All three of my submissions were taken just under a month ago, during my first trip to Alaska.
Kenai Fjords National Park.
This image of a pod of humpback whales was taken from a tour boat. This is an example of bubble-net feeding, a behavior only documented in humpbacks in southeast Alaska and off of Antarctica. One or two whales will swim circles around a school of small fish while blowing bubbles. This corrals the fish together for easier feeding by the rest of the pod, which will breech the surface after coming up from underneath the fish.
Photographically, this is not as engaging as many of the images entered in this contest. However, it's one of the rarer wildlife behaviors I've witnessed, and I feel supremely fortunate to have done so.
Edits consist of global toning, contrast, denoising, and sharpening.
Nikon D850
ISO 400
600mm
f/6.3
1/3200