I made another visit to Peninsula Valdes, on the southern coast of Argentina, to photograph Southern Right Whales in September. I spent 16 days there with 9 of them on the water. We had pretty good weather and didn’t miss any of our scheduled water days but did have to use some weather days at times. The whales were superb as always. Indeed, while whale counts of recent years have been about 1500 along the Peninsula Valdes coast, this year there were over 2400! That uptick in census is very intriguing and while each of us had ideas about what might be driving it we will have to wait until the research community has assembled their data for the year before concluding what might have driving the large increase in numbers.
Every year is different. This year we had several intense courtship groups, more whale copulation than I think I have seen in the past, and quite a few sessions of prolonged breaching. As far as underwater photographs go, I wanted to produce images that are different than what I have made in the past but was unsure ahead of time how to do that. Once in Puerto Piramides though I realized the water this year would dictate the strategy: focus only on the most inquisitive whales. Southern right whales are remarkable in their willingness to be in close proximity to boats and divers. They are usually (but not always!) about as docile and gentle in the water as an animal of that size — 55′ long (17 m) and 85 ton (80,000 kg) — can be. So provided it was safe I held my ground and let the animals come close both at the surface and on the bottom. That’s really no different than in the past but this year I was more conscious about it. I’m happy with the images, a small selection of which I’ve included below. (To see all of this years images click here.) I was trying for variety.
As always I am deeply indebted to Hector Casin who, as representive of the Government of Argentina as well as a senior ranger in the park of Peninsula Valdes, oversaw all of our activities, offered seasoned advice about the whales and weather, and helped us in countless ways to be successful. Adriana Basques, who handles all the logistics, planning and team building, once again put together a superb group of photographers with a very international flavor this year: China, Brazil, Mexico, the United States and of course the crew in Argentina. As he has in the past, Jorge Perversi captained our boat at all times and proved instrumental in selecting which whales to focus upon among the many we would see each day. Renzo Natale of of Goos Ballenas (diving services) handled dive safety and was of great help both in water and on the boat, an exhausting feat given the cold weather and even colder water. I was fortunate to be with such a special group of people who shared of love of whales and a desire to produce compelling images of them.
Portrait of an adult Southern Right Whale Underwater, Eubalaena australis, hovering over sand bottom on Golfo Nuevo, Peninsula Valdes. By permission of the Government of Argentina, Chubut, permit # 51 / 2025-SsCyA.
Image ID: 41175
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Breaching Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis, Golfo Nuevo, Peninsula Valdes, Argentina. By permission of the Government of Argentina, Chubut, permit # 51 / 2025-SsCyA.
Image ID: 41176
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Copulating Southern Right Whales, aerial photo. The male is upside down (belly up) and trying to copulate with the female who is also belly up and being evasive of the male. By permission of the Government of Argentina, Chubut, permit # 51 / 2025-SsCyA.
Image ID: 41185
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
South American Tern in flight, Sterna hirundinacea, Golfo Nuevo, Peninsula Valdes, Chubut, Argentina. By permission of the Government of Argentina, Chubut, permit # 51 / 2025-SsCyA.
Image ID: 41189
Species: South American Tern, Sterna hirundinacea
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Portrait of an adult Southern Right Whale Underwater, Eubalaena australis, hovering over sand bottom on Golfo Nuevo, Peninsula Valdes. By permission of the Government of Argentina, Chubut, permit # 51 / 2025-SsCyA.
Image ID: 41177
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Breaching Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis, Golfo Nuevo, Peninsula Valdes, Argentina. By permission of the Government of Argentina, Chubut, permit # 51 / 2025-SsCyA.
Image ID: 41178
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale underwater, Eubalaena australis, in Golfo Nuevo, Peninsula Valdes, Argentina. By permission of the Government of Argentina, Chubut, permit # 51 / 2025-SsCyA.
Image ID: 41179
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Aerial photo of white Southern Right Whale calf with its mother. The mother is gray in color, rather than dark black, since she was a white calf herself and gradually darkened to gray as she matured. About five per cent of southern right whales are born white due to a condition known as grey morphism and will gradually turn dark as they age. They are not albino (which is a complete lack of pigmentation). The white coloration is a recessive genetic trait and only lasts a few months. Typically white calves become much darker as they mature but will still be lighter than normal even as adults. By permission of the Government of Argentina, Chubut, permit # 51 / 2025-SsCyA.
Image ID: 41180
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Aerial photo of Southern Right Whale Mother and Calf. Golfo Nuevo, Peninsula Valdes, Argentina. By permission of the Government of Argentina, Chubut, permit # 51 / 2025-SsCyA.
Image ID: 41181
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Portrait of Mother and Calf Southern Right Whales Underwater, Eubalaena australis, hovering over sand bottom on Golfo Nuevo, Peninsula Valdes. By permission of the Government of Argentina, Chubut, permit # 51 / 2025-SsCyA.
Image ID: 41183
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale calf underwater, Eubalaena australis. By permission of the Government of Argentina, Chubut, permit # 51 / 2025-SsCyA.
Image ID: 41184
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern Right Whale with fluke raised out of the water with the famous "pyramid" of Puerto Piramides in the distance. By permission of the Government of Argentina, Chubut, permit # 51 / 2025-SsCyA.
Image ID: 41188
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Closeup underwater view of a Southern right whale eyeball, Eubalaena australis. Whale lice can be seen clearly in the folds and crevices around the whales eye and lip groove. By permission of the Government of Argentina, Chubut, permit # 51 / 2025-SsCyA.
Image ID: 41190
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Aerial photo of the Puerto Piramides headlands, part of Golfo Nuevo on Peninsula Valdes, Argentina. By permission of the Government of Argentina, Chubut, permit # 51 / 2025-SsCyA.
Image ID: 41192
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Mating pair of Southern Right Whales, aerial photo. In this photo, the male is grasping the female with one of his pectoral fins as a prelude to copulation. By permission of the Government of Argentina, Chubut, permit # 51 / 2025-SsCyA.
Image ID: 41196
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Mother and calf southern right whales underwater. The calf swims close to its mother but, if the mother is accepting, the calf will be allowed to come close to the photographer and check him out. By permission of the Government of Argentina, Chubut, permit # 51 / 2025-SsCyA.
Image ID: 41199
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Breaching Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis, Golfo Nuevo, Peninsula Valdes, Argentina. By permission of the Government of Argentina, Chubut, permit # 51 / 2025-SsCyA.
Image ID: 41202
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
