Photo of the Week: March 05, 2012

Hi Gang!

This week's POTW is a shot of a humpback whale mother and calf that I captured in Maui this past February. No doubt about it, I was absolutely thrilled to get such a great view of this closely bonded pair of whales in clear Hawaiian water. Over the years I have enjoyed a number of opportunities to free dive with humpbacks, and I can honestly say that being around these wonderful creatures is something that I will never tire of. Ever.

While I was not with Captain Steve the day I created this image I am absolutely certain that I never would have had the opportunity to get this shot if it had not been for the Captain. Having met Captain Steve roughly 20 years ago led to a long, but directly connected, series of events that put me on vessel so I could work with a crew that conducts whale research in Hawaii and other areas around the world.

I got invited to go along with the research crew for a day to help document their work, and needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity.

No question about it, we got really lucky and encountered this mother and calf early in the morning on a day that the wind came up with a furry and made us head back to port much earlier than we had hoped. But there is no way I am complaining. Not even a little bit. As far as I a concerned we hit the mother lode with a resting cow, calf and escort in clear, shallow water. One reason they were in such shallow water was probably due to the fact that the calf was a very young animal. One way to tell that is to note that the calf almost looks like it was shot in black and white. The coloration of very young calves is noticeably different than animals that area bit older.

As soon as I eased myself over the side of the boat I saw the cow and the escort hovering virtually motionless about 30 feet below the surface. At first I didn't see the calf as it was hidden by the mother's body. So, I rested on the surface and waited knowing that the youngster would have to surface within five minutes or so to breathe.

A minute or so later I saw the calf's head pop into view as the animal slid out from under it's mother and slowly headed for the surface. I remained as motionless as I could until the calf had taken a breath because I did not want to frighten the youngster. After taking a breath or two the calf turned toward me as if curious. But it also appeared to be slightly cautious. Only finning a little bit to get the best shooting angle I could I let the calf come to me rather than swimming toward the young whale. I also noticed that the mother was ascending just a bit. The calf and mother turned slightly, and I was able to capture a series of shots as the pair swam past me. A moment later the escort swam directly underneath me at a depth of roughly 25 feet.

I watched the trio swim into the distance. My work done we were going to move on to document some other whales when we got hit by a blast of unrelenting wind. Within minutes our day came to an abrupt end as the sea turned rather rough.

One magical moment and a day I will remember as long as I live. It was nothing short of magical.

I captured the photo with a Nikon 12-to-24 mm zoom with the focal length set to 12 mm. The calf was only 10 to 15 feet away from me when I took the picture. From a photographer's standpoint the image serves as a great example to see how helpful it can be to work close to subjects in shallow water. Note the difference in the color and detail that can be seen in the calf and it's nearby mother. Mom was only 20 to 25 feet deep and a bit farther away, but it's easy to see how her body was already taking on the problematic bluish cast we fight as underwater photographers.

I hope you enjoy this week's POTW!

See you next week,
Marty