Seán O'Callaghan | Drone pilot

In the 1990s, the 🐋 Irish Whale & Dolphin Group 🐬started documenting humpback whales off the south west coast of Ireland . Through countless hours of endeavour, they accumulated thousands of pictures and many hours of film footage over the years since, as they try to understand something of the iconic creature ; what brings it here, where is it coming from and going to, what can we do to protect its habitat .

Early in 2019, the Groups's science officer, Seán O'Callaghan, embraced new drone technology to record specular footage of humpback whales off West Cork . Whales had never been seen in Irish waters from this perspective . When watching, bear in mind this was Seán's first time filming with a drone at sea 👉: 🎬 https://vimeo.com/332435303 🐋

Later in the year Seán and IWDG CEO Simon Berrow explained how the filming came about and what they made of the incredible footage 👉: 🎬 https://vimeo.com/355513615 🐋

Despite many attempts since, the opportunity to repeat the feat has not presented itself .

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The picture was taken in the IWDG headquarters, Kilrush, Clare .