The shroud of mist rising off the sea created the perfect blurred canvas for a humpback’s fluke, lifting above the surface with every barnacle sharply defined. Of all the whales I’ve photographed around the world, humpbacks are some of the most playful, curious, and fearless. Every feeding frenzy is a study in texture and scale, fins slicing through the water, flukes arching skyward, and the occasional explosive breach, mouth gaping, throat expanding as bristled baleen siphons out hundreds of gallons of sea water. They seem to revel in the spectacle, and I can’t help but be completely captivated every time.