Alaska's Watchable Whales: Humpback & Killer Whales

by Mark Kelley

Redesigned with NEW cover! "Whales!" comes a cry, and its show time on the wild waters of Alaska. A spurt like a sprinkler's shoots out of the water, then turns to mist and hangs just above the chilly Alaskan sea. In these waters, two of the world's great wildlife performers star in a wilderness ballet. Nowhere else can on get such a great look at humpbacks, the most active of the great whales, cavorting on the surface and catching air as they feed. Tuxedo-clad orcas or killer whales dazzle with drill-team precision and racetrack speed. With the photos in this book, Mark Kelley and John Hyde take you to see Alaska's watchable whales on nature's stage. The accurate and up-to-date text tells the story behind the scenes, and the eight whale tales of true life adventures from the Alaskan wild whale waters make for unbelievable and fun reading. Photos by Mark Kelley and John Hyde. Text by Linda Daniel. Whale Tale interviews by Scott Foster. Forward by Lynn Schooner.

78 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Award-winning Alaskan photographer Mark Kelley has built his entire career around the place he calls home-Alaska. Mark has been photographing the places and faces of his state for the past forty years. A true Alaskan ambassador, Mark knows when to be where for Alaska to reveal itself in the next photograph. Mark’s images have been reproduced as art prints and in books and calendars, collected by locals and visitors as important reminders of this great place of awe and wonder.
Mark has worked on assignment for UNESCO and Jaeger-LeCoultre, National Geographic Adventure Magazine, Outside, Alaska Magazine, the New York Times, Washington Post, Boy’s Life and USA Today. His images have appeared in National Wildlife, Sunset, National Geographic Adventure, National Geographic Traveler, National Geographic World, Alaska Magazine, Outside, Alaska Airlines, Time For Kids, Sierra, Runner’s World, Travel & Leisure, Boy’s Life, USA, and the Washington Post, among others. Mark Kelley’s images have appeared on the covers of more than two hundred publications.
Mark has published twelve photo books with over a quarter million copies sold. Mark’s latest book “Once Upon Alaska”, is a Mom’s Choice Awards® Gold Recipient and a Foreword’s 2013 Book of the Year Finalist. Mark’s books “Glacier Bay National Park: Alaska”, “Alaska’s Tracy Arm and Sawyer Glaciers”, and “Alaska: A Photographic Excursion” were awarded a Benjamin Franklin Award by The Independent Book Publishers Association in 2001, 2006, and 2008, respectively. Mark Kelley produces two annual calendars, with over 200,000 calendars sold to date, as well as note cards, postcards, bookmarks, and individually signed prints.
Mark Kelley is a silver winner in the Graphis Photography Annual 2015 Contest and a winner in the 72nd Annual Picture of the Year International Competition, Natural History Category-Reportage Division. He is a North American Nature Photography Association Showcase winner and a recipient of the Daniel Housberg Wilderness Image Award for Excellence in Still Photography from the Alaska Conservation Foundation. Mark placed first in the 2013 Nature’s Best Windland Smith Rice Photography Awards—Outdoor Adventure Category and his winning image is now part of the Smithsonian’s permanent collection. In 2014 and 2013 Mark received an “Award of Excellence” from Communications Arts, the leading trade journal for visual communications. Mark’s work in journalism has been recognized by the Alaska Press Club, the National Press Photographers Association, and the Society of Professional Journalists.

“As a kid in Buffalo, New York, I always wondered what it would be like to encounter a whale,” says Mark, “I moved north and in 1978 graduated from the University of Alaska with a journalism degree.” Mark worked as a photojournalist for the Juneau Empire, Juneau’s only daily newspaper, for over thirteen years before leaving to pursue a full-time career in freelance photography and publishing in 1993.

Mark has lived in Alaska for more than 40 years. He resides in Juneau where he and his wife, Jan, raised their two sons, Gabe and Owen.

Reviews

[Ace M.Z. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came upon this about seven years ago on an Alaskan trip. I never got about to reading it until a year ago, in the middle of reading Moby Dick. I thought the photography was beautiful and the formatting was well done. The facts were well written and I liked how you through in witness accounts every now and then.

[اليازية خليفة · Rating 4 out of 5]

كتاب -أو بالأحرى كُتَيِّب من ناحية النص، ولكنه ألبوم صور غني بالمعلومات العلمية حول نوعين من الحيتان.

حتى وإن لم تقرأ النص، فإن الصور دون شك تثير في ذهنك سؤال "كيف تعيش هذه الحيوانات؟ وكيف تتواصل مع بعضها البعض؟"

كنت أنظر إلى الصور وأقرأ النص ثم أقول "أُمَمٌ أمثالكم" وتحديدا عندما يتعلق الموضوع بلغتهم وعيشهم في جماعات.

اشتريت الكتاب وأنا على متن سفينة لمراقبة الحيتان في ألاسكا.. شعرت بالندم وتمنيت لو أنني قرأته قبل تلك الرحلة لكنت أكثر شوقا لرؤيتهم!

[TJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful photography with just enough information to be interesting. I loved the pictures, just coming back from an Alaskan cruise and trying to photograph whales I know how difficult it can be so I appreciated them even more. There were also some very interesting facts. My favorite part of the book was the story where the woman had a seal under attack jump onto her boat and they let the seal stay there till the Whales left. I was touched.