Maui Keiki

"Maui Keiki" is one of our most popular images and has moved into our "Iconic Image" status because of the extreme limited quantity left in the edition. 2015 International Photography Awards: First Place Winner, Professional Underwater Division. We had been trying to get this shot for several years. We thought that an over/under with a whale in the foreground and the mountains in the background would bring some color and uniqueness to a whale image. When we found this mom and baby sitting in a "resting cycle," we realized that we had an opportunity to give our over/under a try.  During a rest cycle, the mother humpback sits still for about 20 minutes and her calf, who can't hold it's breath as long, sits for as long as it can but then has to surface alone for a fresh breath. Typically a baby will surface 2 or 3 times per every 1 breath of moms'. During one of these rest cycles, the baby got real comfortable with John and started mimicking his movements…John would twirl, flip, or dive and so would the whale. After 2 breaths the baby was getting very playful and John was able to get his camera lens half in and half out of the water to compose the whale and the mountains in this one shot. We love the way the wave dipped and kind of lined up with the whale…amazing! This photo was taken under NMFS Permit #10018 & 895-1450 during research activities pursuant to this permit. Pacific Humpback Whale - Au'Au Channel, Maui A portion donated to help whale research - Limited edition - Free Shipping US & Canada - Dye-infused aluminum print - Archival Quality (100+yrs) - Waterproof & scratch resistant - Hand signed & numbered