Whales are back and breaching

LIGHTNING reflexes, a sturdy hand and a great deal of luck - these are the essential assets for today's whale watching photographers.

LIGHTNING reflexes, a sturdy hand and a great deal of luck - these are the essential assets for today's whale watching photographers.

Humpback whales, which have just begun their annual migration north along the NSW coast, are often languid beasts, gracefully cruising past the harbours and ports of eastern Australia.

But, as this amazing shot demonstrates, they can sometimes surprise with a burst of energy that is, more often that not, missed by the cameras of those on board the whale watching boats.

But not this one.

John Fowler of Port Macquarie Cruise Adventures was in the right place at the right time to capture this massive mammal as it became airborne off Lighthouse Beach.

Closer to Sydney, some of the 20,000 humpbacks on their northerly migration this season were yesterday snapped off the coast of the northern beaches.

Photographer Jonas Liebschner was also lucky - he had trained his lens on an albatross near his boat, only to hear the water breaking to his right and a whale bursting from beneath the surface.

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