Blog
Half way through the season and the whales just get more amazing
1/9/2010
There must be something in the water this month, as the whales seem to want to get up close and personal with the swimmers. Not only are the calves curious but the adults seem to be playing a game called "How close can I get to the humans". We also saw spinner dolphins with mating whales, a calve spy hopping and opening his mouth in the rain, a heat run of 5 males and a mother and calf and a small white calf with ADD (Attenion Deficet Disorder) discovering his tail makes a cool splashing sound. It has been action packed!
Well our first few weeks in Tonga have been a great start to the season
22/8/2010
We have had some nice encounters with the whales in the past few weeks and have seen some interesting behaviour, including some pretty cool breaching and we even had fun with our whale and people portrait session, as well as lots of singing Humpbacks. there is nothing like floating metres above a singing whale as the sound reverberates through your body. They definitely have a strong set of pipes. Not to mention that we have also discovered a new form of adventure which I like to call swimming with jelly fish in the harbour. trust me we were amused for hours. stay tuned, more to come from Tonga.
The Azores is one of the best places in the world to see such diversity of whales and dolphins and other marine life.
14/8/2010
Just returned from the Azores where we had some amazing encounters with the diversity of cetaceans that frequent the waters off the Azores Archipelego. we saw 11 species of whales and dolphins while we were there including some rarely seen cetaceans such as bottlenose whales, beaked whales and large balleen whales like the Sei and Brydes whales. All images taken under a special permit granted by the Regiao Autonoma Dos Acores, Secretaria Regional Do Ambiente E Do Mar, Dreccao Regional do Ambiente.
Scott has won the Highly Commended award at the British Underwater Image Festival for 2010 with his image of a Humpback mother and Calf seen in the 2009 season in Vava'u
02/5/2010
Just announced at the BUIF (British Underwater Image Festival) held at Dive Fest in Cornwall on Sunday 2nd May, I have been lucky enough to be presented the Highly Commended award in the Sea & Sea Open category. The photo is off a new born calf and its mother that was seen during the 2009 whale season. Look forward to having some amazing opportunities in the 2010 season.
Scott will be joining the Elysium expedition to Antarctica in February to photograph and document wildlife following in the footsteps of Shackelton
17/1/2010
As part of an expedition team to Antarctica I will be spending 2 1/2 weeks photographing and filming wildlife along the Antarctic Peninsula, Elephant Island and South Georgia with a team of expert photographers, film makers and scientists. Hopefully I will find some Tongan Humpbacks feeding down in the ice and doing what they do before making the journey back to more tropical waters in Tonga.
One of Scott's Tonga Humpback whale photographs was just published in the new BBC book Life.
28/12/2009
I was privileged to have one of my photos from Tonga published in the new BCC book Life, which is an umcompaniment to the new series, some of which was shot in Tonga in 2008. The book features some spectacular wildlife from our amazing planet.
We swam with 25 pilot whales and had amazing Humpback encounters this week
19/09/2009
You never know what you are going to see when you get in the water around Tonga. We swam with about 25 Pilot whales this week, had some amazing Humpback encounters, breaching, spyhopping, tail slapping and some heart felt moments with a number of mothers and their calves in the water. some truly privileged events this week.
Half way through the season and still lots of whales to be seen
05/09/2009
Our third group have just finished their tour and managed to swim with a number of Humpback whales with their calves, listen to whale song while floating above a singer, snorkel some beautiful coral reefs and stunning caves to say the least. check out what they have been up to.
Jeff and our crew in Tonga spot 3 Minke Whales this week
05/07/2009
Our crew in Tonga yet again found another whale species in Tongan waters. 3 Minke whales were spotted of one of the Islands in Vava'u. There is so much diversity in this part of the South Pacific you never know what you might. Over the years I have managed to swim with Humpbacks, Sperm Whales, whale sharks, False Killer whales, a Manta Ray. I have put the tall order in for a Blue whale this season, or even a couple of Minkes would be good.
Finalist in the British Underwater Image Festival
29/04/2009
Found out today that I was a finalist in the British Underwater Image Festival 2009 for my portfolio of Humpback whales. The portfolio will be mounted and displayed at the festival held at Dive Fest in Cornwall England on the 17th May. very honoured.
Sperm whales spotted in Vava'u this week
15/02/2009
Our skipper in Vava'u spotted two Sperm whales today just kilometers off the Northern part of the Island Archipelago. These deep see leviathans are a rare sighting indeed. We were lucky enough to swim with several pods of Sperm whales in 2007 that appeared one late afternoon in September. You never know what marine mammals you see when you are in this tropical paradise.
View some more of these images
Happy New Year & Welcome to 2009
18/01/2009
Happy New Year and welcome to 2009. I can tell it is going to be a great year to get up close and personal with the Humpback whales around Vava’u. August and September is really not that far away, ok it’s a little away, but a lot to look forward to. So for those of you joining us this year I know the time will fly and for those that are still thinking about it you better get in quick as spaces are filling.
What else is going on, well I have just released a series of 4 posters that will be available for purchase in the next few months, If anyone is interested in any of the prints please let us know.
View some more of the images
The 2008 Season comes to an end
10/15/2008
Although the 2008 season has almost come to an end, we are still reminiscing about all the amazing encounters we had.
What an amazing season! not only did we swim with a multitude of Humpback whales, we also managed to swim with a Whale Shark, Pilot whales, Spinner Dolphins and a Manta Ray. On a few separate days we also had the opportunity to swim with 7 Humpback whales at one time as they went about their courting ritual. It was like a whale frenzy.
View some more of the images
Scott Portelli Wins 1st Place in the category of Wide Angle Photography for the SDAA, Through the lens underwater photo competition
09/27/2008
To my surprise I found out that I had won first place in the Scuba Diver AustralAsia - Through the Lens Underwater Photography Competition. I guess the annoucement email must have went astray.
Anyway, it was a great honour and nicely compliments the amazing moments I have been priviledged to experience. Below is the winning entry.
View scottportelli.com
Meet some of the team for the 2009 season
09/22/2008
Not only are these people fun, exciting and ethusiastic, they really know what they are talking about. I look forward to introducing you all to them in 2009.
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