Sony Artisan and SeaLegacy co-founder Paul Nicklen has been in the water with many whale species around the world, but not the southern right whale. “Southern right whales are one of the largest whales of the world,” he explains. “They’re also one of the most endangered Industrialized whaling devastated their population to near extinction.” Watch in the video below as Nicklen takes us to the crystal clear waters of The Great Australian Bight on the southwestern Australia Coastline to explore these migrating giants.

Nicklen has captured blue whales, fin whales, sperm whales, belugas, narwhals and more, but he says that when you get in the water with the southern right whale, you’ll learn that no other whale behaves like it. “These animals are a very agile, playfully aggressive animal,” he says. “When you look at the callosities on their head, these big sort of barnacle communities, those are ramming devices. Babies will play really rough with each other. Some of them will go up to their mothers and the mother will hit them with their tails. It’s playful, fun, investigative…but when you get in the water with an animal that’s never encountered a human, you don’t know how it’s going to interact.”

Photo by Paul Nicklen. Sony Alpha 1. Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 G Master.

He goes on to explain how it is very important to never harass an animal or stress an animal out. “Those visuals will never work,” he says. Instead, he waits to let the animal decide whether it’s going to come to him or not. He allows it to sense his presence and see him, then waits for it to become inquisitive and present itself. While very large in size and capable of destruction, Nicklen says he finds that the whales are aware of their bodies and tails. Using the Sony Alpha 1 paired with the Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 G Master, he was able to photograph a number of moments with the massive creatures.

Photo by Paul Nicklen. Sony Alpha 1. Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 G Master.

All of those moments Nicklen experiences with the whales are very powerful, but none quite like the moment a mother presented herself with her calf in front of him. “She brings it underneath you. She assesses you. She watches you. And then she decides that you are safe. You’ve been accepted. This mother whale is so proud of her calf she wants to share it with you. Having that calf an arm’s length away is a very intimate and powerful experience.”

Photo by Paul Nicklen. Sony Alpha 1. Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 G Master.

To get to know these rough, yet gentle giants was one of the most beautiful events Nicklen says he’s ever witnessed. “To share in that experience with our team, with Cristina, knowing that it will make a difference for them to recover and to survive made that encounter for me, unforgettable.”

See more videos like this one on the Alpha Universe YouTube Channel.