Fast and Furious BW02
$200.00 USD
More than 20m (66ft) below the surface, this battle-scarred humpback whale bull (Megaptera novaeangliae) exhaled enormous volumes of air to communicate dominance in a competitive group heat run, i.e., lots of testosterone-laden boys and one female.
This magnificent display was truly a sight to behold. It was also an overwhelming auditory and tactile experience. The whale’s approach was heralded by low-frequency rumbling, like waves of thunder rolling through the ocean. At proximity, the roar of the massive bubble discharge resonated through my body, fading as the whale sped past.
I struggled for years to capture this moment, as the behaviour happens only in heat runs, usually at depth, and almost always at great speed. It is the definitive dominance behaviour.
Being at that place, at that time, with that whale plowing past, was truly a once-in-a-lifetime, unforgettable experience. I hope that this image lives up to the words of Henri Cartier-Bresson:
"To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event its proper expression."
See Dominance Display BW11 for another example of bubble blowing.
This is a Limited Edition Collector's Print in a series of 50. Each print is numbered and chopped with my logo. Sizes listed are the dimensions of the printed image in inches (see FAQ for equivalent sizes in centimeters). There is an additional white border around the image to allow for framing. A complete list of image and paper sizes can be found in the FAQ.
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