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February 2018 Gallery Exhibit

21 images Created 16 Oct 2017

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  • February 2018 Gallery Exhibit
  • ~ aka my sleepy baby image! ... whales are voluntary breathers, and must consciously go to surface for air - adults every 20-30 minutes; babies every 3 minutes - round the clock … so, to sleep, whales shut off 1/2 their brain at a time - the side awake has the eye open - the side asleep has the eye closed - I caught this 'wild child’s sleepy side as he gently rose to the surface to breathe …
    _MG_3341.tiff
  • ~ this is one image that bespeaks a thousand words … captured as this 'baby whale' is learning all the wonderful things her powerful 'tail' can do - even upside-down - as she uses it to gently propel herself in a humpback rendition of the human backstroke - creating a kaleidoscope of sparkling blues as she goes …
    _MG_3697.tiff
  • ~ practice makes perfect …and this beautiful baby certainly did that - but try as she might, her tail was still too small to thrust her 3,000 lb. + body completely out of the water in a breach … yet, she took such delight in all the splash she was making, it didn’t seem to matter … my lens captured the split second right before impact, when she then playfully drenched our skiff, and everyone in it …
    _MG_3232-v5.tiff
  • ~ no longer does being 'on the tail end' of things have a negative connotation … for sometimes, it offers the best vantage point to see the graceful ballet of a baby humpback, as she dances just under the ocean’s surface …
    "on the tail end ..." (sil..2010
  • ~ humpbacks have the largest pectoral fins of any cetacean … these flippers measure one-third the length of the whales body, and can easily reach lengths of 17 feet from shoulder to tip …
    _MG_8969.tiff
  • ~ in unity, there is strength … yet this image portrays so much more, and represents the profound, deep connection witnessed between every humpback mother/baby dyad I’ve ever been with, as each pair 'swim' together in 'synchronized' harmony, both above and below the surface of their sea …
    _MG_1855.tiff
  • ~ “the humpback whale - he is the most gamesome and light-hearted of all the whales, making more gay foam and 'whitewater' generally than any other of them.”<br />
- Herman Melville - "Moby Dick"
    _MG_7385.tiff
  • ~  since an infant humpback can’t go more than 3-5 minutes without a breath, when the calf learns how to swim, mom will stay on the bottom, and send baby up to the surface to breathe on his own … once on the surface, baby will usually swim in a semi-circle directly over mom’s head - taking 4-5 breaths - and then will playfully return back down to say "hi mom!"
    _MG_1836-v7.tiff
  • ~ we watched this mom teach her baby how to 'tail lob' - a whale behavior which, as you can see, results in a great display of power and splash … the humpback arches or jackknifes her back at the surface, then quickly snaps her tail high in the air, scooping up huge amounts of ocean and foam in the process …
    "tail lob" (silver banks) ..2016
  • ~ this image is one of many captured during an incredible playtime encounter with this gorgeous baby … for over an hour I witnessed pure, unmitigated joy from this silly kid, as he flipped, tail lobbed, twisted, and arched upside-down, over and over again, all with such gleeful abandon, you knew he was showing off - and doing it just for fun …
    _MG_7792.tiff
  • ~ this image was captured during my very 'first encounter' in the water with a humpback whale, and remains one of my very favorites … it bespeaks a graceful, hauntingly beautiful baby humpback at play … so big, so agile, so acrobatic, so powerful, and yet, so very silly - what a delight it was to share some time with him - what a joy it is now to have this moment forever captured in time …
    _MG_7775.Tiff
  • ~ mom and her little calf suddenly surfaced, vertically, right alongside our skiff, with their heads raised above the water to have a look around - creating a rather darling image of the two of them, with baby nuzzling close …  <br />
~ called spy-hopping, this whale behavior always reminds me of a submarine’s periscope … albeit, their eyes are still below the surface …
    _MG_7619-v2.tiff
  • ~ my time spent playing with this little guy was pure 'magic' … and so, I return - year after year - enchanted, bewitched, and forever under the humpback’s spell …
    _MG_7943-v4.tiff
  • ~ humpback whales are aquatic mammals who 'breathe' air, give birth to live young, and nurse their babies with milk … humpbacks belong to the order of whales called mysticetes, or baleen whales - easily identified by their dual blowholes - which can be clearly seen in this surface shot …
    _MG_8730.tiff
  • ~ when infant humpbacks are born, they do not know how to swim, nor do they know how to go to the surface for air …so in the beginning, mom puts her infant on her rostrum, and carries baby to the surface to breathe … this image was taken just as mom gently nudged her baby upward - an 'up you go' learning exercise that will be repeated every 3 minutes (round-the-clock) until the calf can get there on his own …
    _MG_3217 -v6.tiff
  • ~ in-between breath cycles, baby humpbacks can often be found nestled 'safe and sound' under mom’s chin … a seemingly comfortable, secure spot for them both, for over the years, I have seen mom’s tuck their infants in this position while on the surface, as well as on the ocean bottom, as pictured here …
    _MG_3772-v4.tiff
  • ~ the humpback raises it’s huge tail high into the air when diving deep - here we see two, diving in unison -  'double tails!' - an exciting photo to get …<br />
 <br />
~ the underside of a humpback’s tail has a unique one-of-a-kind pattern, just like a human fingerprint … these tail markings allow us to track and catalog each individual humpback’s migratory journey throughout it’s lifetime -
    _MG_8935.tiff
  • ~ seconds after this image was captured, this baby reached out towards me with his outstretched pectoral fin and gently touched my hand as he slowly swam by, looking me straight in the eye as he did so …<br />
 <br />
I can honestly say I have been 'touched by a whale' - once on my hand - and forever in my heart …
    _MG_7663-v2.tiff
  • ~ this is the original image - as shot with my 10mm wide-angle lens, without cropping or enlarging -  and yes - this baby came that close, as I remained stationary (and motionless) for fear of hurting him if I moved … yet, he knew exactly where I was the whole time - so imagine my surprise when he chose to share 'belly rubs' with this strange new creature (that would be human me) - who he’s just met for the first time …
    _MG_7672.tiff
  • ~ the most distinctive feature of the humpback is their bright white pectoral fin … its skeletal structure is identical to that of a human arm, including a hand with fingers, or phalanges …<br />
 <br />
~ the coronula barnacles seen here are the largest barnacles known - and have never been found on any other surface except the humpback whale …
    _MG_9692.tiff