Rhys Watkin Photography

08/20/2025

https://youtu.be/YlqvX20pbD4?si=S968qBV5kyYHC-9B
Went back to my natural history roots on this one….. only briefly though 😉

Back to Natural History Filming for me.......... or is it. Short Highlight Reel of Joey Thompson form the Armoy Road Races earlier this year!

02/11/2025

🤘🏻

04/23/2023

Visit the Farallon Islands on a whale watching tour from San Francisco. Oceanic Society is an award-winning non-profit tour operator since 1969.

06/05/2022

The Sea Lion King

06/03/2022

Peekaboo! Another shot from the orca sighting last weekend. Probably the best shot I got of one of the Orcas having a look back at us. Always a cool moment on a whale watching boat is when you wonder who is really watching who.

05/31/2022

More to come from this sighting, but needed to post something. I have been going to the Farallon Islands with .society for 3 years now and the one animal that had escaped me over the years was Orca. The rest of the crew have been joking that I was cursed and never going to find them as they usually see orca on the few trips I’m not on board. But this last Saturday 5/28/2022 (A trip I nearly didn’t go on) , I finally broke that curse. Not only was this THE best trip I have had on board the Salty Lady with .society, but it just may be my favorite wildlife encounter of all time. We stayed with this pod for around 30-45 min with them circling us and coming within 5 feet of the stern on several passes. On several occasions we saw the flash of white from their bellies as they rolled over to have a look up at us. There was a few adult females with some youngsters and one HUGE male seen in the first pic here. Many times I couldn’t contain my excitement and just started laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of what I was looking at. I had been convinced I was just doomed to never see them, and when I was staring into the eyes of a whole pod of Orca I couldn’t help but get slightly emotional. It took 3 years, and 700+ hours at sea, and I would do it all over again to have another sighting like that. Thanks to all the guests on board that day because with out you all us crew would not be able to do what we do. Thanks to the crew of and .society I feel very lucky to do what I do and it’s all thanks to you.

12/20/2021

Before I started working with .society I always had an appreciation for birds but I never would have thought I would find them as interesting as the whales, seals and sea lions, or even the fish, but I have to say they really are.

From the Common Murres nesting in the hundreds of thousands to the lone Northern Gannet, all the bird species bring something different to our trips to the islands.

The species that steals the show and often the hearts of many of the birders we have on board is the Tufted Puffin. The Farallon Islands are the southern most extent of their range so we get people from all over the world who come on board just to see them. Which when you get a look at them it’s easy to see why.

While the trips are called whale watching trips, the bird life is equally responsible for making the trips to the Farallon Islands so special, even after years of abuse and neglect the bird species have rebounded and always add a bit of magic to every trip. For even on days where there are not that many whales there will always be birds.

Birds Pictured:
1. Common Murre
2. Pigeon Guillemot
3. Tufted Puffin
4. Black Footed Albatross
5. Cassin’s Auklet
7. Red-necked Phalarope
8. Northern Gannet (only one in the Pacific Ocean)
9. Rhinoceros Auklet
10. Brown Pelican
11. Nesting Common Murres

12/16/2021

Hey every one, my name is Rhys and for the last 3 years I have been lucky enough to work as a wildlife photographer for the .society where every weekend from March-November we board the Salty Lady and head 30 miles west from the Golden Gate Bridge towards the Farallon Islands.
Through out the years I have been lucky enough to witness and capture some amazing wildlife encounters, and over the next few days I’m excited to share some of my favorites with all of you.

First things first I have to thank everyone at .society for the opportunity and a special thanks to all the members of the California Whale Watching team.

👏👏 Chris Biertuempfel, Linda Sue Brown, , , , Alan Hopkins, Alicia Retes, Chris Pincetich, Mario Balitbit, Izzy Szczepaniak, Susan Sherman, Peter Winch, Roger Harris, Jason Blair, Gail Broesder, David Wimpfheimer, with special thanks to Capt. Jared Davis and Capt. Court Mast. All of you have been the best of mentors and even better friends throughout the years and it’s been a huge privilege to get to work with you all.

09/20/2021

These last few weeks at the islands have been nothing short of amazing. From the sightings to the guests everything has been world class. Here are some of my favorite photos from yesterday on the boat with .society!!!

🐳 🌊

09/15/2021

Lunge feeding humpbacks, no caption needed.