Whale-watcher’s patience reaps reward

Albany's world-famous whale watching season is well and truly under way, as these pictures clearly show.

Taken by a Canberra tourist last week, the pictures show a young adult humpback whale breaching the surface near Seal Cove, off Albany.

Semi-professional photographer John Boyd Macdonald said it was his first time spotting whales.

“One of the things (my wife and I) definitely wanted to do in WA was whale watching, and we heard that at this time of year Albany is the place to be, particularly for the humpbacks, ” he said. “We saw about a dozen whales, several of them were breaching to the left and the right.

“It was actually a challenge to photograph them, it was hard to know where to look.”

Albany Whale Tours owner John Woodbury said his business often attracted photographers such as Mr Macdonald, and the shots, taken last Tuesday, June 19, were as good as any he had seen.

“They all come to Albany seeking that elusive photo, and as you can see sometimes they get it, ” he said. “I just really dig it, it gives me a thrill.”

Mr Woodbury said so far the 2012 whale-watching season, which started this month and will last until October, was excellent in terms of whale numbers, but there had been a lack of tourists.

He said humpbacks were most common at the moment, but there had also been sightings of the fin whale.

Mr Macdonald plans to add the shots to his website jokar.com.au.