Swimming with wild Orcas is a life changing experience. Imagine the apex predator of the sea swimming in large pods and mega pods (50+) and then it's just you. You have your drysuit, snorkel, fins and a camera and a heart beat that is off the charts. There's absolutely no barrier between you and one of the most intelligent mammals on the planet. They have the second biggest brain amongst ocean mammals. What intrigues me the most about these stats is that humans think that we are the smartest based on our own definition of intelligence. I would argue that Orcas have a way greater sense of intelligence and specifically emotional intelligence. To communicate telepathically and to communicate with sight, with touch, with sound with their own language and unique dialects. To fully understand how special, how intelligent an animal or mammal is depends on their brain size and based on our assumptions, perceptions based on observation alone. There are no tests or tasks to truly understand how special Orcas (& all wildlife are). This image is titled 'The Matriarch' is to praise the significance of the Orca female. What's interesting is that the most intimidating Orcas at first are the bulls with their >5ft dorsal fins and their size but the females (the cows) are the ones who are the hunting experts. The coordination of the pod and the hunting techniques are passed down through the matriarch. "The matriarchs support the survival of the pod by acting as repositories for ecological knowledge,' guiding their groups to salmon, herring foraging grounds, and that their knowledge is especially important during years when salmon and herring returns are low." Not only is the matriarch, the hunter and gatherer but she protects the young. Orcas are extremely spiritual to me and I hope that this image also inspires you to care a little more about preserving our oceans and to raise your level of awareness and understanding of their fragility. In order to capture this image I travelled to the most northern tip of Norway in the middle of winter in negative temperatures on a boat with Arctic winds chilling every bone in my body. I gave a piece of myself to create this shot, like I do with most of my Arctic work. I will suffer to tell the stories of the voiceless in order to raise our levels of compassion to all wildlife  above and below the surface and big and small. All wildlife are important and essential to their respective ecosystems, their value is not based on human's utility. To bring this digital still to life, like it was for me, each of the 10 collectors will receive a 24”x16” limited edition print with a signed certificate of authenticity and a matching hologram with the edition number. Thank you for supporting my vision to continue to tell stories of habitat preservation and wildlife conservation. I always donate a minimum of 10% of my artistic proceeds to conversation organizations where I work and explore.

$1950