Tag: nature photography

A photographer in California’s Monterey Bay last Saturday encountered two humpback whales that circled and “danced” around his boat for 30 minutes.

“Definitely a day I will never forget!” Slater Moore Photography wrote on Instagram.

But the epic shot – showing Moore dwarfed by the towering fluke of one of the whales – was snapped by the captain of a nearby vessel.

Capt. Tim Zoliniak of Sea Goddess Whale Watching captured the extraordinary image atop this post and another showing Moore and a partial fluke as the whale dipped beneath the surface.

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“We had about 100 people on board and they were pretty vocal and excited,” Zoliniak told FTW Outdoors. “After the whales were done with Slater they spent a few minutes with us.”

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A post shared by Slater Moore (@slatermoorephotography)

Moore said his engine was not running throughout the encounter – in accordance with NOAA Fisheries guidelines – and Zoliniak said he tried to maintain a 100-yard distance (never easy with friendly whales).

Humpback whales are actively feeding on anchovies in Monterey Bay and their lunge-feeding behaviors can be spectacular.

But Moore told FTW Outdoors that the two whales that mugged for him were simply curious and playful. “They circled my boat for about a half-hour,” he said. “They kept going under my boat then to the back and front and just dancing around.”

He was shooting in video mode and shared his footage via Instagram (posted below).

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A post shared by Slater Moore (@slatermoorephotography)

“I was on my way in from a ‘slower’ day of whale watching, lots of whales just not a lot of active behavior and then everything changed,” he wrote. “This whale’s fluke was towering over me!”

Moore said his wide-angle lens “did not do [the encounter] justice.” But he’s undoubtedly thankful that Zoliniak was positioned to help immortalize the moment.