“What would an ocean be without a monster lurking in the dark? It would be like sleep without dreams.”
― Werner Herzog

This massive Humpback Whale is the cow in the pair I have been sharing over the past several days.

As I’ve stated earlier, the sheer size of these creatures is incredible. Then, to see them surging from the ocean like this and smashing down in a burst of spray and foam simply leaves you in awe.

The photos and  words hardly do them justice, but try to imagine sitting in a relatively small, open boat, about a kilometer from the coast, rolling on the Pacific Ocean swells, watching  the dark waves rolling around you. A massive back rises from the waves, just a few meters away, followed by a tail, both disappear into the depths. You sit in silence scanning the waters for some sign as to where the whale, now diving deep in preparation for a breach, may have gone. Then, without warning, a few hundred meters away from your tiny vessel, a black mass erupts from the water, towering ever higher. You wonder how this is even possible and recognise the energy required to do this. The whale twists slightly to one side and slams into the water, leaving just a trace of bubbles as evidence of this act of grace and power.

I’ll soon be closing off my series of whale images but will always hold the memories of this spectacle of nature for the rest of my life. It will be hard to top, but life always has new adventures in store.

Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 300 mm
1/250 sec, f/8.0, ISO 200

High Resolution image on 500px

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