UPY 2025

UPY  Compact - Highly Commended
'White Whale'
Adam McKnight

I was fortunate enough to stumble across this incredibly rare white humpback whale calf in Vava'u in October 2024. I'm told the chance of a humpback being born white is around 1 in 40,000. To be one of very few in world to witness the luminescent glow in the water and the playful breaching up close was breath-taking. This photo was taken using a Go Pro 12, while the white calf surfaced for a breath, under the watchful eye of Mum and a male escort a few meters below.

Judge's comment: What a nice encounter and excellent capture by the photographer. Maybe the best image that we have seen of a white whale in the competition this year, which is even higher to value as the image has been taken with simple action camera. The composition and post production round up this fantastic image.

Tobias Friedrich