they are blown around the streets and sidewalks of the West 20s. Rather than being a documentary record of urban neglect, the resulting video is full of pathos and comedy. Through their eyes scraps of trash become living beings. A plastic spoon flips over like a restless sleeper. A small paper bag puffs up like blowfish. A coiled length of rope does acrobatic tricks. A tiny piece of Styrofoam plays tag with a black plastic bag. A McDonald’s box assaults a to-go coffee cup. A white glove performs a set of somersaults, only to be outdone by a neatly tied up plastic bag that can’t stop tumbling. A cardboard box slides down the street like a skateboarder. A toilet paper roll sets off on a journey into the unknown. A plastic bag takes flight, or at least attempts to do so. Never stated in the video is its relationship to their own lives, blown by the “winds of history” into exile from a nation that would soon cease to exist, buffeted continually by the turbulence that comes with being artists in New York City, always at risk of being tossed aside by the vagaries of the art market, or by the vagaries of life itself.
(Igor and Svetlana Kopystiansky)
Contributor
Raphael Rubinstein
Raphael Rubinstein is the author of The Miraculous (Paper Monument, 2014) and A Geniza (Granary Books, 2015).
brooklynrail.org/2020/09/miraculous/18-Chelsea
From the archive of "Incidents"(1996/7)
kopystianskyincidents.tumblr.com/
We worked at "Incidents" in a period of two years: 1996-97. After the work was accomplished in 1997 it was exhibited:
1997 “L'Autre. 4e Biennale de Lyon, Art Contemporain," Lyon, France. Curated by Harald Szeemann, (cat.).
1997 "2nd Johannesburg Biennale,” South Africa. Curated by Okwui Enwezor (cat.).
1997 “In Medias Res,” Dolmabahce Palace, Istanbul. Curated by René Block (cat.).
1999 “Szenewechsel” (Change of Scene) Museum of Modern Art, Frankfurt/Main. Curated by Jean-Christophe Ammann and Mario Kramer.
1999 “Trace” Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art, Tate Gallery Liverpool. Curated by Anthony Bond, (cat.).
1999 “Wait,” Kunst-Werke, Berlin. Curated by Klaus Biesenbach
2000 Folkwang Museum in Essen, Germany. Curated by Klaus Biesenbach
2000 “Moment,” Dundee Contemporary Arts, Great Britain. Curated by Katrina Brown
2000 “Incidents,” Vor und Zurück. Curated by Sylvia Martin. Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf, Germany.
2000 “Igor and Svetlana Kopystiansky” Museum Sztuki, Lodz, Poland
2000 “Incidents” Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Curated by Anthony Bond.
2004 “9th Triennal of Small Sculpture” Fellbach, Germany. Curated by Jean-Christophe Ammann.
2005 “Igor & Svetlana Kopystiansky,” Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany. Curated by René Block.
2005 “Igor & Svetlana Kopystiansky,” Fine Arts Center of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA. Curators Loretta Yarlow/Gregory Salzmann
2005 “From the permanent collection. Kopystiansky, Roth, Orozco, Cahn, Muniz.“ AGNSW, Sydney. Curated by Anthony Bond.
2007 “Igor & Svetlana Kopystiansky,” ESPOO Museum of Modern Art (EMMA), Espoo, Finland. Curated by Timo Valjakka (cat.)
2008 "From the permanent collection.” AGNSW, Sydney. Curated by Anthony Bond.
2009 “Igor and Svetlana Kopystiansky” Cinema 2, April 22. Musée National d'Art Moderne Center Pompidou, Paris, France. Curated by Philippe-Alain Michaud.
2009 "False Twins” S.M.A.K., Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst, Ghent, Belgium, Curated by Guillaume Désanges.
2009 “From the permanent collection. Roman Opalka, Brice Marden Igor and Svetlana Kopystiansky and Rachel Whiteread,“ AGNSW, Sydney. Curated by Anthony Bond.
2009 KunstFilmBiennale, "From the collection of the Center Pompidou Paris.” Medienkunstraum der Bundeskunsthalle Bonn, Germany. Curated by Philippe-Alain Michaud.
2010 “Radical Conceptual. Positions in the MMK Collection.” MMK Frankfurt/Main, Germany. Curated by Susanne Gaensheimer.
2010 “Image by Image. Film and Contemporary art from the collection of the Centre Pompidou,” Museum Ostwall, Dortmund, Germany. Curated by Philippe-Alain Michaud and Olivier Michelon.
2010 “Igor and Svetlana Kopystiansky, ” Musée d’Art Moderne de Saint-Etienne Métropole. 6th of February – 18th of April, France. (cat.)
2011 “Energy and Process. Igor and Svetlana Kopystiansky. Presentation of the collection. TATE Modern London. Curated by Stuart Comer.
2011 “Wunder,” Deichttorhallen Hamburg and Siemens Stiftung. Curated by Hürlimann | Lepp | Tyradellis (cat.)
2011 “From Trash to Treasure,” Kunsthalle zu Kiel, Germany. Curated by Anette Hüsch, (cat.)
2012 “Wunder,” Kunsthalle Krems, Austria. March 4th to July 1st Curated by Hürlimann | Lepp | Tyradellis.
2012 “Igor and Svetlana Kopystiansky: Incidents (1996/7),” From the permanent collection. MoMA, New York.
2013 “Incidents,” in works from the collection selected by Rineke Dijkstra for The Krazy House. February 23-May 26. MMK Frankfurt. Catalogue.
2013-2014 “Everyday Epiphanies. Photography and Daily Life Since 1969.” Curator Douglas Eklund. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. June 25, 2013–January 26, 2014.
2014. Collection Display. MMK Frankfurt, Germany.
Phantoms Doubled-Down in Atlantic City
December 5, 2010
Atlantic City, NJ-A largely Phantoms supporting crowd in Atlantic City was not enough to help push Adirondack to victory as the Albany Devils won round 3 of the Time Warner Cable Cup 4-2 on Sunday evening.
Albany now leads the Time Warner Cable Cup 2-1 but there are still 9 games to be played between the local rivals.
Kevin Marshall scored his first of the year and Luke Pither rifled home his third but Adirondack had difficulties solving Devils' goalie Jeff Frazee on their other opportunities. Mike Testwuide assisted on both Phantoms goals.
The game was the second of Flyers goalie Michael Leighton's six day conditioning stint with the Phantoms. He made 23 saves on 27 shots.
Nick Palmieri and Adam Henrique were able to capitalize on early opportunities in the Phantoms zone to give the Devils the early 2-0 lead.
Mike Testwuide picked off a puck at center and Kevin Marshall took advantage of open space up the left-wing. His shot appeared to glance off the leg pad of Frazee and into the goal for Marshall's first tally of the year.
Adirondack picked up the energy in the 2nd period but Frazee was able to make a couple of acrobatic stops among his 12 saves in the frame. The Phantoms had a power play opportunity in the 3rd period with a chance to tie the game and had a couple more good shots but it was Trevor Kell who was able to steal the puck in the Phantoms zone and shoot one past Leighton on a shorthanded tally to boost Albany's lead to 3-1.
Luke Pither got it back for the Phantoms about a minute later. His top-shelf laser from the left-wing dot came after Mike Testwuide gained the line right up the middle and then flipped it over to the right wing to Denis Hamel who opted against shooting when he saw Pither open on the other side.
Adirondack kept the heat up but was unable to come up with the equalizer. Tim Sestito's shot from the right wing was saved by Leighton but Michael Swift scored on the rebound for a 4-2 Devils lead with 6:07 remaining.
Both teams went 0-for-3 on the power play. Adirondack outshot Albany in the 3rd period 11-6 and on the game 28-27. The next game of the Time Warner Cable Cup rivalry is January 1 at 7:00 at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
The game was one of four home games for the Devils at historic Boardwalk Hall but the majority of the fans were wearing Phantoms and Flyers gear many having made the hour drive from Philadelphia for the game. It was the first pro hockey game in Atlantic City since 2006 when the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies played in the ECHL.
Adirondack Phantoms 2 at Albany Devils 4 - Status: Unofficial Final
Sunday, December 5, 2010 - Boardwalk Hall
Adirondack 1 0 1 - 2
Albany 2 0 2 - 4
1st Period-1, Albany, Palmieri 5 (McIntyre), 5:28. 2, Albany, Henrique 7 (Anderson), 8:16. 3, Adirondack, Marshall 1 (Testwuide), 13:13. Penalties-Lehtivuori Adk (interference), 1:49; Clackson Adk (fighting), 4:23; Letourneau-Leblond Alb (fighting), 4:23; Marshall Adk (roughing), 8:55; Charleston Alb (roughing), 8:55; Lehtivuori Adk (slashing), 10:38; Testwuide Adk (cross-checking, fighting), 15:24; Davison Alb (fighting), 15:24.
2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Syvret Adk (fighting), 12:13; Robitaille Alb (unsportsmanlike conduct, misconduct - unsportsmanlike conduct), 12:13; Swift Alb (fighting), 12:13.
3rd Period-4, Albany, Kell 1 4:46 (SH). 5, Adirondack, Pither 3 (Hamel, Testwuide), 5:42. 6, Albany, Swift 5 (Kell, Sestito), 13:53. Penalties-Anderson Alb (closing hand on puck), 3:06; McIntyre Alb (tripping), 14:30.
Shots on Goal-Adirondack 5-12-11-28. Albany 11-10-6-27.
Power Play Opportunities-Adirondack 0 / 3; Albany 0 / 3.
Goalies-Adirondack, Leighton 0-1-0 (27 shots-23 saves). Albany, Frazee 7-7-0 (28 shots-26 saves).
A-5,134
Referees-Chris Cozzan (18).
Linesmen-Mike McDevitt (13), Leo Boylan (97).