Alexander Forrest, Patchy (ANIMAL 2025)

I invite you to meet 'Patchy'. Here is a humpback whale unlike any other whale on planet Earth. A once-in-a-million encounter. I first sighted Patchy on the South-East Queensland coast, this past whale season. At first glance through the controller of my drone, I believed the whale to be albino/Leucistic (similar to world famed Leucistic humpback whale, Migaloo). These conditions can be diagnosed by a partial or complete loss of pigmentation, making the animal appear a striking bright white. My excitement flickered but then reignited, as I discovered Patchy was no albino but just as unique! The cause of his rare patterns isn't entirely clear, but a number of cetacean research organisations hypothesise they could be the result of sun burn or skin disease. Since recovery, Patchy's condition has bloomed into a captivating kaleidoscope of patterns. Encounters like these prove why an aerial perspective in photography is so unique, without such vision these magical creatures would go unnoticed - and patchy's story embodying the resilience of nature might never have been told.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.