The Spy Hop

An orca rises vertically out of calm grey water in the Pacific Northwest to look around. The move is called a spy hop: the whale holds itself upright at the surface to see what is above it, including the boat and the people on it.

The picture is quiet. Flat water, soft light, one animal looking back. It is the opposite of the shark frames, and a natural partner to one of them.

A print for a calm room. Fine art paper suits it, framed simply, and the grey-and-white palette fits almost any wall.

The Pacific Northwest is home to two very different orca populations. Bigg's, or transient, orcas hunt seals and sea lions and are doing well. The Southern Resident orcas, which eat salmon, are endangered: about seventy animals remain, and they have been listed under the Endangered Species Act since 2005.

The Southern Residents are starving for Chinook salmon, deafened by vessel noise that makes hunting harder, and carry some of the highest pollutant loads of any marine mammal. Their recovery depends on rivers and fish as much as on the sea.

An orca looking back at the boat is the clearest reminder we have that these animals are watching us too. We teach our youth crews the rules for being near whales, and why keeping a distance is a form of respect.

Read about Ocean conservation and our guide to ocean conservation in Southern California. Species guide: Orca (Killer Whale).

• HD Metal · Printed onto white gloss aluminum, luminous and sharp; ships boxed, ready to hang. From $245.
• HD Acrylic · Printed behind crystal-clear acrylic for depth and color that glows; ships boxed, ready to hang. From $295.
• Fine Art Paper · Archival fine art paper, ships rolled in a tube for your own frame. From $145.
• Sizes · 12 × 18, 16 × 24, 20 × 30, 24 × 36 inches. Printed to order in the USA and shipped insured within the US.
• Where the money goes · a print is a purchase, not a donation, so there is no tax receipt. My Clean Ocean keeps the profit for its youth programs.