Whale watching adventures are very popular on Vancouver Island, and with good reason.

You never know what yousa国际传媒檒l see when heading out onto the open water and sometimes yousa国际传媒檙e able to catch that special moment in time that makes it all worth while.

Black Press editor Mike Gregory had one of those moments during the Canada Day long weekend when he snapped this amazing photo of an orca whale breaching the water near Valdes Island, south of Nanaimo.

sa国际传媒淢y fianc茅e and I took her mother and a cousin, who is visiting from Poland and here for our wedding. Earlier in the tour we had seen a family just around the corner from Cowichan Bay as well as a humpback whale,sa国际传媒� said Gregory.

sa国际传媒淥ur guides with Ocean Ecoventures Whale Watching sa国际传媒榬olled the dicesa国际传媒� as we made our way out to the Strait. We bobbed around in the ocean watching in silence as three orca families socialized in the early evening sun off of Valdes Island. I had just picked up her camera to take a few shots when this beautiful orca breached 30 feet from our boat. It was an experience I was so happy to share with my family.sa国际传媒�

Itsa国际传媒檚 not rare to see these animals playing in the wild off B.C.sa国际传媒檚 west coast, but itsa国际传媒檚 not easy to be ready with a camera when these rare moments present themselves - especially when it happens so close.

Do you have any great photos or videos? Send them along to your local Black Press community newsroom.

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