Brian Skerry. Hope.

A young sperm whale calf in the waters of the Eastern Caribbean. This calf was named ‘Hope’ by Brian Skerry while working with the researchers that study these whales. Sperm whale families are matrilineal and are led by the older, wiser females. This particular whale family had struggled to produce a female calf in recent years, with only males being born that then died. This calf was a female and offered hope to this family.

Brian Skerry is a photojournalist and filmmaker specializing in marine wildlife and underwater environments. Since 1998 he has been a contract photographer for National Geographic Magazine, having created and photographed more than 30 feature stories, including seven cover stories. In 2014 he was named as a National Geographic Photography Fellow and then named a National Geographic Society Storytelling Fellow in 2017. In 2017 he was also awarded the title of Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year.

Follow Brian on Instagram @BrianSkerry.