I don't know what it is about this photo, but I just keep staring at it. A baby beluga (cue the Raffi music) followed its mother, swimming through the murkiness of the deep salt water tank at the aquarium. As we watched from the viewing deck, many feet under water, mother and newborn traced circles around the depths of the tank. I couldn't help but wonder if the mother was purposefully teaching her child to swim and glide through the water, or inadvertently demonstrating patterns of boredom in captivity. The circular swim was mesmerizing. Each time their bulbous white bodies darted gracefully (yes, gracefully) past us, I aimed to freeze a moment with my camera, but with the very low light and surprising speed with which they sailed by, the images were nothing but a blur. So, I timed it differently. To get them as they swam towards us. Far enough away. Zoomed in. I love that the moment is so dark. So quiet, almost haunting. Hardly discernible. Just the curve of their bellies-up bodies, a hint of light from above. Just mama and baby, circling their own private ocean.
Aliza
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