Diving

Title: Diving

Location:  Sydney, Australia

This whale had taken three breaths at the surface and had fluked-up as it curved its back to dive deeper. Swimming whales will often surface three times in quick succession to breathe and then swim under the water for a few minutes (anything from 2 to 20) before coming up to breathe again. As a photographer, I’m always looking for the whale to raise its tail fluke on that third dive.

You can also see the dorsal fin just entering the water. The distance from the dorsal fin to the end of the tail is approximately one-third of the length of the animal, so two-thirds are already under-water.

You can also see a group of barnacles attached to the edge of the tail fluke. This is very common and almost every whale I’ve seen has barnacles on its body somewhere.

Please refer to the “Sizing Guide” page for more information.