Azores Faial — Pico Volcano Whale Watching
849.00 د.إ
Whale watching from a rigid inflatable boat off Faial Island in the Azores — a sperm whale at the surface between dives, Mount Pico’s 2,351-metre cone rising from the sea on the opposite island 8km away, the Atlantic a deep blue.
Description
The Faial-Pico channel in the Azores is one of the world’s most productive sperm whale habitats — the deep water trough between the two volcanic islands supports a resident population of sperm whales year-round, the former whaling infrastructure of both islands now repurposed for cetacean watching tourism. This image was made from an ISPA-certified whale watching rib at the surface positioning of a resting sperm whale between two deep dives: the whale’s back is at water level, the columnar blow characteristic of the sperm whale’s angled blow hole visible at the front, and the unmistakable shape of the sloped head is legible at the waterline. Mount Pico — a UNESCO World Heritage stratovolcano at 2,351 metres, the highest peak in Portugal — rises from the sea on the horizon 8 kilometres behind the whale. Shot at 1/1000 second on a 200mm telephoto, the combination of whale, ocean, and volcano is the image’s geographical and biological statement.
