Lunge feeding is one of the techniques used by Humpback Whales in order to catch their fish, where they lunge out of the water with their mouths open, and gulp in water and fish. Despite the size of the Humpback Whale (reaching up to 12 meters long and 40,000 kilograms), they actually feed on small fish such as krill and herring.

This image provides a unique perspective of the lunge feeding as we were actually in the zodiac while photographing this (as opposed to the sailboat) so we were basically at eye level when it lunged from the water. It was also taken while I was experimenting with using the 1.4x Extender with the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM and using the new feature on the 1DX Mark II that allowed all AF points to be focused on f/8 lenses.

This image was captured during my 2016 Marine Mammals trip where we traveled the coast of British Columbia from the Johnstone Strait to the Northern tip of Vancouver Island.

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Taken: August 17, 2016
Location: Johnstone Strait, British Columbia

Camera: Canon EOS-1D X Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM + 1.4x III Extender
Focal Length: 560mm
Aperture: f/9
ISO: 2000
Exposure: 1/2500