4th Place Wide Angle
Julian Gunther
“The White Whale“
Julian Gunther won a two night stay with Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts in Cozumel, Mexico for two!
The Story: This young whale calf was estimated to be about 2-3 months old at the time and it is not an albino, but just a white variant. Approximately 1 out of every 100 calves are born white and their pigmentation will eventually fade to black as they grow. This young calf was extremely interested in me and would often come and make close passes. Typically, calves spend 15-20 minutes at most with a photographer, but this individual spent upwards of two hours circling me and coming in for close inspections. I tried to dive down as often as possible to shoot it against the seafloor, but on this particular occasion it turned to follow me as I began heading back to the surface and hence the shot of it looking up at me. This photo and interaction was supervised by members of the Argentinian government and shot under a strict photography permit.
Location: Peninsula Valdes, Argentina
Equipment Used: Nikon D500 Camera, Nauticam NA-D500 Housing, Tokina 10-17 Fisheye Lens
Camera Settings: ISO 400, F10, 1/250
