Whale Whispering

Photo Essay, Wildlife Photography, Ocean Photography, Whales, Australia

Mother and calf

Early Saturday morning I spent three hours off the coast of Newcastle, which is a couple of hours north of Sydney, whispering for whales to surface. And they did. Many whales: a mother with her new born calf, a few pods of whales and some single males.

The water was choppy with an icy wind blowing, and their time on the surface was fleeting. This made for tricky photography, but as you can see I did manage to make a few images of these magnificent creatures on their annual journey north to warmer climes.

The highlight of the trip came right near the end when a pod surfaced quite close to the boat. They were very vocal and the sounds they made were hauntingly beautiful. The air trembled with their song and it was as if there bodies were giant boomboxes, with a truly wicked bass. What a moment to savour.

:: Rand

Tail and tanker

Silhouetted tail

Ephemeral humpback whale spout

Diving deep

Cruising

Mr Daily_salt getting the shot. Did I mention it was COLD!

Flipper. Testament to how hard it was getting the shot with the boat and whale movement

Curious whale coming in close

Frolicking

Look at those scars

Barnacles

Whale pod passing by

If you'd like to delve deeper into my photography visit my website and Instagram (@randleebdutoit). Please reach out if you'd like to suggest a collaboration.

All images are copyright Rand Leeb-du Toit, 2024