Sometimes, the stars align perfectly. For Australian photographer Jono Allen, that meant being able to capture breathtaking footage of a rare white humpback whale calf when the chance appeared out of thin air.
Digital Camera World detailed the once-in-a-lifetime interaction that earned Allen the coveted World Nature Photographer of the Year award and afforded onlookers a remarkable look at one of only a few white humpback whale calves in the world.
Allen shared a video of the majestic species in a reel on his Instagram account, along with the winning picture.
Allen captured the calf named Mãhina, which means "moon" in Tongan, as it swam with its mother and a male escort.
Humpback whales of this coloring emerge in just one of every 40,000 births, and this is the first time one has been seen or documented in Tonga. Allen noted that perhaps only three or four of these animals exist globally.
He called the run-in a "completely unexpected privilege" on Instagram. Once he'd sighted Mãhina resting with her mother, the next challenge began: how to fight off his nerves to turn this chance encounter into a moment he could document.
Despite all the adrenaline and excitement, Allen was able to get back to the task at hand.
"I drop my camera, calm my nerves, slowly breathed, and come back to my senses," he wrote on Instagram. "I began to gently engage with Mãhina as I have with many other beautiful curious yet cautious humpback whale calves I have met."
Allen chalked up the mere opportunity to see such an animal to global conservation efforts to preserve the species after generations of whaling. He was heartened by both Mãhina's playfulness and the protective nature of her mother and male escort.
While Allen got some hardware for his efforts, it's clear that the experience alone with such a spectacular and rare creature was all the validation he ever needed.
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"This encounter will forever be the most beautiful, breathtaking, and heart-stopping moment I have ever experienced underwater," he wrote of the scene.
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