Ballet movements

Amazing footage - an overhead view of a humpback whale surfacing through a bait ball of fish. The drone footage was captured off the coast of La Jolla, California by  DolphinDoneDom. The first eruption is the best as the whale materialises from the depths.



A bait ball occurs when small schooling fish swarm in a tightly packed spherical formation about a common centre. It is a last-ditch defensive measure adopted by small schooling fish when they are threatened by predators. You can see the birds circling attracted by the bait fish and seemingly not scared off by the whale.

Above and beyond

Nick Rains latest book "Aerial Australia" is beautiful, and reminds us that depending on the angle there is beauty in just about everything.
In this case the angle is from an aeroplane, but the proliferation of drones is likely going  to make the rarity of aerial photography more commonplace.

There's nothing like the thrill of looking out the window of an aircraft and seeing the world from above, and in "Aerial Australia", Nick's photographs reveal Australia as it's rarely seen, revealing a whole new side of its beauty. It offers sweeping views of Australia's cities; dramatic glimpses of its Outback sand dunes and epic waterfalls; a new perspective on Australia's coral reefs and coastal fringes, and a new way of looking at Australia's countryside. These hundreds of stunning photographs turn industrial scenes and winding rivers into abstract art. 

Nick Rains has been a professional photographer for over 30 years, starting off in the UK with sports and commercial work before moving to Australia in 1990. Since then he has specialised in travel and landscape work, crisscrossing the country on assignments for publishers. His work involves packing up his 4WD and heading off into the wilderness for weeks at a time, driving tens of thousands of kilometres and camping out under the stars in a never-ending quest for the perfect light.  

Here are just a few of the images in the book-
 

The solar reflectors at White Cliffs, N.S.W.

The everyday reflected in White Cliffs, then the everyday transformed with a red car on a road crossing the shallow Wallaga Lake near Bermagui.

The unexpected - headstones in Melbourne General Cemetery

This beautiful keepsake casts Australia's beauty in a whole new light. 
And talking about drone photography, I was recently impressed with Jaimen Hudson, check out his website for more stunning photos, especially those around Esperance.

Here is the link to Nick's website, and other books by Nick Rains.