Kali Wexler always brings his camera when he ventures out on the water.
During one evening earlier this year, he captured a rare moment off Hornby Island.
The professional photographer was on his small boat fishing in late August when he was notified about orcas swimming nearby.
“We were kind of just hanging out, engines off, viewing the pod from pretty far away,” he says.
To his surprise, one of the transient killer whales popped up right beside his boat.
“There was definitely some playful behaviour in the water and then this big, beautiful visual spy-hop with the seal in its mouth,” says Wexler. “It was pretty exciting.”
He explains how the experience felt like a suspended moment in time and how the whale came up really slow.
"You can actually see in some of the images, its teeth and it's biting into the seal. So it was holding on quite well,” he says.
Wexler was able to capture the spy-hop and the whale, named Jack, showing off.
"I guess he's a bit notorious for showing off his prey … he likes to play around and he's a very big male bull orca so he's amazing to see in person,” says Wexler, who used his 600-millimetre telephoto lens.
“It's one of those just amazing natural moments and luckily, we got to witness it.”
He decided to post the photograph to his Instagram and Facebook pages where he shares a lot of his work, and not surprisingly, it took off. Orca Rescue Foundation shared his photograph, which garnered more than 700 comments and 15,000 likes.
“It was special, and I was holding on to it for a while,” he says.
Wexler says he shares his photographs with conservation groups that spread awareness about wildlife.
“Killer whales are always amazing in any capacity,” he says. “You never know what you're gonna get."
To view the photographs of Jack or more of Wexler’s work, visit his Instagram or his website.
