The Sleeping Giant
Category - Drone
[BPA2021-095]

In Shetland we are fortunate to get regular seasonal visits from migrating Humpback whales as they travel between Norway and the Caribbean. The day this image was taken I had received an update of a Humpback whale nearby my home village of Aith. I am passionate about Shetlands wildlife but in particular cetaceans. As a professional drone pilot I specialize in capturing images of wildlife using drone equipment and never leave the home without at least one drone and a back up camera. On this day I was against it having realised the information was somewhat vague n where this animal was lurking. I took a friends boat (with permission) and went searching for this elusive Humpback whale. Its surprising how tricky it can be to find these 25ton animals but when I finally did locate it I realized why this particular animal was so hard to find, it was sleeping! I launched my Mavic pro drone from the boat, flew it over the massive whale dialed in my exposure as best I could (white on the pectoral fins are difficult to expose for) and took the shot. The rest is history. So as not to disturb this sleeping giant, I left soon afterwards wondering whether it dreamt and what those dreams looked like.

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