Global Nature Photographer & Expedition Guide
Emily McCulliss
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.
The Vision
Every winter, Maui transforms. Humpback whales return from Alaska to raise their young. Big wave surfers await massive swells at breaks like Jaws. The ocean pulses with life, energy, and raw power.
For two seasons, I'm capturing it all - above the water, on the surface, and below - creating Maui Whales & Ocean Tales, a visual storytelling project you can actually own and experience.
What Is Being Created?
This permitted project delivers:
📖 Two Annual Digital Magazines (2026 & 2027) 60-page visual narratives documenting each whale season
📚 Coffee Table Book (Fall, 2027) The complete two-year story in museum-quality print
🖼️ Collectable Prints- quality featuring whales and big wave surfing from aerial, surface, and underwater perspectives
🌐 Interactive Educational Website Behind-the-scenes content, expert interviews, whale behavior insights
📧 Weekly Newsletters for the duration of 2026 and 2027 Whale Season if you want to have access to all things Maui Whales & Ocean Tales showing images, videos, previews of interviews, among so much more!
What Your Support Accomplishes:
EDUCATION Creating freely accessible content for Maui's teachers, tour industry, and conservation organizations - magazines, newsletters, and interactive resources that answer real questions through visual storytelling about whale behaviors, ocean ecosystems, and respectful coexistence.
INSPIRATION Producing visual narratives that capture the magic of Maui's winter transformation - imagery so compelling it makes people pause, wonder, and feel connected to forces greater than themselves.
OCEAN COMMUNITY CONNECTION Amplifying the voices of marine biologists, big wave surfers, watermen, Hawaiian ocean experts, and conservation professionals who truly know these waters - sharing their wisdom, passion, and reverence for this place.
OCEAN STEWARDSHIP Transforming spectators into ocean stewards. When people understand what's happening beneath Maui's waves - why humpback mothers choose these waters, how the ocean ecosystem connects whales to waves to watermen - don't just admire the beauty. You feel compelled to protect it.
THIS LIFE-GIVING SEASON Celebrating winter in Maui as a season of renewal, when ocean giants return to create new life, when legendary swells awaken, when the entire ecosystem pulses with energy and power.
