| VIEW DAY AT THE BEACH BY JOE PAYNE PHOTOGRAPHY BY DONALD QUINTANA After years of experience photographing wildlife in San Luis Obispo County, the Central Coast, and beyond, Donald Quintana has learned not to let a foggy day get in his way. This shot of two breaching Humpback whales was captured after Quintana heard from a friend that the massive mammals had been out the day before, frolicking just within sight of the San Simeon pier. “People always say, ‘You should have been there yesterday,’” Quintana said. “So, I took a chance in hoping that they would make an appearance the next day and went out to capture them. I was thrilled they chose to make a second appearance while I was there.” But like many an autumn or winter day on the Central Coast, the scene was blanketed in white fog. Where a landscape photographer might call it quits, Quintana only saw opportunity through the misty shroud. “I think that adds to the feeling of the image,” he explained. “Weather shouldn’t deter you from going out and shooting. It’s a factor that can make your images stand out. Fog, or to be more exact, overcast cloudy weather, acts as one of the greatest diffusers of light.” Armed with his Canon EOS 7D and an EF500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4x teleconverter, Quintana was able to create an effective focal length of 700mm to push in on the breaching porpoises from his perch on the pier. He explained that the challenge with photographing whale is simple—you never know where they will surface. Humpback whale, which migrate along California’s coast during autumn and early winter, can hold their breath for up to forty-five minutes, but usually breach every seven to fifteen minutes for air. “Patience is key; you really have to wait sometimes for your subject to show up,” Quintana said. “Learning behavior can help you be in the right location at the right time, but having the patience to wait for them to show up is essential.” Not one to keep his methods a secret, Quintana often leads photographer excursions on the Central Coast and beyond and is a wealth of knowledge—he has literally been across the globe to photograph animals big and small, from grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park to tarantula wasp in Hawaii. But the San Luis Obispo area has always been home for him and his ancestors who, he explained, first came to the area in the 1840s. It’s also the perfect place to be if you’re a wildlife photographer, he shares, “San Luis Obispo is a treasure trove of photographic opportunities for the nature and wildlife photographer, you just need to get out and about early enough to capture the animals when they are going about their days. We have a lot to photograph around here, from birds migrating through the area to all sorts of marine mammals, coyotes, elk, butterflies wintering in Pismo—there are just so many opportunities. We live in an amazing place.” <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> JOE PAYNE is a journalist, as well as a lifelong musician and music teacher, who loves writing about the arts on the Central Coast, especially music, as well as science, history, nature, and social issues. 30 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | DEC/JAN <strong>2020</strong>
DEC/JAN <strong>2020</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 31
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