Upwards of 15ft /5m and weighing up to a ton (900+ kg) when born humpback whale calfs are some of the largest babies on our planet. But what really sets them apart is their playful & inquisitive nature. These young ocean titans will hide below their mom slowly peaking their head out curiously checking you out at the surface. Then before you can realize what’s going on she’s swimming up to you doing barrel rolls and flips, playing in the waves around you. Sharing these moments in the water with them has to be one of the most beautiful experiences on earth.

Captured on the @sonyalpha Alpha 1 with the @nauticamhousings WACP-1 at f9, 1/320s, iso 640 using natural light.

Little sneak peak from yesterday… 🤫

Imagine this young humpback calf playfully investigating you as her gigantic, titan of a mother hovers motionless just next to you keeping a watchful eye on us both to make sure her baby is safe. It was if she brought her calf to encounter us, watching closely as the young calf investigated & interacted with our group.

Shot on the @sonyalpha Alpha 1 in a @nauticamhousings using Sony’s 28-60 f4 combined with the Nauticam WACP-1. Captured at f9, 1/250s, ISO 640

Did you know a sea turtles shell is actually made up of roughly 50 bones? They’re ribs, vertebrae and shoulder bones are essentially fused together to create the shell. This is covered in scutes, the panels we see on the shell, which are made of keratin. You can actually identify sea turtle species by looking at their scutes. Any idea which species this is?

Today their shells are considered one of the most highly evolved forms of armor in all vertebrates, but surprisingly this might not be why they first evolved to have them. Research into an ancestor of modern turtles that lived about 260 million years ago has shown that the shell actually might of evolved to help them with digging underground to escape the harsh environment they lived in.

Captured on the @sonyalpha A7R IV in a @nauticamhousings using natural light at 35mm, 1/250s, f8, ISO 200

Finally getting a chance to go through shots from last months Cocos Island trip with @diveninjas! Love that crazy little island and can’t wait to head back for the next Cocos shark conservation trip in 2025!

Shot on the @sonyalpha Alpha 1 in a @nauticamhousings with @seaandseaimaging YS-D3 strobes

A big boop for International Whale Shark Day! Who’s been lucky enough to see one of these gentle giants before?

I have some really special news today fam! I’m super excited to announce that I have become an @onlyone ocean ambassador! 😮 Feeling incredibly grateful to be recognized alongside such a remarkable team of passionate humans working in all different mediums to protect our oceans and planet. Massive thanks to the legendary, @shawnheinrichs for inviting me to be part of this awesome team & platform.

If you’re not familiar with Only One, I highly recommend checking them out. They’re doing really amazing things for our planet and make it super easy for you to get involved and support critically important projects around the world. Living up to their words, “There is only one way to save our planet. Together.” Only One creates opportunities for you to take small, simple steps that when combined help us all work together to drive massive impact for our ocean planet. Go check out their website and let me know what you think Ninjas!

Monday vibes

Trying to keep it chill even though my to do list before I fly out on Thursday is currently 3.6 miles long. 🤣

Nurse shark cruising over the beautiful white sands of the Bahamas.

Captured while freediving using natural light with the @sonyalpha a7R IV in a @nauticamhousing at f9, 1/320s, ISO 100.

In late June I had the opportunity to head to the Florida Keys and get an inside look at the world’s largest coral restoration program, NOAA’s Mission: Iconic Reefs.

For those that know me, you know I’m not really a coral person. But as I began to research into the project I found myself completely awe struck and wanting to learn more every time I turned a new page.

From gigantic coral nurseries to being on the forefront of scientific research to AI driven coral growing robotics and remarkable bioengineering to bring these reefs back to their former glory. The project is beyond vast. But after all my years in conservation, what really hit me the hardest was the heartfelt collaboration between so many passionate humans from different backgrounds and organizations working tirelessly together to try and change the world. It is one of the most inspiring things I’ve seen in a long time and really brought me a new sense of hope for our oceans.

Keep an eye on my stories and posts these next days to learn more about this incredible project and why it’s so critically important right now.

📷 story behind the shot: @sarah_hamlyn_ of @motemarinelab and Kai of @noaasanctuaries working together on a monitoring project at Horseshoe Reef, Key Largo. This is one of the reefs that has recently been hit hard with a bleaching event. Check todays story to see what it looks like now, just a few short weeks after I took this photo.

Shot on the @sonyalpha Alpha 1 in a @nauticamhousings Massive thanks to Sony, Nauticam, and @backscattervideophoto for supporting my passion to tell these incredible stories.

It’s been a crazy few months on back to back projects, but finally have some downtime to catch up. I’m really stoked to finally share everything that’s been going on and why I’ve been so quiet online. Plus I have a bunch of really awesome news coming up! There’s so much stuff that I’ve spent the past few days driving myself crazy trying to figure out where to even begin. Then today I woke up and thought, forget all the noise, let’s just post a tiger shark! 😂 🦈

Tigers are one of my favorite sharks to dive with because of their big personality. They remind me of big silly dogs that just don’t realize their own size. What’s your favorite shark to dive with?

Shot on the @sonyalpha Alpha 1 using the Sony 16-35mm f2.8 GM in a @nauticamhousings at 16mm, f8, 1/400s, ISO 320 using natural light.