“Belly Flop” Humpback Whale, Icy Strait, Alaska – Image 2834

Most often when an adult humpback whale jumps out of the water, they clear the water, spin around, and then land on their back. The theory is that the whale’s backbone and rib cage can support all of the weight of a whale crashing down on the water better than their bellies that have no internal support. This juvenile whale does not have the technique mastered. It has completely cleared the water and doing a whale of a belly flop. Additionally, I will be one of the two photo leaders on a week-long trip (August 20-August 28,2013) through Southeast Alaska on board the 50-foot custom trawler “Delphinus” captained by my good friend, Ronn Patterson. The trip starts in Juneau and ends up in Wrangell. The trip will visit Anan Creek, pack Creek, Tracy Arm and the whales waters of Fredrick Sound. For more information contact Ronn at trips@dolphincharters.com or check out their website at www.dolphincharters.com. This image appears as my May image in my 2014 Juneau Alaska Calendar now celebrating its 20th year of publication. Thank you for visiting. Camera body: D300, lens: Nikkor 70-200mm, digital capture© Mark Kelley