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This month’s FREE photo download was taken by photographer Scott Portelli from Sydney, NSW.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page to download the photo.

About this photo: I have a selection of Humpback photos I love purely for the story behind each and every moment. This one of a mother, calf and escort always brings me back to the exact place and time every single time I look at it. In a calm bay on the north side of the group of islands we came across these 3 whales. They were in about 40 metres of water but the visibility was so clear you could see the sandy reef below. They would dive down to the bottom and just lull about on the bottom and then ascend for air within inches (And I mean inches) of where I was floating on the surface. The escort seemed almost infatuated with the mother and was touching her pectoral fin as they glided beneath me. This went on for 2 hours. I ran out of memory on the camera and even had time to switch to the video camera but soon ran out of film. For the rest of time I just enjoyed the interaction without the camera.
My advice is, if you ever get the opportunity to get in the water with these amazing intelligent creatures, put the camera down and take the time to just look at what is going on around you.



Photo taken Vava’u, in the Kingdom of Tonga
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Favourite Dive Site: As most of my diving is done in Sydney one of my favourite dive sites is Shelly beach at Manly. I love the diversity of what you find in cabbage tree bay. From the macro to large fish, sharks, rays etc it is always an enjoyable dive. Outside of Australia, komodo Indonesia is a mecca for divers that love the macro environment.

Favourite Photographic Subject: This one may be obvious, but Humpback whales are amazing creatures and I never get sick of photographing them.  I think they are one of the most unique of any large cetacean. Curious, energetic, charismatic, every year I have seen something different and learnt more about their behaviour. It is the most awe inspiring thing to be face to face with a 40 tonne Humpback whale and that’s why I keep going back and taking people with me to share the experience and photograph these gentle giants.

Camera Equipment Used:
Canon EOS 5D MK II
Canon 17-40mm Lens
Canon 15mm Fisheye Lens
Canon 100mm Macro Lens
Ikelite TTL2 Housing
DS 125 strobes x 2

A few simple tips for photographing Humpback Whales: Whales don’t move very fast in the water unless they have to, so generally a shutter speed of about 1/125sec to 1/180sec will be sufficient.
-Most of your shooting is done close to the surface so there is a lot of natural light so strobes are not required or in anyway effective on such a large subject
- There are a number of good wide angle lenses or converters for compact cameras that will enhance the ability to fit your subject in shot. A 10-22mm will allow you to be within 2 – 3 metres from the whale and still have the entire subject in shot.
- It is easier to fix under exposed shots then it is to fix over exposed shots. It is a good idea to set your Exposure Compensation setting a third or half a stop down(EV 1/3 - ½ ) as it is better to be slightly under exposed than over exposed.

Website: http://www.scottportelli.com and http://www.swimmingwithgentlegiants.com

View more of Scott's photos