Photo Submission by Jon Cornforth on May 03, 2012 - 17:05
Jon Cornforth
About the Shot
In July 2010, I departed Juneau, Alaska and motored my 22′ C-Dory 90 miles south down Stephens Passage to Frederick Sound. The weather forecast was typically miserable, however, I was elated to experience sunny skies for 3 days. My previous attempts at photographing humpbacks breaching have not been very successful, so I assumed that my chance of capturing anything epic was miniscule. The several hundred whales on Frederick Sound typically only come to the surface for 3-4 breaths before deep diving to feed for 20 minutes. The most common photo is of their tails. In order to photograph a breach, I have to locate a playful whale that is not several miles away, which is what I did with this youngster. It repeatedly breached, slapped its pectoral fins, and tail lobbed near my small boat for over 2 hours. Incredible!

