The photographer's eye - CHESTERFIELD REEFS, THE SONG OF THE WHALES

There we were, anchored in six feet (two meters) of water on a sandy bottom, our faces weathered by the wind and the sea. There was almost a feeling of weightlessness.
At the end of August, humpback whales came to the Chesterfield Islands. We saw them every day and studied their behavior over time.
I went out to meet them in my kayak. They seemed quite far away, maybe a mile or two, but this way, I could approach them calmly without frightening them. There were three males patrolling over the sandy drop-off. They seemed to be protecting the area: the calves could learn to breathe quietly.
I found myself in the middle of the atoll. Suddenly I got a shock: the three giants approached me and began to circle around me. I felt tiny and helpless, but I also knew that I had nothing to be afraid of. Slowly, I immersed myself in the water, and there they were. Majestic. Imposing. Paradoxically, their presence gave me a feeling of great serenity. And then they just disappeared into the blue.