Drones allow us to capture the remarkable. Given the fact that drones can hover for long periods of time without moving (and flying far, far away from the pilot), those who dare to fly over the oceans of the world can capture amazing shots of the creatures beneath the waters. We’re starting to see some amazing captures of whales, dolphins, stingrays, sharks and various types of fish that – unless you had a helicopter – were pretty impossible to see at these types of angles. Here are some of our favorite and amazing sea creatures captured with drones. They are truly remarkable shots. Enjoy!
1. Baby whale resting on Mom’s back
Perhaps our favorite drone picture from the sea comes from Stacy Garlington. The capture was truly amazing and perfect timing. Stacy simply entitled this Instagram post: “Faith, Trust, & Pixie Dust”. According to her profile, Stacy is a DJI Events and Product Experience Specialist, Photographer, Drone Enthusiast. Oh, and she only flies DJI drones.
2. Humpback whale showing off it’s back-stroke
This amazing capture was caught by Craig Parry of Craig Parry Photography (Follow him on Instagram at @CraigParryPhotography). Here’s what he had to say about his big fella pulling a back-stroke by his boat: ” I didn’t expect this when I went shooting this morning in Byron Bay! I had 2 Humpback whales playing around my boat for over 30 min!”.This shows the enormity of this massive sea beast. A beautiful creature and a show-off as well!
3. Manta Ray playing peacefully
This was a great capture by @FollowTheJo on Instagram. He says this Manta Ray was in St. Maarten and as you can see, it looks like it was playing peacefully with this paddle boarder. This show shows just how exquisite these creatures are in their natural habitat. And the guy on the paddle board doesn’t seem to mind finding a new buddy.
4. Having a few pals over to hang out
This great capture was caught by @naatikakuni who clearly wasn’t threatened by the new friends he made while relaxing on his boat and doing some flying. Even if the sharks were the size of his boat! This is an example of a great shot captured at the perfect moment before he was attacked by sharks. Just kidding. It looks like they are Nurse sharks or something similar – friendly species that rarely attach humans. Regardless, a great snap!
5. Shark joins the snorkeling tourists
This amazing swim team was snapped by Le Paz Bay. They write: “In La Paz Bay every year hundreds of teen whale sharks came to eat. Is incredible how 10 minutes away from the city you can spot many of this incredible animals. This was a picture taken in the production of my mini series Exploring Baja my objective was to capture wildlife.” We thought this was a hell of shot. Bravo!
6. Dolphin enjoying a quiet swim
This is a great image from @coreybaudinette catching a dolphin on a swim of solitude. He writes: “Just returned from an amazing week filming in New Zealand with my incredible LuxHD team. And I think this could be my favorite shot of the year. Just after we had finished shooting a scene a pod of Orcas cruised through the bay right in front of us. One of the large males is called BenNZ101 and he’s had an amazing life.” A beautiful shot of a beautiful animal!
7. Drone-eye view of a whale of a fella
This is a great perspective shot of a whale and a drone meeting eye to eye for the first time. Manual Santos captured the whales while in Puerto Vallarta. He writes: “Whale Watching with our Quadcopter AD1 from Action Drone at Puerto Vallarta!”. An awesome shot of an awesome drone and awesome creature from the deep chatting with each other!
8. Spreading out in Rarotunga, Cook Islands
This humpback whale is doing a bit of a stretch in Rarotunga in the Cook Islands. This great shot was captured by @VaroMedia with a DJI drone and a GoPro attached. Bravo! And the water looks awesome!