A photographer caught footage of dolphins appearing to “glow” as they swam through bioluminescent waves in California, United States.
Patrick Coyne saw the mammals appearing neon blue while he was sailing on the waters in Newport Beach last Wednesday, April 22. He posted a video of the dolphins on his Facebook page the day after.
“Last night was truly one of the most magical nights of my life,” Coyne said.
Coyne added that he saw the animals playfully swimming in the ocean when he tagged along with Capt. Ryan Lawler of the touring agency Newport Coastal Adventure.
The neon blue “glow” surrounding the dolphins is caused by bioluminescent organisms. According to National Geographic, these organisms, such as a type of plankton called dinoflagellates, sometimes emit a bluish-green light when disturbed.
Coyne said that it became one of his dreams to record animals swimming through bioluminescent waves after seeing it on a Netflix documentary called “Night on Earth”. After successfully getting footage of the dolphins, he admitted that it was “the most challenging video” he has shot “for a number of [reasons].”
“For starters the bioluminescence has sweet spots to where it shows up and then fades away so while on the water it’s impossible to just find it,” Coyne explained. “Not only that but actually finding any type of animal in pitch black is just so ridiculously hard.”
“On top of all that just trying to nail the focus at such a wide aperture with something moving in the water was a nightmare,” he added.
Coyne and Lawler were only able to see the mammals up close when they were making their way back to the shore after a “few hours” on the waters. The photographer also pointed out that the “incredible glowing show” started with two dolphins that were later joined by two more. Ryan Arcadio/JB
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