A magical and emotional experience getting in the water with several Humpback Whales amongst the island group of Vava'u while I was on holiday in Tonga.

As a professional nature photographer, I have photographed hundreds of whales from above the ocean's surface, but nothing could prepare me for the experience underwater.

The first shot show a couple of adults, the next a mother and young calf before migrating to Antarctica, and the final shot is of a couple mating, accompanied by their vocals.

Filmed on an afternoon in late September 2011, the images and songs of these beautiful creatures are recorded on a GoPro HD camera. The tiny thing struggled with the limited visibility and unfortunately most of the shots fogged over with the temperature change, but this remarkable camera did pick up the sounds very well underwater, and scored some awesome lens flares. I hope to return next season with a professional rig.

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Music once again by Norwegian based Boreal Taiga - BorealTaiga.com, thanks.