Among Giants: A Life with Whales

About this book

It all started in 1965 with a guy riding a whale. The guy was Flip Nicklins father Chuck and the whale was an unlucky Brydes Whale that had gotten caught up in some anchor line. Hoping to free the whale Chuck and some friends took their boat as near as they could and just before they cut it loose Chuck posed astride it for a photo. That image carried on wire services nationwide became a sensation and ultimately changed the life of Chucks young son Flip. In the decades since that day Flip Nicklin has made himself into the worlds premier cetacean photographer. Its no exaggeration to say that his photos published in such venues as National Geographic and distributed worldwide have virtually defined these graceful powerful creatures in the mind of the general publiceven as they helped open new ground in the field of marine mammalogy. Among Giants tells the story of Nicklins life and career on the high seas from his first ill-equipped shoots in the mid-1970s through his long association with the National Geographic Society to the present when he is one of the founders of Whale Trust a nonprofit conservation and research group. Nicklin is equal parts photographer adventurer self-trained scientist and raconteur and Among Giants reflects all those sides matching breathtaking images to firsthand accounts of their making and highlighting throughout the importance of conservation and new advances in our understanding of whale behavior. With Nicklin as our guide we see not just whales but also our slowly growing understanding of their hidden lives as well as the evolution of underwater photographyand the stunning clarity and drama that can be captured when a determined daring diver is behind the lens. Humpbacks narwhals sperm whales orcasthese and countless other giants of the ocean parade through these pages spouting breaching singing and raising their young. Nicklins photographs bring us so completely into the underwater world of whales that we cant help but feel awe while winning personal accounts of his adventures remind us of what its like to be a lone diver sharing their sea. For anyone who has marveled at the majesty of whales in the wild Among Giants is guaranteed to be inspiring even movingits unmatched images of these glorious beings an inescapable reminder of our responsibility as stewards of the ocean.