Eye of the Giant
Eye contact with a humpback whale can be a powerful experience. They are intelligent, curious, social animals with unique personalities and moods. They gather across the world for a few months to socialize, breed, and raise their new born calves. This is the eye of a humpback whale calf that came over to me while I was freediving. I have seen grown women and men brought to tears after coming face to face with whales. In moments like this I cannot bring myself to put my camera in front of my face and look through the viewfinder.
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Biography
Karim Iliya is a professional aerial cinematographer and underwater photographer / film maker based on the island of Maui, Hawaii. Karim lives a semi nomadic lifestyle and travels the globe with a focus on photographing / filming wildlife and marine environments using freediving and drones. Karim's passion is in documenting whales, elephants, big cats, and other threatened animals in an effort to create appreciation in order to help protect our delicate ecosystems on Earth. Karim has been published in National Geographic Magazine for his humpback whale photography.
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Awards
Hasselblad Masters - Wildlife 2017
National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year - 2017 First place - Landscape
