ENTRY DESCRIPTION
Every year, the South Pacific island of Tonga hosts humpback whales in large numbers drawn to the warm and placid waters to breed and raise their young. I had traveled to Vava'u this past August with the aim to capture these magnificent animals in their underwater world, Tonga being one of the few places where underwater whale photography is allowed.

One of our first encounters of the trip was with a mother and older calf on a rather stormy day. Many of the older whale calves are quite curious of humans as I found out when this calf repeatedly surfaced near me before diving down deeper to get a better look at me and my camera. I wanted to capture some of the dynamism of the scene as the whale dove down while trying and lock into the captivating eye to show connection. The scene worked excellently in monochrome given the low light of the ocean depths contrasting with the emblematic white of the humpback's front.

AUTHOR
Born in London but now living in Boston in the United States, I'm passionate about taking photographs of the world's wild places and the people, cultures and animals that reside within them. Much of my portfolio has a particular focus on the amazing continent of Africa where I have been lucky enough to study, live for a time and spend many treasured days exploring.

I am President of a private family foundation dedicated to supporting the long-term protection of at-risk wildlife and ecosystems around the world called the Preservation of At-Risk Wildlife (PAW) Foundation.

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