the whale pod returns to its breeding grounds/ as the
season moves in with a tail slap/ to quiet bays & leeward
sides of exposed reefs/ to an australian ocean during june
to a depth of 600 feet/ this is the breaching time/ a whale
propels itself out of the water/ throws one pectoral fin out
to the side circling the sun/ & turns in the air along its
longitudinal axis/ the spectacular re-entry splash creates
an explosion of waves/ as it hits the surface of harvey
bay/ in that moment your holiday romance with nature
surfaces/ you tick the 'adopt a whale' box & hand over
your 25 dollars/ or you might battle the oceanic glare &
wind speed on the ships bow for the midday event/ now
hold your camera steady/ make sure that the horizon line
is level with your viewfinder/ slowly depress the shutter
release/ never follow the whale through its movements
as this will blur the image/ now relax & let it disappear
into a mysterious depth/ for a 5000th of a second you
froze the life of a humpback whale, the vessel, sheets
of ocean, your body & the blinding glare/ yet you only
touch the surface with your slides & your persistence/
with a dot of a whale's tail making its brief appearance
every four hour tour/ & technology blocks your view/ to
the whale & her calf sailing out to sea/ the tourist ship
floundering in the turbulence/ tipped sideways with the
weight of telescopic lenses/ on board you shove the other
passengers/ you would have a better chance of glimpsing
the death of a star through time with the naked eye, than
capturing the whale on film/ that is why: watching whales
mating & giving birth should be done via viewing tanks/
so that poor little crippled children & the elderly have a
better chance of seeing them/ so that they can learn more
about the animal/ in order to help save the environment
