Having a whale of a time! Remarkable moment deep sea diver takes a SELFIE with a blue whale in the Indian Ocean
- Simon Lorenz, 42, captured the remarkable selfie 30ft deep in the Indian Ocean
- The dive tour leader was at times just 26ft away from the 80ft long blue whales
- Would-be photographers have only a ‘very small chance’ of the perfect shot
An underwater photographer has snapped an incredible selfie with an 80ft long whale.
The remarkable image shows Simon Lorenz swimming alongside an 80-tonne Pygmy blue whale 30ft deep in the Indian ocean.
Mr Lorenz, a 42 year-old dive tour leader from New Territories in Hong Kong, used a Nikon D850 with a Sigma 15mm lens and Isotta housing kit to photograph the whale in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka.
The German-born instructor was, at times, just 26-feet away from the sea creature, which can reach speeds of up to 31 miles-per-hour.
A blue whale’s tongue alone can weigh as much as an elephant and its heart as much as a car.
Mr. Lorenz poses for a selfie with a blue whale. He took the incredible photograph with a Nikon D850, using a Sigma 15mm lens and Isotta housing kit
‘Unlike other whale species, blue whales are always moving which makes it challenging for a photographer to keep these all of these huge subjects in shot,’ Mr Lorenz said.
‘They surface up to three times per encounter to breathe in air. They dive again for up to 15 minutes before they return, so you have to best predict their next move or you’ll miss your shot.
He revealed that because each breath is short, would-be photographers only have a ‘very small chance to get the perfect shot’.
The whales are capable of reaching depths of 160ft between breaches, before rising back up to the top, he added.
Mr Lorenz is seen floating mere feet above a blue whale, 30ft deep in the Indian Ocean. The tail of a blue whale alone is around 25ft long
Sri Lanka is home to the only non-migratory blue whales in the world
‘In that time between breaths – which is about a minute – there are lots of water bubbles hitting the lens caused by the force of the dive.’
Mr Lorenz said he wipes baby oil or detergent on the lens while waiting for the whales to come back up.
‘Right up until the moment the whale is in frame, you are still frantically setting up your next shot,’ he added.
Sri Lanka is home to the only non-migratory blue whales in the world.
While their populations are stable due to Sri Lanka’s anti-whaling policy, there are just 10,000 blue whales left in the world.
Aggressive hunting in the 1900s by those seeking whale oil drove them to the brink of extinction.
Between 1900 and the mid-1960s, around 360,000 blue whales were slaughtered.