This year I was fortunate enough to tick off the top experience on my bucket list. Freediving with Humpback Whales.
Being the end of the season in Tonga, we knew that there wouldn't be a vast amount of whales left in the area, but like any journey, we were going to make the most of it.
Over the 4-days we had in the water, our encounters were few and far between, but luckily what few encounters we did have, were god-damn amazing.
*Note: The legal distance allowed between humans and whales is 5m. Many of these encounters featured young calves that were super playful and curious and would follow and imitate our every movement. They would also, at times, get quite close and become playfully physical. In these instances, we would make every attempt to swim back to maintain a safe distance. All encounters were under the watchful eye of our qualified whale swim guides.
Equipment
Olympus EM1 MK2
Olympus M.Zuiko 7-14mm F2.8 PRO
Olympus PT-EP14 Housing
If you are looking to edit your underwater images like I have, check out my Underwater Presets pack HERE
I hope you enjoyed the images :)
Matt