Whale’s Morning

Story

The stillness of the pre-dawn bay provided all the serenity anyone could ever ask. Slowly, so gradually it was barely noticeable, night gave way to the cloudy morning. The sun, trapped behind the thick clouds, nonetheless managed to bath the mountains and still waters with beautiful, golden light.

The morning’s silence was enveloping, save for the whale song accompanied by the gentle swoosh of whales heading below the surface. It certainly was a whale’s morning.

I witnessed this morning aboard a sailboat anchored in Alaska’s Inner Passage. The whales that surrounded me, some near, most far, provided an outstanding aural accompaniment to a photogenic morning. The whale calls echoed over miles of water and reflected from the far mountains.

The sudden crash as the whales jumped free of their watery home, then the ensuing Ker-splash as they reentered it provided a counterpoint to the otherworldly solitude. The whales slipped effortlessly toward the deep waters, their tails dangling momentarily, and then the seas were still again.

This vignette has played out every morning for all of eternity. And, every morning provides a fresh glimpse of the Alaskan wilderness. Whale’s Morning might be one moment in time, but it gathers all of them into one photograph.

A different view from Whale’s Morning

Of course, sometimes all we want to see is a close up of a humpback whale’s tail, and Headed Down gives us just that. Their tails seem to hang in the air as if deciding what to do before they slide below the surface.