Now you
[Music]
You can let it go. Good. I'm a
underwater photographer and cameraman
and also a free diving instructor
trainer. So as a kid I always had an
interest in the ocean. I also even
wanted to become a marine
biologist. That interest led to an aunt
giving me a book as a gift and there was
a section on orca in there with a little
description of what orca are and you
know that always fascinated me just the
way they looked. This was the apex
predator. Years went on and things
worked out where I did not become a
marine biologist. I ended up studying
chemical
engineering. Due to circumstances, I
ended up working in the oil field. And
around about 2009, there was a recession
and that was around about the time I
decided that I had enough of the oil
field and this isn't something I want to
do anymore. And you know, I always still
had this love for the ocean. So, I
started scuba diving and I actually in
my time off worked up to the point of
becoming a scuba instructor.
This is where I started developing my
photography more using free diving.
[Music]
I'm very lucky to be working with guys
like Ivar who know the coast around
northern Norway really well and they
also know the marine life. It's a cold
morning, but anyway, I should not go
down with the divers, so I'm glad.
Between us, we have a pretty good idea
of potential spots where we might find
the animals.
Also, you know, understanding the
weather, knowing where you can dive or
where you can sail to is also a really
important factor.
[Music]
Oh, that's perfect conditions. We need
to get in there. So, I'm on the boat.
I'm looking out and we see a group of
humpac whales approaching us. Right
there. Right there. You ready?
So, the first thing I do is I dive down
and wait for them.
Basically, you see the shapes long
before you see any fine details. So, you
see these shadows appearing out of the
water. As they come closer, you know, I
look up and you can see that now in this
moment, they're aware of
me. It's really humbling to have an
animal that big stop, turn, and look at
you. really really look at you before
moving on. And that's not just an animal
which is seeing something in the water
and trying to avoid it. That's genuine
curiosity. That's really something
special to experience.
[Music]
I wonder if they are looking for ways
over there. Yeah, they're just there.
Based on what we've seen before, we tend
to go to places where we know there are
areas where the herring tend to go in
and where we've known we've seen whales
before, but that can change from day to
day. All right, they went down. So, back
to the captain.
It's a lot of in and out of the boat
today and moving around.
[Music]
The birds fly. Yeah, they moved. I think
the herring went down.
There's birds right overhead. There's an
eagle and all of these orca racing in
the same direction. There's something
there.
Yeah. All right.
More side on. More side on. Perfect. And
switch off the engine. So, do not swim
towards them until I tell you to. Okay.
Very quietly get in the water.
Now, we come into this fjord and we
think that there's orca here. We look
around and all we see in every single
direction is orca and hump. And they're
just
everywhere. Every 20 seconds you have
orca coming next to you and you know
calves coming to look at you and you
have humpex just appearing out of
nowhere and then disappearing and
followed by more
orcas. It's one of the most intense
experiences I've had with so many
animals.
Part of the reason it can be so intense
is that when you're free diving, you are
using a lot less equipment compared to
scuba diving. This means your movement,
both physically and in terms of your
ability to operate at variable depths,
is not as
restricted. This usually results in
better
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experiences. Heat. Heat. Heat.
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As a kid, the idea of seeing one in the
wild, like from shore, isn't something I
ever imagined would happen. So to see
them underwater is just the furthest
thing I would ever imagine would
actually happen to me.
[Music]
That's awesome. That was
positively
amazing. This is some of the most
impressive vocalizations I've ever
heard.
You can hear it.
If you grab me a blanket, I can just
sleep out here on the paddle board.