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Specialization is for Insects.
Posted on Aug 14, 2007 - 1:41am by John P. in Photography
This is one of the most stunning and beautiful nature photographs I’ve ever seen. (Select the thumbnail image to see the full size version.) Considering that it also took first place in the Smithsonian’s National Wildlife Awards, I guess I’m not surprised.
The image was captured off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii and here is what the photographer, Lori Mazzuca, had to say:
“I was observing a strange interaction between a pair of bottlenose dolphins and a humpback whale, when it became apparent that the two species were collaborating in some way. The dolphin was lying on a humpback whale’s head while it was slowly swimming along. Looking through my camera lens the stunt appeared to be orchestrated by mutual “agreement.â€
The whale very slowly—and vertically—lifted the dolphin into the air. I expected the dolphin to wriggle atop the humpback’s head to get off, but it just laid still and arched, trying to stay on top of the whale’s snout. In this frame the dolphin was beginning its slippery return to the sea. Once back in the ocean, the dolphin swiftly swam away with the other dolphin, leaping joyfully as if they had just scored a coup!â€
The photo was shot with a Canon EOS 10D; 70-200mm lens with 1.4x extender; digital capture.
The original and more of these nature photos can be found here.
What an amazing photograph. It really is a beautiful scene, and the first thing that comes to mind is love.
I think you should show me this on any rainy day and it would make me happy.
Simply beautiful! I would say.
Really amazing picture.
That’s a really interesting picture! I wonder what the benefits to each were. I’m sure that eventually as this picture is being viewed that someone will cry “Photoshop” on it. As is with many things, truth is stranger than fiction!
I was surprised no1 had said that already. Most amazing shots are often thought of as to good to be true.
awesome picture and great timing, what a shot
Incredible and somehow very moving…
What an amazing shot! :)
great stuff i do a lot of photography for my business picked up a few tips n tricks
Wow, great stuff! That was really cute…
A very beautiful photo, dolphins are very attractive creatures IMO. Thanks for sharing :)
Yes, they maybe attractive. But in reality their pretty mean creatures. I think the Simpsons illustrated this fact very well in the episode where the dolphins invade Springfield.
On a more serious note, dolphins are known to cause a lot of problems.
Awesome photo for sure. I have still to see a whale in the open waters myself.
We go dolphin watching here sometimes which is so cool, I just love seeing dolphins play around.
http://www.dumagueteinfo.com/board/tourist-information/whale-dolphin-watching-trip-bais-19.html
A pictorial from one of our dolphin watching trips. The boatman tells us there are whale sharks out here as ewll, but they rarely see them any more. Too bad, I would love to see the whale sharks too.
Our last dolphin trip was perfect, the water was like glass, and we literally saw hundreds of dolphins jumping around as far as the eye could see. Truly amazing creatures.
Kim:)
It’s amazing they got that close, that’s a beautiful picture!