Tonga hosts humpback whales in large numbers each August and September drawn to the warm and placid waters to breed and raise their young. I had traveled to the island of Vava'u with the aim to capture these magnificent animals in their underwater world, Tonga being one of the few places where underwater whale photography is possible. The most memorable encounter of the trip was with a mother and older calf one evening. Many of the older whale calves are naturally quite curious of humans as I found out when this calf repeatedly surfaced near me before diving down deeper to get a better look at me and my camera.