Have You Kissed a Whale Today?

My main marketing strategy for my video business has been word of mouth. Networking in my own city, sometimes I will go out for a coffee and make a new contact for work. Living in Milwaukee my whole life has its benefits. This story is a perfect example.

I was doing an interview on a teacher about what inspires her in her career. She said that every year in February she takes her elementary school class to San Diego on a field trip to follow the path of gray whales down the Pacific Coast to Mexico. She described how they get on a fishing boat and travel down the coast stopping at small islands viewing sea lions and other sea mammals along the way. The only problem is she has to take care of the kids, teach and videotape the whole experience.

I was dying to stop the recording but kept up with the interview. When we finally finished I simply went up to her and asked if she would hire me to go and that we could work out a good production rate. She said that would be great and that next February I was boarding a plane to California with 36 young students and 4 other teachers.

We got on the boat at midnight under a full moon and I had my ginger tea and took the appropriate amount of drugs for sea sickness which I am very prone to. I told myself no matter what you are going to not only have a great time but make an incredible video about this experience. And that is exactly what happened.

It was amazing on every level. We traveled for 2 days to get to the Bay of Ignacio where the gray whales mate in February every year. Once we were rested and ready for the next adventure we got into small wooden boats or skiffs and went out in to the bay. Before long the mama whales were coming right up to the boats and you could touch them. Of course you got wet when they spout water from their blowholes which is really a combination of air and water as a huge exhale.

The teacher that hired me is famous for kissing the whales which I readied my camera for and got the shot! And in that moment I knew the title of the video. On the way home we had to stay on the boats because the seas were too rough for us to stop on the islands. It was like being on a roller coaster in your bunk bed, we flew into the air and that landed hard, this lasted for 48 hrs and I knew that this too was a pinnacle in my life. Surviving yes and getting the good shots yes but most of all getting paid to have an adventure and have something to show for it — a video called “Have You Kissed a Whale Today?”