Tag: whales

geographic-photography:

Gentle Observer

DECEMBER 10, 2016

A young humpback meets the lucky photographer’s gaze in the waters around Vava‘u, Tonga. Mother humpback whales and their young swim close together, even touching one another often with their flippers in apparent gestures of affection. “We had been observing this young calf … for perhaps 10 minutes when [it] decided to leave [its] mum’s side and swim over,” Your Shot photographer Michael Smith says. “I could clearly see [its] beautiful eye staring right into my soul.”

PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL SMITH, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC YOUR SHOT