Five Amazing Drone Shots of Whales

Drones have revolutionized the way we look at whales, opening up new frontiers in research and cinematography that were unimaginable just 15 years ago. In this series, each episode will highlight five of my favorite moments that we've captured from above. This is Eyes Above the Whales. Clip number five. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. And as you can see, I missed a lot of shots. But this was such an epic feeding frenzy that I was given many chances. And eventually, it all came together. Let's see that in slow-mo. Nailed it. Clip number four. The largest animal in the world on the hunt. Watch as this blue whale hits the brakes to size up a large shoal of krill. Millions are consumed and now the whale must use its massive tongue, which on its own weighs as much as an elephant, to push out the 20,000 gallons of water it just trapped in its mouth. Normally, this would be when a blue whale would go for a dive. But with all the krill up near the surface, this whale has another target in sight. There is no more prolific hunter on earth than the blue whale. We're sticking with blue whales for number three. In one continuous shot, watch this spectacular moment when a mom and calf blue whale came over to investigate our boat. I love how with a drone shot like this, you can see how clearly it was the whales that chose to approach us and not the other way around. I think this is still my favorite ocean moment of all time. It's a change of pace for number two. If you've ever visited San Diego, you've probably heard locals talking about the marine layer, which is a phenomenon where a low layer of clouds hangs over the coastline. In this shot, the clouds were less than 250 feet high and patchy enough that we could keep track of the drone from the boat. This allowed us to capture a unique view from the heavens perspective of migrating gray whales while keeping the drone under the 400 foot eagle maximum. And for number one, watch as a group of humpback whales fall in love with a sea lion. From above, it looked like a giant ocean ballet. It is genuinely amazing to have a tool that allows us such an intimate look into the lives of these animals without disrupting the moment. I wish I could know what was going through the We will see you next time on Eyes Above the Whales.