Humpback whale off the coast of San Diego 7/25/15
Where I work we have a Blue Whale watching cruise for the summer months of July-August, we go off shore and we search for Blue Whales the largest mammal on the planet! One day on our way out, not 5 miles off the coast we find a Humpback Whale! (Megaptera novaeangliae). At first we couldn't believe it! Totally a surprise such a rare sight, yet here it was coming towards us getting curious with our boat.
The long and the short of it is, this was an extremely rare occasion to see a humpback in this area. We spent hours watching this whale while the boat was in neutral and as we were essentially drifting. Letting the whale get close and swim under us and around us.
This is my favorite photo from that day. I have to admit I did not take a lot of photos this trip because I was caught in the moment watching this majestic whale swim and play.