Flipper, or Flip Her

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My thanks go out to Theaterwiz for his invaluable help with editing this image. We agreed that some of the glare and reflection was bothersome, so he applied his skills in helping to knock it back. It’s his title, too. If you are not familiar with Theaterwiz’s fantastic HDR work (play?), please be sure to follow the above link to his Flickr photostream. I guarantee that you won’t be disappointed.  Be sure to check out his “Empress” series… it’s really innovative and funny.

Susan and I were returning from a gorgeous day of kayaking near Cape Lookout, NC, (“She Walks on Water“) when a pod of dolphins started playing and feeding right around our boats. Even though we were running late, it’s not a scene that one runs from, so we floated quietly while they did their thing. It’s pretty wild: They surface all around the boats, but you’re never really sure exactly where, or when they’ll come up. Occasionally they’ll get frisky and do some aerial work.

Though it’s a wonderful sight, we’re always careful, as these guys can flip an unwary kayaker. One morning, Susan was almost swamped when a large pod of dolphins passed directly underneath her boat, pushing a bow wake of considerable size.

Help keep her upright by viewing this large in a new window on my galleries.

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If you love dolphins as much as we do, please visit the website for The Cove. Rick O’Barry was the dolphin trainer who conditioned all the dolphins for the flipper TV series, and was fairly well singularly responsible for popularizing the current dolphin industry. He has done a 180-degree turn, though, and is trying to stop the yearly dolphin slaughter in Japan.  It’s a great cause, and a dramatic, compelling movie.

You can follow updates from the people behind The Cove on Twitter at CoveMovie_Ops