Photographer Catches Whale Breaching Behind Group of Surfers
A photographer captured a magnificent photo of a humpback whale breaching behind a group of surfers in Australia.
Chloe Sirach tells PetaPixel that she is relatively new to photography and was out shooting one of her favorite subjects, surfing, when she noticed a pod of whales beyond them.
“As whale breaches are unpredictable, I set up my camera and began clicking away at the shutter in hopes of catching a breach. Fortunately, I did!” Says Sirach.
“I was ecstatic. I instantly looked back through the images and my jaw dropped as I couldn’t believe that I had just gotten the shot.”
The magical photo was taken in Lennox Head, New South Whales, on the east coast of Australia and Sirach says the photo sums up what that part of the world is all about.
“There is just something about it that brings out an emotional response,” she adds. “It really encapsulates the beauty of where I live and grew up.”
The light was fading when Sirach took the photo and she had to rely on the performance of her Fujifilm X-T4 with an XF 100-400mm telephoto lens attached.
“I enhanced the colours of the image to bring out the sunset as well as upping the exposure as the daylight was quickly diminishing,” she explains.
Since shooting the image on June 25, the photo has blown up.
“I have family and friends tell me that they are seeing the image everywhere. I get messages daily asking to buy a print of the image and kind words of support,” she says.
“I can’t even tell you the amount of times it has been reshared and reposted across numerous social media outlets. I’m not sure it’s my best photo but it’s certainly my favourite.”
It is an early success for Sirach who only got into photography last August when she purchased her first camera before a holiday to Bali.
“I have a love for shooting natural landscapes and human interactions with the natural world such as surfing,” she adds.
More of Sirach’s work can be found on her Instagram.
Image credits: Photographs by Chloe Sirach
