ENTRY DESCRIPTION
This is the face that launched a thousand ships. Not out of admiration or virtue, but of exploitation.

The iconic shape of this leviathan is synonymous with New England. These are the figures that inspired Melville’s Moby Dick and led to the development of whaling communities along the coast. The sperm whale population was decimated in the 19th and 20th centuries, with numbers dropping from over a million to a third of that today. Whalers harpooned the animals for the oily substance—spermaceti—found in their heads.

When you join the whales in the water, the man-versus-beast narrative is quickly quashed. The giants welcome you into their domain—pupils tracking you as they swim past, turning upside-down to pulse you with their clicks to make sense of you, socializing with one another. For all our sins of the past, we are met with curiosity, not animosity.

You can be presented with the right conditions and unique behaviors that allow for an impactful image. But to feel these animals comfortable in your presence, vulnerable enough to sleep or play with you next to them—this, to me, is the greatest gift of all.

AUTHOR
Eric's interest in photography began when his parents gave him an old film camera to use for his course in high school. While the class initially served as an escape from his rigorous biology and chemistry courses, it would eventually become the catalyst for each of his interests and passions melding into one. The film process revealed the "magic" of how science and technology could immortalize a scene in front of him. With this, his creative side would soon be unlocked.

Eric earned a Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Wake Forest University. He enjoyed his courses in physiology, molecular biology, and genetics, but it was ecology that grabbed his attention. The idea that life, across species and geographies, is intertwined resonated with him long after his classes concluded.

This concept has driven much of Eric's travel and work to date. He seeks to explore new cultures, new areas of the world, and unique wildlife with the hope that his images can deliver that same empowering idea to others that he felt in his studies — that we can all share some connection and hold interest in other people and living things, even when the link might not be apparent.

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