Visual Storytelling Platform · 2026-2027
Humpback Whales | Big Wave Surfing | Ocean Community
authentic ocean immersion / community / connection / education / inspiration
Maui Whales & Ocean Tales
For ocean and whale lovers who want to understand and protect them.
The Whale Project now has its own home: stories, the project shop and ways to support the work.
The Mission
Connect. Educate. Inspire.
Imagine discovering Maui's winter season from above, on, and below the water.
Humpback whales giving birth, mothers nursing their young, competitive mating pods, breaching giants, and surfers riding legendary swells.
Moments so extraordinary they transform how you see the ocean.
How you understand connection.
How you protect it.
100% of profits from Emily's whale and surf images go to the Maui Whales & Ocean Tales project.
Visit Maui Whales & Ocean Tales ↗
Why it matters
Mothers nurse their calves a few miles off Maui's shore. Seeing it changes people. But most visitors leave with a photo, not an understanding.
- Wonder without understanding: The story behind what people see.
- Science that stays in papers: Shared openly with classrooms and tourism.
- Whales facing entanglement: Documentation to responders, and every sale helps fund response.
The big goal
Turn spectators into stewards.
Millions visit Maui. Tens of thousands seek out its whales. The goal is to turn every one of them into someone who protects them.
The long-term vision: film the whole humpback migration, Alaska and Canada to Maui, and back.
Read the project story ↗Join this season
Memberships and sponsorships can be added to your cart here, or on mauiwhalesoceantales.com ↗.
The Pod
$150.00
A postcard from Maui, the signed book, your name in its acknowledgments and the season premiere. 100% of profits go back to the water.
Includes the $90 signed book, so the season itself is $60
The Escort
$295.00
Limited to 25
Everything in The Pod, plus a framed print you choose and a thank-you from the boat.
Give a whale season
Season Gift Box
$165.00
The Pod plus a whale greeting card and a chocolate bar, shipped to unwrap.
A whale of your own
Sponsor a Whale for the Season
$100.00
Every humpback's fluke is as unique as a fingerprint. Get a digital fluke ID card and a signed fluke print, updates if your whale is seen again this season, and the chance to name it if it's new to the catalogue.
The premium choice
Whale Steward Program
$250.00
Everything in Sponsor a Whale, plus a digital Whale Steward certificate and season-long updates on anything about your whale, wherever Emily is working this season.
Whales roam freely, so new sightings can't be promised.
Coming soon from this season
Not yet available to order · 3
Coming soonCalendar · 2027
2027 Maui Whales Calendar
$25.00
100% of profits from this image go to the Maui Whales & Ocean Tales project.
Coming soon · Available to order November 15, 2026
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Coming soonMaui whale season
Coffee Table Book
$125.00
$90 for Pod and Escort members
Coming soon · Anticipated ship June 1, 2027
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Coming soon
Join the whale community
Ask Emily anything, share your whale moments and get your fluke photos identified. Free.
Stay Close to the Work
The Wild Within Newsletter
Emily's work keeps growing - speaking engagements, new volumes, active field projects, and new expeditions opening each season. The mailing list is where all of it lands first.
The Wild Within arrives every other Wednesday: one image and its story, and one way to bring it home or learn in the field.