Whale Breath Photography By Mandy Houston

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Whale Breath Photography By Mandy Houston

Photographing whales in the wild has been a passion of mine since 2001. Prints are now available on

08/23/2026

This past Wednesday we had an incredible encounter with three Humpback Whales. Two, Spoon and Chromosome, are whales that I know very well. The third, Stance, was a new whale for me.

One thing that fascinates me the most is the associations that these whales form. It truly amazes me seeing the same whales find each other year after year. Spoon and Chromosome is just one example. Every year they seem to find each other and spend several weeks together. How do they do it? Do they recognize each other? I believe they do somehow, but how? Do you have any theories?

On this particular trip, Stance seemed to want to get close to Spoon which was visibly annoying Chromosome. We observed some tail swishing and subtle (from what we could see) position jockeying from Chromosome to ensure that he was always in the middle. In typical Spoon fashion, she seemed to be oblivious to it all and just wanted to continue napping.

This snippet is only about 2 minutes of a 10 minute video. This encounter will go down as one of my favorites of all time.

Thanks to Cape Ann Whale Watch for an incredible experience!

08/15/2026

If you're going to captain a boat out on the ocean, please learn how to travel safely around whales before hitting the water.

Today, while on a whale watch with Cape Ann Whale Watch, we saw several boaters driving very recklessly in the area where there were whales present - including a mom and calf pair. These captains were well aware that there were whales in the vicinity because they literally trail behind the whale watch boats to find them. It was incredibly frustrating seeing them put the whales in danger in the way they were.

To end our trip we came upon this young whale known to researchers as Hassleback. When he was younger, he was struck by a boat and now has propeller scarring along the right side of his body. This whale is a victim of human impact and although he has every reason in the world to be terrified of boats he chose to approach us for a closer look. The whale watch boat was in neutral to make sure the whale was not in any danger. After an experience like this it's impossible to 1.) not love whales and 2.) not want to wrap them up in bubble paper to protect them!

08/08/2026

Tomorrow I'll be getting back offshore again to see some REAL whales, but over the past week I've been busy sculpting these guys. These are all hand sculpted and hand painted solely by me without the use of any molds - that goes for the bases as well as the whales. After such a long hiatus, it feels great to be making these again. 😊

With that said, these pieces are already spoken for, but if you're interested in owning one please feel free to follow my sculpting page as I'll be adding more for sale in the near future!

Also, stay tuned for photos from tomorrow's excursion off shore with Cape Ann Whale Watch! I cannot wait to get back out there again!

07/16/2026

Today was my first time in three weeks (to the day) that I've been out on the ocean and this morning's trip in particular had a very eerie feeling behind it. The smoke from the wildfires in Canada turned the sky a yellow/orange color. These photos are not edited in any way in regards to color. Of course, it should be pointed out that cameras capture color very differently than our eyes.

While it added a unique touch to the photos, I can't help but feel badly for those who are being effected by these fires and of course the wildlife in these areas. Wildfires can be absolutely devastating and it's just so sad to see.

The whale pictured in this batch of photos is a whale known as Bayou. She's one of "my" whales. One that I always watch out for year after year. Even if I don't personally get to see her, just seeing her name and knowing that she's alive and well is enough. With that said, it was such a special treat to see her this morning!

Photographed 7/15/26 aboard the Hurricane II with Cape Ann Whale Watch from Gloucester, MA.

07/11/2026

Hi everyone! I hope you're all doing well. Life has been hectic for me - mostly in a good way - and it's been limiting my time offshore for several reasons. I've been going a little stir crazy and have decided to get back into one of my other hobbies to get out of the funk I'm in.

For those who don't know, I make sculptures out of polymer clay. I create mostly humpback whales, but I do create other pieces as well. I'm actually HOPING to expand to do custom dog sculptures, but that's going to take some practice and time. We'll see if I get there.

I just started a new page for my clay art. If you're interested in following feel free! Here's the link... https://www.facebook.com/mandyhoustonclay

Also, if any of you are into art (of any type) and have a page, feel free to drop your link in the comments! :)

05/04/2026

This weekend was opening weekend for Cape Ann Whale Watch and what a spectacular weekend it was! My mind is blown at the number of whales out there. I've been whale watching since the 2001 season and have never experienced a season opener like this one. It didn't matter which direction you looked in, there were whales everywhere! We saw dozens of Humpback Whales (including a few calves which was amazing as we didn't a single calf last season!), a handful of Fin Whales, and few Sei Whales as well. It was pure insanity to say the least!

I haven't even made it through all of my photos yet, but here's a little preview. I'll be trying post more over the next several days.

If you're interested in going out on a whale watch this season now may be the time to book! With the high number of whales out there I'm sure that they'll deplete the food sooner rather than later and then they'll move on to the next hot spot.

Photographed on Saturday, 5/2/26 aboard the Hurricane II with Cape Ann Whale Watch out of Gloucester, MA.

03/29/2026

I've been quiet for months and with the 2026 season quickly approaching I wanted to share something to try to get back into the swing of things.

Last year was different. Life changes prevented me from getting out on the ocean as much as I normally do, but they were good life changes so all is well in that regard. I expect this season to be about the same although I'm hoping to get out more.

Whales aside, my family suffered a great loss on December 10, 2025 when my father passed away. I won't get into too much detail here other than to say that although he'd been sick for months, we were not expecting or prepared for this loss. He went in for a pretty significant surgery that morning and despite everyone including his team of doctors and nurses having a very optimistic outlook, things did not go as planned. He went into cardiac arrest while in surgery and they were unable to bring him back. To say that having someone who's been a permanent and constant fixture in your life ripped away so suddenly is incredibly hard is an understatement. It's something that you can't even find the words to explain. My entire family has been left with so many questions and so little answers.

My dad was a homebody. He didn't come out whale watching with us (my mom and I go together frequently) very often, but he did enjoy it when he was out there. He also got some pretty incredible photos over the years which I'm sharing in this post. Looking back at his photos I'm grateful that he got to see such great activity.

My mind is still in a blurred state at times and my family is still trying to come to terms with everything. Grief is a weird thing. One day you're fine. The next you get a random reminder and it hits you like a freight train all over again.

With the 2026 season inching closer and closer we're starting to get a little antsy and are itching to be back out at sea. Last season was unusual in that we didn't get to see a single Humpback Whale calf all season. It was seemingly a very low calving year, but reports from the breeding grounds this winter look a lot better and more promising so we're hopeful it'll be a great season.

I hope to stay more active and up to date this season. We'll see what life has in store for me as far as that plan goes! Until then... I hope you're all well and had a great winter.

With all of that said, here are some photos that my father took over the years out at sea.

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415 Main St
Gloucester, MA
01930

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http://www.whalebreath.com/

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