fbpix

whale's tale by Michelle Ciarlo-Hayes

Story Behind the Picture: Whale’s Tale

On a whim, we traveled to Cape Cod. Our children, our dog, our bikes, our binoculars, and my camera, all came along for the trip.

We spent a week exploring this beautiful place. We hiked, we cycled, we watched sunrises and sunsets. We spent low tide digging our toes into the wet sand. We spent high tide encouraging our web-footed mutt to go for a swim (we failed: he still won’t). Instead of sticking to a schedule, we unplugged.

We bought tickets for a whale watching trip and told the boys “be prepared: we might not see even one whale, so try not to be disappointed if we don’t.”

That day – that glorious, windy, salty, exhilarating day – we did not see one whale. Instead, we saw upwards of seventy. They breached, they played, they nursed as they swam with their mothers, they sang to one another, and they surfaced so close to our boat that I could hear them exhale. The droplets of water they sprayed formed rainbows in front of my camera lens and left my hair damp and ringed in salt.

They gave us magic that day, and this piece is my way of capturing just a little bit of that. Enjoy!