Sometimes (well, extremely rarely) it just all comes together for a wildlife photographer. I'm so glad this time it did.

I'd been in northern Iceland for a few days attempting to get this shot (or well, close to it): breaching whale, mountain backdrop, and some dramatic skies. Nothing followed nothing, followed by more nothing… with a little sprinkling of nothing. Our final attempt was nearly cancelled due to gusts - we were using a zodiac - and the incoming storm, blowing directly south from the North Pole (clearly pictured coming in!). It was so, so cold.
Once we eventually made it out, the swells got bigger and whitecaps filled our field of view, making it almost impossible to spot any typical signs of whales (tail flukes, spouts). Luckily for us, this guy had other ideas. We saw him breaching countless times in the distance and shot over. He continued to breach for the next 20 minutes, putting on the best marine wildlife display I’ve ever been lucky enough to witness.
If you’re still reading, I urge you to learn more about the Marine Conservation Society [MCS]. They do some amazing work in the UK and beyond. Our marine ecosystems are so delicate and we’re absolutely ravaging them. If our current direction continues, scenes like this will disappear for good.

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