My first experience with the orcas was at Sea World in Florida as a child. I was absolutely amazed at them. When I was making plans for my 2002 vacation, my friends asked me what I wanted to do while I was in Washington. My only request was to see the orcas in their natural home. We went to Orcas Island for a few days and made arrangements to go whale watching. The day we went the captain said that he couldn't promise whales and showing me the map said "They are here, we are here, and they are not moving." My heart sank as I had waited over 25 years for this, but I decided to go anyway. I said a little prayer to my Mom asking her to move the whales, and somehow I felt that they would not disappoint me. They certainly didn't. When we got out there, we had super pod, as all three pods converged on the area we were in. I can't even begin to describe my feelings, but looking back, I realize that on that day I fell in love. There were orcas every where I looked; even coming up to the boat and seemingly using us as a bathtub toy as they dove underneath the boat coming up on the other side! At one point, the captain called me over to the starboard side of the boat and said "I don't want you to miss this!" As I looked, I saw a male orca with a huge dorsal fin, who I later learned was L41, coming straight at the boat. At one point, he stopped and looked up at me and I at him. There is nothing on this planet that compares to looking into the eye of an orca. Nor is there anything that compares to the sound they make as they surface to breathe.

When I moved to Washington, I made a lot of plans which, for whatever reason the universe had, did not quite go as I had envisioned. I was forced for health reasons to retire, but as time passed, I regained some of my energy and found myself called to my photography.

I did the usual and took typical Washington type photos of landscapes; mountains, lakes, etc. around where I lived just north of Seattle. I acquired a digital camera and zoom telephoto lens, and discovered that an orca watching boat went out from Anacortes. I went and once again experienced that feeling that I'd had while in WA on vacation. And once again, my friend L41 came up and visited the boat. This time he was with L43 and the two of them were having a wonderful time! When I got back home and reviewed my photos, I was elated! I have been out a number of times since and am getting better at photographing them having learned to judge their breathing and anticipate when and where they will surface. For me, there is nothing that comes close to spending time with these amazing creatures. I love photographing them and showing their interaction with their surroundings and each other. I am also working on being able to photograph them so that I can identify the individual orcas. This is a challenge!

I have since moved to Bellingham and am less than a mile from the orca whale watch boat that goes out from here. My plans for the future are to take the marine naturalist training course at the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor, and hopefully get a part time job on a whale watch boat next summer. I would also like to be able to use my skills as a teacher and go into elementary schools and talk to the children about the orcas. I recently became a member of the museum and adopted L41*.

Being born and raised in Huntington, Long Island, I have always loved being on or near the water, and also love to photograph boats. Hence the second section of my website. I love photographing the commercial fishing boats, both in Bellingham and down in Seattle, the Washington ferries, and was also able to get some beautiful images of the tall ships when they visited Bellingham during the summer, 2008. Most recently, I was in NYC for a family reunion and photographed the Queen Elizabeth 2 leaving NY harbor on her final transatlantic voyage.

And finally, friends asked about my other photos, so I created the Etc. section where I've put photos that do not fit into the whale or sail sections. Here I have my photos of the mountains, along with some of my other marine friends, birds, nature, and landscapes.

I hope you enjoy your visit to my website!