In September 2019 I was able to visit Puerto Piramides, a town on Peninsula Valdes on the coast of Argentina, to photograph Southern Right Whales (Eubalaena australis). This had been a dream of mine since the 90s when I was active in humpback whale research in the Hawaiian Islands. One of our captains in Maui, Jeff Kalbach, worked with whales in several countries and would rave about how friendly and enormous the southern right whales were in Argentina. Over the years I received invitations from Argentine marine mammalogists who used some of my whale photos to illustrate their books to join them on Peninsula Valdes and see the whales in person, but I was never able to schedule time to do it and always regretted it. 25 years later things finally lined up for me and I met Adriana, Vlad and Emry in Buenos Aires en route to Patagonia and the whales. What a super trip we had. We dined very well, wrestled with some inclement weather, toured the entire Peninsula and had several top-notch days on the water. Below are some of the images I was able to make. My usual goal is to create simple yet compelling portraits of whatever species of animal I am working with, and I was fairly happy with the results. However, I am planning to return in a few years to see if I can improve upon them. I would like to extend my thanks to Hector Casin of the Peninsula Valdes National Park who graciously advised us each day and whose vast knowledge of all the wildlife of the peninsula ensured our efforts were as productive as possible. I am also grateful to Enrique Natale, owner of Goos Ballenas (diving services) in Puerto Pirimides, and to our captain Jorge Perversi who kept us safe while on and in the water. Lastly, thank you to Adriana Basques who assembled our team and worked closely with Hector, Enrique and Jorge to ensure we were as successful as possible. All of these images were made according to the provisions of our permit and under the jurisdiction of Peninsula Valdes National Park. Cheers, and thanks for looking!
White southern right whale calf underwater, Eubalaena australis, Argentina
Image ID: 35908
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale, Eubalaena australis, Argentina
Image ID: 35910
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale underwater, Eubalaena australis, Argentina
Image ID: 35911
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale underwater, Eubalaena australis, Argentina
Image ID: 35914
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale mother and calf, Eubalaena australis, Argentina
Image ID: 35920
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Mating pair of southern right whales underwater (on left), Eubalaena australis, Argentina
Image ID: 35923
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale mother and calf, flukes, Eubalaena australis, Argentina
Image ID: 35924
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale, Eubalaena australis, Argentina
Image ID: 35925
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Inquisitive southern right whale underwater, Eubalaena australis, closely approaches cameraman, Argentina
Image ID: 35943
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale breaching, Eubalaena australis, Argentina
Image ID: 35944
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Ten southern right whales very close to shore, including four calves and a rare white calf, people watching from the beach, aerial photo, Patagonia, Argentina
Image ID: 35945
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale mother and calf underwater, Eubalaena australis, Argentina
Image ID: 35950
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale mother and calf underwater, Eubalaena australis, Argentina
Image ID: 35953
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Inquisitive southern right whale underwater, Eubalaena australis, closely approaches cameraman, Argentina
Image ID: 35955
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale mother and calf in shallow water, aerial photo, Patagonia, Argentina
Image ID: 35958
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale rostrum, showing callosities and whale lice, Eubalaena australis, Argentina
Image ID: 35967
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Five southern right whales in courtship group, aerial photo, Eubalaena australis, Argentina
Image ID: 35969
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale spouting at sunset, blowing, exhaling, Eubalaena australis, Patagonia, Argentina
Image ID: 35985
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
