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Underwater Photographer | Emily Krakoff

@emilydives

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༄ Underwater Photographer
༄ Expedition Leader, @wildtidecrew
༄ Master Freediving Instructor
༄ Competitive Freediver, Top 10 USA

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➡️ Couldn’t agree more, Emily! We’re big Baja fans too. 🙌 @emilydives⁠
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🔁 "Big fan of Baja"⁠
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#sdidivers #freediving #onedivefamily

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📸 @emilydives

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📸 @emilydives

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Polynesian Paradise 🐋

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I had wanted to travel here since hearing of it 2 years ago; So when given the chance to join @emilydives I was all in!

Our whale expedition fully exceeded my expectations. We were blessed to see whales every day, with 5 species of cetacean, warm weather and hospitality, incredible captains / guides, and the company of some of the most kind, fun and fit divers I’ve had the pleasure of knowing.

I’m thankful to Emily for organising our trip, to our crew for teaching us how to respect the ocean and appreciate its gifts, to our group of friends for their collective efforts, and to all the other locals and travellers who cooperated with everybody and did things the right way.

#whales #dolphins #wildlife #ocean #nature

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where the mountains meet the ocean

📸 @emilydives

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An Oceanic Whitetip Shark (Carcharinus longimanus) or Parata charges head-on at our group of divers during my first encounter with this species.

The Whitetip is believed to be one of the four most dangerous sharks. It is nicknamed the Shipwreck Shark for having attacked survivors of ship and plane wrecks at sea.

This encounter took place with the guidance of an experienced professional. Shark safety is not a joke.

On Day 3 of our whale expedition, we heard about and then saw Short-Finned Pilot Whales. Before getting into the action, our guide gave us a shark safety briefing, because Oceanic Whitetip Sharks are known for tailing Pilot Whales (they both prey on cephalopods) in places like French Polynesia and Hawaii.

Our initial jumps yielded a baby Pilot Whale among a small pod of them, and a Pilot Whale appearing to “lead” a group of three large humpback whales. We moved on from the area, only to come across a larger pod of Pilot Whales.

For this jump, our guide had deliberately split up the group, to allow for more situational control given that sharks had been sighted. The wonderful Megan graciously let me take her place in the first jump, knowing my great enthusiasm for the Pilot Whales (which had started before the trip)!

We entered the water to try to see the Pilots, but a lone Whitetip quickly appeared. It made one charge at us, then continued to circle us. The encounter lasted for a brief moment, until we returned to the boat to swap our places.

Hopefully we get more Pilot Whale encounters here, but a quirky highlight of this whale expedition has been this shark encounter, mostly because this species likes to follow the whales all the time.

Each day, I continue to feel grateful for our incredible crew, our great group of divers, and our trip leader @emilydives who have all made this trip so fantastic and special.

#wildlife #ocean #nature #shark #oceanicwhitetip

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Behold, the Pygmy Killer Whale (Feresa attenuata), the smallest cetacean with #whale in its name.

Day 2 of our whale #expedition completely blew our minds. After setting out in the morning, we heard chatter of dolphins, and our Guide asked if we were interested. Not knowing what was to come, we said yes, expecting Rough-Toothed Dolphins or something similar.

Before getting in, our Guide said to us that she knows we had all come a long way and worked hard for these #wildlife encounters, but we should firstly and always be thankful to nature and the wildlife for what they provide to us, before we ask to take from them, and to always keep this mindset.

We got in the water, and swam. As the animals’ silhouettes started to appear, my first thought was that these might be Pilot Whales (one of the biggest #dolphins). But as we got closer, it was obvious that they were not Pilot Whales, but possibly a small pod of #PygmyKillerWhales.

What followed was an incredible, once in a lifetime encounter for our gang. PKWs are a deep water species that dive 500m to 2km in depth, so to spend a long time with them on the surface is rare. I recorded nearly 10 mins of video, even with the camera off about half the time.

Our group was buzzing after this encounter, and amazingly, by the end of the day we had enjoyed 3 more drops, including a glimpse of a humpback heat run, the same curious baby and calm mother humpback from yesterday, and an extremely gentle and patient juvenile humpback whale that spent the longest time circling us. Overall, this was one of the best days each of us had ever experienced on the water, our Captain and Guide included.

So grateful to our crew, our gang of amazing divers, and our leader @emilydives

Mauruuru Tohora. Mauruuru Poema. Mauruuru Mo’orea.

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baddies & belugas? unmatched vibes 🥹

still on cloud 9 from the most epic girls’ trip EVER!! 🖤

we had the absolute time of our lives with the friendliest whales in the wholeeee wideeee world. the belugas are unlike any other wildlife we’ve EVER experienced, these adorable babies are soooo darn crazy curious!

thank you to all our guides and hosts that made this trip one for the books 🖤

we’re already missing these cuties and can’t wait to be back again next year! 🥰

if you want to join next time, shoot us a DM and we’ll put you on the first priority email list for when we release details and open bookings super soon!! 🖤

#belugas #beluga #whale #whales #hotgirlslovewhales

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this is now a beluga stan account 💅

our group of girls had the absolute BEST TIME EVER this week with the friendliest whales in the whole wide world 🥹

we can confidently say this has been the most special, touching, heartwarming, incredible thing any of us have ever experienced 🖤

we’re currently finalizing details for several trips next year! shoot us a DM if you want to join babes 🥰

#beluga #belugas #whale #whales #hotgirlslovewhales

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Another day boarding with the beluga babeeeees 🖤

#beluga #belugawhale #hotgirlslovewhales #whales #whale

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