Just got home from two weeks in Hawaii, most of the time spent on Maui. Wow, the whales!  So this happened. I was zoomed in to 400mm, photographing a calf when, shazam, mom rockets out of the water between us. This is full frame. I zoomed out as fast as I could and got 

this shot. The best whale photograph I’ve ever captured. So excited!  Still pinching myself. That’s going on the wall!

Here’s the calf, practicing breaching like mom, building up those muscles for the long trek to Alaska.

The next morning, very early, we came upon a competition group, that’s where several males follow a female and fight for her attention. Two males (we assume) breached over and over again beside the boat. Lighting wasn’t great, but this one was the best shot. Amazing!

Another of the humpback whale’s showy surface behaviors is a powerful maneuver known as a peduncle throw. The peduncle is the muscle where the tail fluke connects to the body.  A peduncle throw is a quick, powerful upward and sideways thrust of the fluke and peduncle, landing with a huge splash of water.

I’ve photographed humpback whales in Alaska, Mexico and now Maui, but this is by far the most beautiful fluke shot I’ve even got. The light is stunning, don’t you think?

Tail slapping.

Another cool fluke shot.

Post a comment below. Love to hear what you think!