Catching just a glimpse of a blue whale is thrilling – at up to 30 metres long, it is the world’s largest animal.
So when Dylan deHaas sent his drone up after hearing a whale spout in the near distance, he was stunned to see a group of four of the giant mammals in his frame.
The Perth photographer had been with his wife, Sarah, relaxing on a boat off the coast of Margaret River on Australia’s south-west tip on Tuesday morning, when they encountered the massive beasts.
“I spend a lot of time in and around the ocean, but I had no idea of the group, it was only when the drone went up that I could see them,” deHaas said.
Boats must maintain a 100-metre distance from whales in the area, however deHaas said the whales were less than 200 metres from the coast, and were so large that their presence in the water could still be felt.
“We were just chilling in the boat, relaxing, and the next minute we heard the spout.”
“It was pretty insane to see them all, it was spectacular.”
DeHaas said he had only seen a blue whale once before in his life, and that it was something Sarah had always wanted to see.
“She’s never seen one before, so as soon as we realised it was a blue whale, she started crying,”
“It’s super rare to see them in a group of four,” deHaas said of the whales, which had come from waters around Indonesia and were on their way to Antarctica to feed in the coming months.
Since posting his images to social media this week, deHaas has been surprised by the response, which included being contacted by Tourism Australia.
“It really was stunning.”