Photographing dwarf minke whales in the Great Barrier Reef

Matt Curnock · Issue 129, Nov/Dec 2022 · pp. 42–47

Products mentioned: Nikon D90, Nikon D7200, Nauticam housing, Patima housing, Tokina 10-17mm fisheye zoom lens

Each austral winter dwarf minke whales migrate to the northern Great Barrier Reef. When they arrive, they aggregate in the vicinity of the Ribbon Reefs, north of Cairns, most likely for breeding purposes. The timing and location of this aggregation is remarkably predictable from year to year, and many of the same individual whales are resighted in multiple years in the exact same locations. Their behaviour, too, is remarkable, and they are perhaps the most inquisitive and ‘friendly’ species of whale on the planet. As a researcher with the Minke Whale Project, I’ve been fortunate enough to swim with and photograph dwarf minke whales in the Ribbon Reefs near-annually since 1998. I first learned about underwater photography by taking whale pictures for photo-identification purposes, and by picking the brains of numerous professional photographers with whom I’ve shared dive trips over the ye…