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The the whales are here! And they come in all shapes and sizes! I can’t think of a better way to spend your time than floating on the surface face to face with these majestic Humpback whales. The people who have spent time with the whales over the last 10 years with me know how much of a privilege it is and it is good to see these friends again year after year. Our team will be in Tonga this year to help create some new memories. Enjoy the season and hope to share these experiences with you all soon.

I recently was approached by an artist, Patrick LaMontagne, who creates unique cartoon characters of various wildlife and has put together a collection of these wildlife cartoon totems. He asked permission to use a particular Humpback calf photo I took in Tonga last year and explained what he was trying to achieve. I didn’t know what to expect but as you can see the final piece is very engaging. It is always flattering when someone is inspired by your work and as you can see below the results are truly amazing. Patrick is a very talented artist and you can see more of his collection at http://www.cartoonink.com

During August this year the Epson World Shootout was taking place. I just found out that I won third prize in the wide angle category. There were some great entries for this event and I feel privileged to be awarded along side some amazing photographers. you can checkout some of the photos at the World Shoot out website. The shot below was taken in swallows cave in Vava’u Tonga and no matter how many times I come back to Tonga this is always a favourite spot for taking photos. Special thanks to my model Rebecca Hayter for patiently holding her breath so I could capture the light and colour.

As many of you know I am a keen advocate for the preservation of whales and spend half my life in the water photographing these amazing creatures. It was privilege to meet the Captain and Founder of Sea Shepherd last night as the conservation group try and raise enough money to fuel their campaign to Antarctica to stop the Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean in Australian and New Zealand Antarctic territory. Hope this is the year they end whaling.

Scott Portelli was named Runner up in the underwater category at the ANZANG Nature Photography competition 2011 http://anzang.samuseum.sa.gov.au/index.php?blog%2Fshow%2FUnderwater-2011.html

Scott Portelli received a Merit of Excellence award in the Colour Print Photographic category at the 10th Celebrate the Sea Underwater Festival 2011

I have been coming back to Tonga every year for the past 10 years and have been lucky enough to see some amazing behaviour and have some remarkable encounters. This book commemorates my ten years visiting Tonga, I hope I can continue to do this for another 10 years. Please email me if you would like a limited edition signed copy of the book.

We have had some amazing encounters with the Humpbacks and had some fun snorkelling around the islands reefs and caves. It is only half way through the season and the whales are still arriving in numbers. stay tuned as we keep you up to date with what is happening in Tonga.

Annouced at the 2010 BUIF awards in London, this Humpback whale photograph was Highly commended in the wide angle category, Iwas also luck enough to have my video of the Azores Highly commended. I feel so lucky to be celebrating 10 years with these amazing Humpbacks in Tonga.

Scott was named runner up in the Our Impact category of the 2010 ANZANG Nature Photography competition for a shot of a Blue Marlin taken in Tonga in 2009. The Marlin had been tagged and released and was gasping and showing multiple wounds to its eye and body. This was a sad sight to see but a good reminder of how we have an impact on the ocean.