Whale and Cetacean Photography

Type: Photography and videography technique
Significance: One of the most demanding and rewarding specializations in underwater imaging, requiring open-water snorkeling skills, behavioral knowledge, and adherence to permit systems

Overview

Photographing whales, dolphins, and other cetaceans underwater represents a distinct discipline within underwater imaging. Unlike reef or wreck photography, cetacean encounters typically occur via snorkeling rather than scuba diving — bubbles from regulators can frighten whales. Howard Hall noted from his experience on the Silver Bank that “the use of SCUBA has a very negative impact because the bubble noise frightens the animals” (^[1]). Encounters take place in open, often deep water far from shore, with the animals in complete control of the interaction.

The discipline demands a fundamentally different skill set from scuba-based underwater photography. As Tony Wu explained in his 2010 Wildlife Photographer of the Year interview: “Anyone who’s been in the water with large cetaceans knows that it’s impossible for a human to initiate interaction. The whales initiate, execute and terminate any interaction” (^[2]). Wu also emphasized the physical demands: “Swimming in open water is totally unlike scuba diving, so just because someone is a diver does not automatically mean that they can swim. In fact, in my experience, most divers are, let’s say, suboptimal swimmers” (^[3]).

Approach Techniques

Reading Whale Behavior

Successful cetacean photography depends on reading animal behavior from the surface before entering the water. Tony Wu’s extensive Tonga field reports — a six-part weekly blog series published on Wetpixel during his 2008 season — demonstrate the importance of identifying behavioral states: heat runs (male mating competition) are generally too fast and dangerous for in-water encounters; mothers with resting calves may tolerate patient snorkelers; and mated pairs exhibiting courtship behavior can provide extended, calm interactions (^[4]).

Wu documented how whale spouts reveal information at a distance. Humpback blows are high and misty, while sperm whale blows are quite different: Eric Cheng described being “startled by how gurgly a sperm whale’s breath is. It shoots out in a water-filled spray at a 45-degree angle” (^[5]). Blow size also matters — a small blow alongside a large one signals a mother-calf pair, as Wu deduced while tracking whales in Vava’u (^[6]).

Environmental factors also play a role. Wu observed a correlation between approaching bad weather and whale departures from nearshore areas. One of his boat captains developed headaches before storms, and the whales consistently moved offshore before bad weather arrived. In one instance the previous year, his collaborator Takaji Ochi saw a mother and calf “lifted their heads out of the water, then did a U-turn and swam away from the storm.” Wu noted: “I’ve heard from Tongan friends for many years that the whales dislike bad weather. Though I can’t think of a rational explanation for this, there does seem to be a correlation” (^[7]).

Wu also observed apparent lunar correlations: heat runs, mating, and social activity seemed to peak in the days leading up to the full moon, followed by a period he termed “yo-yo mode” — whales settling into single or paired rest patterns, repeatedly diving and surfacing with minimal interaction. He hypothesized that mating and births occurred around the full moon, followed by recovery periods (^[8]).

Water Entry and Positioning

The standard approach involves boat-based spotting followed by careful water entry ahead of or alongside the animal’s path. The Wetpixel Sperm Whale Expedition in Ogasawara used the “drop” technique: the boat would position near surfacing whales, and the photographers would “slip carefully into the water” — then swim toward the whales while being prepared for the animals to dive or approach (^[9]).

For humpback whale encounters in Tonga, Vanessa Mignon described the regulated approach: “Spending several days on the water looking for whales usually maximises chances of observing various behaviours and encountering receptive whales. Patience and a slow approach usually lead to relaxed and close encounters” (^[10]).

Pete Atkinson provided a vivid account of the typical Tonga encounter: “‘Go! Go! Go!’ shouts Captain Meki, gesticulating in the direction we should swim.” He described emerging from the bubble trail of the outboards into stunningly clear water, with the guide swimming ahead while getting directional updates from the boat skipper. Brief encounters — a flash of white belly, the edges of five-meter pectoral fins, then gone — were “the usual fare.” The magic came when whales offered “a beguiling interaction, approaching people in the water with relaxed curiosity” (^[11]).

David Salvatori’s experience with sperm whales in Dominica illustrates the difficulty: “Although we had a lot of sightings every day, typically the whales are very skittish and difficult to approach. However on three occasions during the week that we were there, we met a curious and friendly group” (^[12]).

Howard Hall offered a critical insight about positioning: inserting yourself directly in a whale’s path “seldom results in a useful shot anyway.” Instead, the best encounters come when “the animals became interested in me, or my boat, and diverted their course for an inspection — sometimes hanging around for hours” (^[13]).

Don Silcock described the more dramatic heat run approach in Tonga: positioned about 100 meters in front of the whales, “they appear out of the blue looking like a small armada of submarines, coming right towards you with the female in the lead and the males in a pack behind. The males are jostling and maneuvering for position with some trying direct charges at their rivals” (^[14]). Heat runs with up to 14 males chasing a single female had been observed, representing over 500 tons of mammals moving at speeds reaching 15 mph (^[15]).

The Role of Hydrophones

Boat operators use hydrophones to locate cetaceans acoustically. During the Ogasawara expedition, the crew of the Dancing Whale regularly stopped to listen via hydrophone for sperm whale echolocation clicks — “the popping, crackling, and wheezing cannot be missed” (^[16]). The absence of acoustic activity, combined with lack of surface blows, confirmed when whales had left an area (^[17]).

Behavioral Photography

Humpback Whale Behaviors

Tony Wu’s multi-year documentation in Tonga cataloged a rich vocabulary of humpback behaviors:

• Heat runs: Male competition for mating rights, typically involving a single female pursued by multiple males. Wu described how “the seas can literally boil over with backwash, bubbles and froth as the 40 to 50-tonne giants battle beneath the surface, moving at high speed” — generally too fast and dangerous for in-water encounters (^[18]). A heat run female signals readiness to mate “by repeatedly slapping her huge pectoral fins on the surface of the water” (^[19]). Males employ tactics including “direct charges at their rivals” and “diving down and blowing a bubble curtain up in to the path of a male to try and disorientate him” (^[20])
• Resting heat runs: Occasionally, competing males pause in shallow water. In his final 2008 encounter, Wu joined an eight-whale heat run at rest in relatively shallow water, swimming among them for an extended period as “the competitive males circled the female and surfaced from time to time for air” (^[21])
• Mother-calf interactions: The most reliable encounters for photography. Resting mothers with calves will often tolerate quiet snorkelers. Calves are “very playful, breaching and rolling in the water, often at close range” (^[22]). Wu gave individual calves names based on distinctive markings — Scratches (for markings on its mother’s fluke), Blade (for its sharp, white-edged dorsal fin), Lightning McQueen (for a bolt-like scar), and others (^[23])
• Courtship: Mated pairs perform “graceful dances… underwater” as part of courtship ritual. Wu had an encounter where a mated pair “immediately swam toward us to check us out… swimming under us, around us, between us… playing all the while, doing twists and twirls while watching us. All we had to do was float and wait” (^[24]). This continued for at least an hour until the snorkelers chose to exit
• Face flops: A behavior Wu observed exclusively in females with calves, where the whale “shoots up like an ICBM, then flops forward and lands on its face.” He noted he had never seen males perform this behavior, a pattern independently confirmed by his boat captain (^[25])
• Singing: Male humpbacks produce complex songs. Wu noted that finding singers requires specific knowledge: “I’m pretty good at spotting and finding singers (not all that easy).” The absence of singers during the first week of his 2008 season suggested that all breeding-age males were out at sea participating in heat runs (^[26])
• Bubble-net feeding: A 2011 NOAA study confirmed that humpback whales in the Gulf of Maine use bubble nets to corral prey, working in teams of at least two individuals (^[27])
• Barrel rolls: During his third week, Wu observed “full-body barrel rolls at the surface followed by lying belly up for extended periods of time accompanied by tail swishing, almost as if playing and putting on a show for each other and us” — behavior he had not commonly seen before (^[28])
• Fighting: Karim Iliya photographed two large humpback whales fighting for mating rights of a female in Vava’u in August 2014, capturing close-up images of the underwater battle (^[29]). Marty Snyderman also captured male humpback competition during mating season in Hawaii, photographing “a pair of male humpback whales slam into each other while competing for dominance” (^[30])

Scott Portelli discussed shooting a humpback heat run in Tonga, being in the water with 15 adult humpback whales as they came barreling toward him — underwater and aerial footage documented the experience (^[31]).

Sperm Whale Encounters

Sperm whale photography presents unique challenges. These animals dive to extreme depths and surface unpredictably. Eric Cheng described his first close encounter in Ogasawara: “She approached head-on, looking like an unidentifiable, floating lump, turned, and stared. Then, she suddenly flipped upside-down and splashed around for a bit before swimming off, her powerful fluke pumping up and down slowly.” The entire approach and departure lasted just 30 seconds (^[32]).

Sperm whales frequently roll to expose their belly and jaw when examining a swimmer, presumably to get a better look. Cheng observed this pattern repeatedly in Ogasawara, noting that “all of the Ogasawaran sperm whales” did this (^[33]). His encounter with a rare 15-meter male was particularly dramatic: “As he swam closer, his huge form nearly blotted out the sun, and I thought, ‘Now, THIS is a whale’ — the spermiceti bulges in his head made him look like a proper sperm whale, like the ones I saw in cartoons and illustrations as a kid” (^[34]).

Tony Wu’s award-winning image of four sperm whales captured a rare moment: “I swam down to meet the whales, but actually, they swam up to meet me. Time stopped as the five of us hung in the water, looking at one another, the whales considering me as much as I them.” That image won the 2010 Veolia Wildlife Photographer of the Year Underwater World category (^[35]). Wu was especially pleased that a sperm whale image was selected, noting that sperm whales “aren’t as well known as some of their cetacean cousins” and that people often have “a somewhat negative view of them, a legacy of the malevolent white whale in Moby Dick” (^[36]).

Social groups (multiple sperm whales gathering together) are rare. During the Ogasawara expedition, the team witnessed a six-whale social group forming, including a mother and calf. Douglas Seifert noted he had only witnessed four social groups in six years of working with sperm whales in the Azores (^[37]). During that same encounter, the group observed a female swimming with a balled-up giant squid in her mouth — described as “extremely rare to see, and even rarer to see in a photo” (^[38]).

In 2016, Wu described encountering a large breeding aggregation: “Hundreds of sperm whales swam to and fro, their huge bodies elegantly twirling and twisting through the water as they socialized. Bumping, jostling, and rubbing themselves against one another, they were exuberantly tactile, their behavior appeared almost euphoric.” He noted that the reasons for these large gatherings remain unknown and that despite whaling no longer being a primary threat, ship strikes and plastic ingestion still endanger the species (^[39]).

Kurt Amsler filmed what he described as the “greatest experience I ever had, in 45 years of underwater photography” — the actual birth of a sperm whale in the Azores, assisted by several midwives. He operated under special permit from the Azores Government (^[40]).

Keri Wilk gained viral fame in 2015 when his images of a sperm whale defecating in Dominica spawned the term “poonado” across global media. He described being engulfed: “the water was like chocolate milk, I couldn’t see my hand when I held it in front of my face. I had poop in my eyes, mouth, wetsuit, everywhere” (^[41]).

Interspecies Conflict

In April 2013, Shawn Heinrichs captured one of the rarest cetacean events ever documented — a battle between orcas and sperm whales off Sri Lanka. The encounter was one of fewer than a dozen such recorded conflicts worldwide, and the first observed in the Indian Ocean. Heinrichs jumped into the water during the encounter: “There was a frothing, dark pile of shapes ahead of me. When I drifted away from the boat, the largest orca in the pod made a beeline for me but veered off at the last moment and dove deep.” The battle lasted 30 minutes, with orcas “repeatedly slamming into the half-dozen sperm whales, bashing and nipping at them.” The images were featured in Wired magazine (^[42]).

Orca Photography

Tony Wu expanded his cetacean work beyond tropical waters, traveling to Norway to photograph orcas in 2016. In a video produced by Norway’s Dagens Naeringsliv TV, he described the experience of being in the water with killer whales: “You can see that animal asking itself what are you, what are you doing, why can’t you swim well?” (^[43]).

Norbert Wu shared favorite images of orcas in Antarctica as part of his 2015 series on Wetpixel (^[44]).

Dolphin Photography

Dolphin encounters typically involve faster-moving subjects. During the Ogasawara expedition, the team swam with Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins that “simply swam through our small group of snorkelers, allowing us to get within mere feet of them.” However, pantropical spotted dolphins proved impossible to photograph underwater — “these dolphins are FAST, and they want nothing to do with snorkelers” (^[45], ^[46]).

Brian Skerry’s 2015 National Geographic dolphin feature covered five species across nine locations worldwide, documenting behaviors including game play, feeding strategies, and social structures. The article series examined dolphin cognition and intelligence (^[47]). In a subsequent interview, Skerry discussed his approach to photographing dolphins and the challenges of working with such fast-moving, intelligent subjects (^[48]).

Pilot Whales

In the Canary Islands, Rafa Herrero filmed remarkable footage of a male pilot whale carrying a dead newborn calf — behavior previously only documented in females. Scientist Vidal Martin, who had worked with the local whale population for 25 years, confirmed this was the first documentation of this behavior in a male. Tenerife requires special permits for snorkeling with whales, in place since 1996 (^[49]). Herrero continued his pilot whale documentation, posting further footage in 2012 (^[50]).

Equipment and Technique

Camera Setup

For cetacean photography, the consensus is clear: use wide-angle lenses without strobes. Eric Cheng’s expedition guidelines stated: “For photography, use wide-angle lenses (whales are big) and don’t bring any strobes. The lighter your camera is, the easier you’ll find it to swim” (^[51]). He found his Tokina 17mm lens on full frame was sometimes not wide enough for very close sperm whale encounters (^[52]).

Amanda Cotton, an expedition leader for BigAnimals Expeditions, recommended shutter priority mode for fast-moving marine animals: “When I am shooting in an environment where there are significant quick changes in lighting scenarios, such as when you’re shooting sailfish or other fast moving groups of marine animals. In this situation exposure can change quickly and dramatically as you follow the marine life up and down in the water column” (^[53]).

Julian Cohen noted that for fast-moving animals like dolphins, he would use “Shutter priority if I am trying to shoot fast moving animals without a strobe” with exposure compensation adjustments (^[54]).

Masa Ushioda demonstrated that even modest equipment could produce excellent whale imagery — his humpback spread in Nature’s Best Magazine was shot entirely with a Canon D60 in a Sea & Sea housing, including a remarkable single-frame two-page spread with two whales (^[55]).

Life-Size Whale Photography

Bryant Austin pioneered a unique approach: producing life-size photographs of whales, up to twelve feet high by ninety feet long. Working over multiple field seasons with South Pacific humpback whales, Austin shot from just two meters away, describing his technique as requiring “the same level of commitment and dedication as marine mammal field biologists.” His exhibition “Whales in Public Spaces” toured galleries beginning in 2007, and he planned to expand the project to endangered blue, fin, and humpback whales using a Hasselblad H3D 39-megapixel camera (^[56]).

Darren Jew captured what he called a world record image in Tonga: nine humpback whales in a single frame. He told Guinness that “he waited over two decades for all of the elements to come together perfectly,” noting the difficulty of “weather, water clarity, wind and wild animals, each freely swimming at over 10 knots” (^[57]).

Video

Howard Hall’s sperm whale footage from Dominica, shot with a RED camera in a Gates housing, demonstrated the advantage of large rigs for surface encounters: “A large rig is inherently more stable; those of us who have taken underwater video using a housed dSLR know that it is almost impossible to get stable footage on the surface” (^[58]). Hall and Michele Hall continued their cetacean videography, producing an hour-long “Wild Windows” film featuring humpbacks, sperm whales, and blue whales (^[59]), and a short film of humpback encounters in French Polynesia shot in 8K resolution with a RED Helium camera (^[60]).

The 2013 IMAX 3D film “Sea of Love” used RED cameras in 3Deep housings to film humpbacks in Tonga. Cameraman John Shaw made a connection with a female humpback and her calf, returning to the pair multiple times. During one session, a calf breached and landed one meter in front of his camera (^[61]).

Mary Lynn Price produced “Humpback Whales of Tonga” for DiveFilm Podcast Video in 2006, featuring footage by herself, Chuck Nicklin, Roger Norman, and Steve Perez (^[62]).

GoPro cameras also found a role in cetacean photography. The company’s HERO3 promotional video featured free divers with mono fins and humpback whales filmed in Tonga (^[63]).

Snorkeling Equipment

The Wetpixel expedition guidelines recommended: a 3mm wetsuit (encounters are typically short, and thicker suits add drag); a snorkel without flexible sections (flexible bits create drag while swimming); and full-foot fins rather than boot-style scuba fins for rapid donning and removal (^[64]).

Key Locations

Tonga (Humpback Whales)

The Kingdom of Tonga, particularly the Vava’u island group, is one of the world’s premier destinations for in-water humpback whale encounters. Humpbacks migrate there between July and October to mate, give birth, and nurse young (^[65]). The gestation period of humpback whales is 11.5 months, and pregnant females migrate over 6,000 km from Antarctic feeding grounds to give birth in Tonga’s warm, sheltered waters (^[66]). Under Tonga’s regulations, only four snorkelers plus a guide are permitted in the water at any time with the whales (^[67]). The sheltered bays on the northwestern side of the Vava’u group, protected from prevailing southeastern winds, provide gathering areas for mothers and calves (^[68]).

Tony Wu spent six or more weeks each season in Tonga over multiple years, conducting a citizen-science calf identification study. By the end of his 2008 season, he and collaborator Takaji Ochi had identified 16 calves (^[69]). In 2009, Wu’s team identified 26 calves (compared with 14 formally cataloged the previous year), plus 25 additional sightings where positive identification was not possible (^[70]). By 2010, the count was 24 identified individuals, with “interesting patterns emerging from the data” when compared year over year (^[71]).

Getting to Tonga could be an adventure in itself. Pete Atkinson described the journey from Sydney involving a 2am arrival at Tongatapu airport, a canceled domestic flight, and being stranded for two nights — calling the capital Nuku’alofa “lamentably grotty” after the 2006 pro-democracy riots. He noted that by law, all commercial activity is prohibited on Sundays, and the domestic airline Real Tonga was “the 12th domestic airline to operate” while “maintaining the tradition of unreliability” (^[72]).

Liveaboard vessels such as NAI’A have operated whale seasons in Tonga for years. In 2005, Stan Waterman hosted a humpback expedition aboard NAI’A with Gates Underwater Products providing HD video equipment (^[73]). NAI’A’s regular guests included Howard Hall, Paul Humann, and Stephen Frink (^[74]).

Mignon noted that the Tongan humpback population “has not recovered as well as some of the other humpback populations worldwide” following historical whaling (^[75]).

In January 2022, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption and subsequent tsunami devastated parts of Tonga. Wetpixel’s community rallied in response (^[76]).

Dominica (Sperm Whales)

The waters off Dominica’s west coast in the Eastern Caribbean are described as offering “some of the best encounters with sperm whales on the planet.” Encounters there are strictly regulated under a permit system (^[77]). Amanda Cotton led expeditions there for BigAnimals Expeditions, describing encounters with “mothers with nursing calves, solo calves waiting for adults to return from the depths, socializing groups, and transient males” (^[78]).

Howard Hall filmed sperm whales in Dominica with a RED camera in a Gates housing, producing footage with Douglas Seifert and Andrew Armour (^[79]). A Dominica-based scientist emphasized the strict permit requirements: “All in water encounters around Dominica are strictly under permit. Application does not guarantee issuance” (^[80]).

David Salvatori joined an expedition organized by Swiss photographer Franco Banfi in January 2014 (^[81]). Keri Wilk also led sperm whale trips to Dominica, including the expedition that produced his viral “poonado” images (^[82]).

Ogasawara Islands, Japan (Sperm Whales)

The Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands, approximately 1,000 km south of Tokyo, served as the location for the 2009 Wetpixel Sperm Whale Expedition, co-led by Tony Wu and Eric Cheng. The isolated islands — often called “Japan’s Galapagos” — are accessible only by a weekly 24-hour ferry from Tokyo, which helps keep them relatively undisturbed. The islands have never been connected to a continent, producing unique endemic flora and fauna (^[83], ^[84]).

The expedition used a 42-foot custom-built vessel with “one of the most experienced cetacean-encounter captains in the islands.” The team operated on permits that allowed them to enter the water with sperm whales — without permits, only whale watching from boats is allowed (^[85]). Peak sperm whale season unfortunately coincides with typhoon season, and the 2009 expedition endured two typhoons in four days (^[86]).

The expedition participants — Eric Cheng, Tony Wu, Douglas Seifert, Julia Sumerling, Emily Irving, and Emiko Miyazaki — encountered females, mother-calf pairs, social groups, a rare large male, and multiple dolphin species (^[87]). Don Silcock later visited and wrote a detailed guide to the islands for Wetpixel, noting they are visited annually by northern humpback whales and have a resident population of sperm whales (^[88]).

Azores (Sperm Whales)

The Azores have long been a destination for sperm whale photography. Douglas Seifert spent six years working with sperm whales there before joining the Ogasawara expedition (^[89]). Kurt Amsler filmed a sperm whale birth in the Azores under special government permit (^[90]).

Silver Bank, Dominican Republic (Humpback Whales)

The Silver Bank, a submerged bank north of the Dominican Republic, is a protected winter breeding ground for Atlantic humpback whales. Howard Hall described encounters there and noted the established protocols for in-water observation. The Dominican Republic has “for many years, protected its whales and encouraged responsible encounters in Silver Bank, Samana Bay, and other protected harbors” (^[91]).

Isla Mujeres, Mexico (Whale Sharks)

Although whale sharks are not cetaceans, Wetpixel organized annual whale shark expeditions to Isla Mujeres, Mexico from 2011 through at least 2019, led by Adam Hanlon (^[92]). The whale sharks aggregate there to feed on bonito eggs. The 2017 trip documented over 100 sharks in dense groupings, with the animals performing “botella” (bottle) vertical feeding — stopping to gulp plankton-rich water rather than their usual ram-feeding technique (^[93]). By 2017, a permit system required each captain and crew member to attend a course on correct interactions, with a maximum of two people plus a guide in the water at a time (^[94]). The first Wetpixel whale shark trip in 2011 reported the gathering of whale sharks near Isla Mujeres as a relatively recently discovered phenomenon (^[95]).

Alaska (Humpback Whales)

The 2011 Wetpixel Alaska Expedition aboard the Nautilus Swell encountered humpback whales demonstrating “pectoral slaps, tail splashes, spy-hops, breaches, and even playful interactions with sea lions” (^[96]). While the Alaska encounters were primarily topside rather than in-water, they provided dramatic surface photography opportunities.

Sri Lanka (Blue Whales and Sperm Whales)

Sri Lanka emerged as a location for blue whale and sperm whale encounters. Shawn Heinrichs was looking for blue whales off the southern coast of Sri Lanka when his team stumbled upon the extraordinary orca-vs-sperm whale battle in April 2013 (^[97]). Sri Lankan blue whales were reported as threatened by increasing boat traffic (^[98]).

Canary Islands (Pilot Whales)

Tenerife in the Canary Islands offers pilot whale encounters, though special permits have been required since 1996 (^[99]).

Norway (Orcas)

Norway emerged as a destination for in-water orca photography. Tony Wu traveled there in 2016 to photograph killer whales, describing the experience for Norwegian television (^[100]). Cristian Dimitrius also produced orca footage from Norway (^[101]).

French Polynesia (Humpback Whales)

Howard and Michele Hall filmed humpback whales in French Polynesia, shooting in 8K with a RED Helium camera (^[102]).

Hawaii (Humpback Whales)

Hawaii has long been a destination for humpback whale photography. Masa Ushioda built one of the best stock libraries of pelagic animals from his Hawaii-based work (^[103]). In 2016, the US government proposed a ban on swimming with wild Hawaiian spinner dolphins to prevent disturbance (^[104]).

Notable Practitioners

• Tony Wu: The leading whale photographer in the Wetpixel community. Spent decades documenting humpback whale behavior in Tonga and sperm whales in Japan, Dominica, and other locations. Won the 2010 Veolia Wildlife Photographer of the Year Underwater World category with a sperm whale image from Dominica. Co-led the Wetpixel Sperm Whale Expedition. Published the book Silent Symphony with William Tan (^[105]). Described his lifestyle as spending “between nine and 11 months a year” on the road (^[106]). Expanded his work to include orcas in Norway (^[107])
• Howard Hall: Filmed sperm whales in Dominica with RED cameras, and documented humpbacks and other cetaceans for IMAX films and his “Wild Windows” series. Provided a critical essay on the ethics and impact of scientific tagging on whale photography. Shot humpback footage in French Polynesia in 8K (^[108], ^[109])
• Doug Perrine: Hawaii-based wildlife photographer whose work included cetacean imagery, and who was recognized as one of the most accomplished underwater photographers of his generation (^[110])
• Amos Nachoum: Founder of BigAnimals.com, specializing in close-contact encounters with marine megafauna including sperm whales and humpback whales (^[111])
• Eric Cheng: Co-organized and co-led the 2009 Wetpixel Sperm Whale Expedition to Ogasawara, producing detailed field reports (^[112])
• Douglas Seifert: Spent six years with sperm whales in the Azores; participated in the Ogasawara and Dominica expeditions. His portfolio was featured in Wetpixel Quarterly issue 7 (^[113])
• Amanda Cotton: Led BigAnimals Expeditions to Dominica for sperm whale encounters (^[114])
• Kurt Amsler: Swiss underwater photographer who filmed a sperm whale birth in the Azores (^[115])
• Shawn Heinrichs: Documented the orca-vs-sperm whale encounter off Sri Lanka; also covered whale shark conservation issues in the Philippines (^[116])
• Vanessa Mignon: Guide and photographer who led humpback tours in Tonga for multiple years (^[117])
• Brian Skerry: National Geographic photographer who produced major dolphin features covering five species across nine locations (^[118])
• Don Silcock: Wrote detailed guides to both Tonga humpback encounters and the Ogasawara Islands for Wetpixel (^[119], ^[120])
• Pete Atkinson: Wrote an extensive and colorful account of humpback photography in Tonga for Wetpixel (^[121])
• Masa Ushioda: Hawaii-based photographer with an outstanding humpback whale stock library, shot with a Canon D60 (^[122])
• Bryant Austin: Pioneered life-size whale photography, creating prints up to 90 feet long from two-meter distances (^[123])
• Keri Wilk: Produced viral “poonado” sperm whale images in Dominica; led sperm whale trips there (^[124])
• Rafa Herrero: Documented rare pilot whale behavior in the Canary Islands (^[125])

Citizen Science and Identification

Tony Wu pioneered a citizen-science approach to humpback whale calf identification in Tonga. Using distinctive markings on fluke undersides — “similar to our fingerprints and no two are the same” (^[126]) — Wu and collaborator Takaji Ochi systematically photographed and cataloged calves across multiple seasons. The project grew from 16 identified calves in 2008 (^[127]) to 26 in 2009 (^[128]) and 24 in 2010 (^[129]), with patterns emerging when compared year over year.

Wu gave each calf a distinctive name based on identifying features — Scratches (for markings on the mother’s fluke), Blade (for a sharp dorsal fin), Buzz (because collaborator Takaji liked Buzz Lightyear), Onbu-chan (Japanese for “piggy-back,” because the calf rode on its mother’s back), and Lightning McQueen (for a bolt-like scar). Some names referenced the mothers’ distinctive features rather than the calves themselves (^[130]).

The culmination was Wu’s 2014 identification of a female he dubbed “super mommy” — documented with seven separate calves over 15 years, drawing on crowd-sourced photos and footage from 1998 to 2014 from multiple photographers and BBC stock footage. Wu described the detective work: “Darren’s and JJ’s videos in 2014; photos taken by Kirsty Bowe and me in 2012; photos taken by Nonie Silver and Karen Stone in 2009; photos taken by me in 2008; photos taken by me in 2005; BBC stock footage taken in 2002 that Michele Hall helped me track down… How’s that for crowd-sourcing and citizen science?!” (^[131]).

Wu also contributed to the community by giving talks about whale behavior to yachting communities in Tonga and distributing school supplies — over 1,000 pencils brought by visiting friends from Japan — to local primary schools in Vava’u (^[132]).

Scientists have also used photography-related tools for whale research. A 2010 study documented researchers using Flickr to track whale movements through citizen-contributed images (^[133]). A 2013 study demonstrated the use of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to find and monitor whales, suggesting future shifts in how whale populations might be documented (^[134]). A 2011 study reported that sperm whales have unique identifiers in their calls, similar to how fluke markings distinguish individuals (^[135]). Scientists later tracked sperm whales based on their vocal dialects (^[136]).

The whale shark community embraced citizen science through the Whale Shark Encounter Database, which helped scientists track the world’s largest fish using photographs submitted by divers and snorkelers (^[137]).

Regulations and Conservation

Permit Systems

Nearly all productive cetacean photography locations require permits:

• Tonga: Four snorkelers plus a guide maximum in the water at any time; strict behavioral approach protocols (^[138]). By law, all commercial activity including whale-watching boats is prohibited on Sundays (^[139])
• Dominica: Restricted permit system; “application does not guarantee issuance” (^[140])
• Ogasawara, Japan: Special permits required for in-water encounters with sperm whales (^[141])
• Canary Islands: Special permits required since 1996; described as “quite expensive & difficult to get” (^[142])
• Isla Mujeres, Mexico: Permit system for whale shark operators, with operators required to attend courses on correct interaction; maximum two people plus a guide in the water (^[143])
• Hawaii: A proposed 2016 ban on swimming with wild Hawaiian spinner dolphins reflected growing concern about disturbance (^[144])

Tony Wu supported permit systems: “Having that system is vital. As much as I love the whales and want everyone to see how wonderful they are, it’s important to keep in mind that they are wild animals, big ones at that, and they can easily inflict damage on boats and people” (^[145]).

Whaling and Conservation

Wetpixel consistently covered whaling and cetacean conservation issues:

• Japanese whaling: The site reported extensively on the Japanese whaling industry, including Japan’s 2011 suspension of its whale hunt (^[146]), the International Court of Justice proceedings brought by Australia and New Zealand (^[147]), the ICJ ruling in favor of whales in 2014 (^[148]), Japan’s 2018 slaughter of 122 pregnant minke whales (^[149]), and Japan’s 2018 announcement to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission and resume commercial whaling from July 2019 (^[150])
• Sea Shepherd: Coverage of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s efforts to intercept the Japanese whaling fleet (^[151])
• The Cove: Eric Cheng reviewed the 2009 documentary about the annual dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan, calling it “compelling” and urging readers to see it (^[152]). Graphic footage of Taiji dolphin killings continued to appear on the site through 2013 (^[153]). In 2008, Wetpixel reported on a former dolphin hunter in Japan who started dolphin-watching tours instead (^[154])
• Whale shark conservation: The 2007 ban on whale shark trade by Taiwan (^[155]), the controversy around feeding whale sharks at Oslob, Philippines (^[156]), and the 2014 bust of the world’s largest whale shark processing factory (^[157]) were covered extensively
• Orca captivity: Wetpixel reported on the death of Tilikum, the orca subject of the “Blackfish” documentary (^[158]), SeaWorld’s announcement ending orca captive breeding (^[159]), and California’s ban on orca captivity (^[160])
• Grieving behavior: A 2016 paper described apparent grieving behavior among whales (^[161]), adding context to Rafa Herrero’s 2010 pilot whale footage
• Population recovery: Humpback whale protection showed mixed results. Over half the world population of right whales returned to Cape Cod in 2016 (^[162]), but the Tongan humpback population lagged behind other populations (^[163])

Tagging Debate

Howard Hall authored a provocative 2014 essay questioning the impact of scientific tagging on marine wildlife, drawing on decades of firsthand observations. He contrasted the restrictions placed on photographers and divers (no bubbles, no approaching whales, no causing “unnatural” energy expenditure) with the far more invasive techniques used by scientists — explosive-charge transmitter implantation on gray whales, crossbow-darting of humpbacks on the Silver Bank, fluorescent paint-marking of elephant seals, and hot-branding of sea lions.

Hall described his frustration at finding elephant seal rookeries in Northern California where “nearly every male elephant seal had been painted along with many of the smaller females” in “day-glow green fluorescent paint,” making professional wildlife filming impossible. On the Silver Bank, he watched scientists shoot humpback whales with crossbows to implant transmitters: the whales would “splash, dive, and run like crazy while the scientists would whoop and holler like cowboys on roundup.” For gray whales in San Ignacio lagoon, scientists used explosive charges to anchor transmitters, though “the whales tend to react with a fair amount of rather violent splashing around and immediate acceleration in the opposite direction” and invariably descended to the lagoon floor, turned upside down, and rubbed the transmitter off in the mud (^[164]).

Wetpixel Expeditions

Wetpixel organized multiple cetacean-focused expeditions:

• Bahamas Sharks and Dolphins: Annual trips beginning in at least 2007, combining shark and dolphin encounters (^[165], ^[166]). Continued through at least 2012 (^[167])
• Ogasawara Sperm Whale Expedition (2009): Co-led by Tony Wu and Eric Cheng, six participants over 10 days. Encountered females, mother-calf pairs, social groups, a rare large male, multiple dolphin species, and documented a sperm whale carrying squid in its mouth (^[168])
• Alaska Expeditions (2007, 2011): Encounters with humpback whales, Steller sea lions, and other marine megafauna aboard the Nautilus Swell (^[169])
• Whale Shark Expeditions (2011-2019): Annual trips to Isla Mujeres, Mexico led by Adam Hanlon. Detailed trip reports were published for most years (^[170], ^[171])
• Sardine Run Expeditions (2006-2010): Trips to South Africa organized initially by Eric Cheng, inspired by Doug Perrine’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year-winning sardine run images. The sardine run involved baitball encounters with dolphins, sharks, and whales (^[172])
• Cenotes and Whale Sharks (2010): Combined cenote diving with whale shark encounters in Mexico (^[173])

Timeline

• 2004-11: Stan Waterman announces humpback expedition aboard NAI’A in Tonga with Gates Underwater HD video equipment (^[174])
• 2005-01: Amos Nachoum presents “Big Animals” at NCUPS, covering whales, sharks, and polar wildlife photography (^[175])
• 2005-03: Eric Cheng profiles Masa Ushioda’s humpback whale work in Hawaii, shot with Canon D60 (^[176])
• 2006-11: Mary Lynn Price produces “Humpback Whales of Tonga” for DiveFilm Podcast Video (^[177])
• 2006-12: Wetpixel reviews Tony Wu and William Tan’s book Silent Symphony (^[178])
• 2007-04: Wetpixel article calls whale watching a conservation success, highlighting the Dominican Republic’s Silver Bank protections (^[179])
• 2007-05: Bryant Austin’s life-size whale photographs exhibited in Santa Cruz gallery (^[180])
• 2008-08: Tony Wu begins six-week Tonga humpback blog series on Wetpixel, documenting heat runs, courtship, calf identification, and lunar correlations (^[181])
• 2008-11: Wetpixel Sperm Whale Expedition to Ogasawara announced, co-led by Tony Wu and Eric Cheng (^[182])
• 2009-08: Eric Cheng reviews The Cove documentary about Taiji dolphin slaughter (^[183])
• 2009-10: Tony Wu’s team identifies 26 humpback calves in Tonga, up from 14 in 2008 (^[184])
• 2009-10: Wetpixel Sperm Whale Expedition reports from Ogasawara: social groups, squid-carrying female, rare large male encounters (^[185])
• 2010-08: Rafa Herrero films pilot whale carrying dead calf in Canary Islands — first documentation of this behavior in a male (^[186])
• 2010-10: Tony Wu wins Veolia Wildlife Photographer of the Year Underwater World category with sperm whale image from Dominica (^[187])
• 2011-01: Howard Hall posts RED-camera sperm whale footage from Dominica (^[188])
• 2011-01: Tony Wu releases third year of humpback calf study results from Tonga, identifying 24 calves (^[189])
• 2011-07: First Wetpixel whale shark expedition to Isla Mujeres (^[190])
• 2013-04: Shawn Heinrichs documents orca-vs-sperm whale battle off Sri Lanka, images featured in Wired (^[191])
• 2013-11: John Shaw films humpback calf breaching one meter from his IMAX 3D camera in Tonga (^[192])
• 2014-04: Amanda Cotton leads BigAnimals sperm whale expedition to Dominica (^[193])
• 2014-09: Kurt Amsler films sperm whale birth in the Azores — “greatest experience I ever had, in 45 years of underwater photography” (^[194])
• 2014-10: Tony Wu identifies “super mommy” humpback with seven calves over 15 years, using crowd-sourced photos (^[195])
• 2014-12: Darren Jew captures nine humpback whales in a single frame in Tonga (^[196])
• 2014-12: Howard Hall publishes essay on tagging ethics, drawing on whale encounters at Silver Bank, Dominica, and elsewhere (^[197])
• 2015-01: Keri Wilk’s “poonado” sperm whale images from Dominica go viral globally (^[198])
• 2015-04: Brian Skerry’s dolphin feature appears as National Geographic cover story (^[199])
• 2016-03: Tony Wu photographs orcas in Norway for Norwegian television documentary (^[200])
• 2016-05: Don Silcock publishes detailed guide to humpback whale photography in Tonga on Wetpixel (^[201])
• 2016-08: Tony Wu encounters massive sperm whale breeding aggregation — “hundreds of sperm whales” — published on bioGraphic (^[202])
• 2017-08: Wetpixel whale shark expedition to Isla Mujeres encounters 100+ sharks; new permit system limits operators (^[203])
• 2018-07: Howard and Michele Hall release hour-long “Wild Windows” whale film (^[204])
• 2018-12: Howard and Michele Hall film humpbacks in French Polynesia in 8K with RED Helium (^[205])
• 2018-12: Japan announces withdrawal from IWC and plans to resume commercial whaling (^[206])
• 2019-05: Don Silcock publishes guide to the Ogasawara Islands on Wetpixel (^[207])
• 2022-01: Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption devastates Tonga; Wetpixel community rallies (^[208])

References

Wetpixel Live