Snow-covered mountains photographed by Emily in the field

Learn in the field

Learn to photograph Maui's whales

From the deck or from the air, with Emily beside you. December through April.

Request a field day or lesson

On the water From above

Maui · December through April

Choose your view

On the Water — Vessel-Based Whale Photography

Learn to photograph humpbacks from the deck during Maui's whale season.

2–3 hrs · From $125 · Dec–Apr

2 or 3 hours · from $125 · all levels

See the workshop

Big-wave surf photographed from a helicopter off Maui

From Above — Doors-Off Aerial Workshop

Humpbacks and big waves from a doors-off Robinson R44, with Emily beside you.

Doors off · R44 · Dec–Apr

Robinson R44, doors off · whales and big waves · quoted on request

See the workshop

What Emily teaches

Composition
light
field craft
behavior anticipation
working in extreme conditions

More ways to learn

Until Next Time — a humpback diving in Maui waters

Spend a day with me

Maui whale-season field days, December 2026 – April 2027: the encounters, the experience, and coaching to bring the photographs home.

Request a field day

Tide & Stone — Maui waves meeting volcanic rock

Photography lessons

One-to-one time on your camera, your eye and your edit: composition, light, field craft and behavior anticipation.

Request a lesson

Elephants crossing African grassland, photographed by Emily

Photography expeditions with ELEM×HU

Journeys built around the photograph, with instruction and image review from Emily in the field.

The Hours of the Hunt (Maasai Mara)
Into Shadow (Botswana or South Africa, then Kenya)
Celebrate the Aloha that Whale Season Brings (Maui)
Open Water (Mobula rays, La Ventana)

Start the conversation

Interlude — quiet water along Maui's shoreline

About Emily

Emily McCulliss is a Maui-based photographer, photography teacher and expedition host, local to Kāʻanapali, whose work spans all seven continents. She has spent five winters photographing Maui's humpbacks.

Emily beneath the sculpted walls of an ice cave