Humpback whales in feeding frenzy (amazing pictures)

A dozen humpback whales were captured emergng from the water during a feeding frenzy in Alaska.

The magnificent creatures broke the surface of the sea to swallow large pockets of herring.

Jon Cornforth, 42, from Seattle, took the remarkable images during a tour of Alaska's Inside Passage in August this year.

While sailing on the boat Jon came across the herd of humpbacks working together to feed.

The pod worked as a team to dive beneath a school of herring and force the meal towards the surface - making sounds and blowing a stream of bubbles towards the fish. Words: Barcroft

As they rise the whales swim to the surface with their mouthes open to collect the herring - breaking head first into the air in a practice known as bubble feeding.

Jon said: "I have observed humpbacks repetitively breach 25 or more times over the course of an hour, but most often they breach a few times and then stop.

"The exciting thing about photographing the whales bubble-feeding is that they will feed every five to ten minutes for hours at a time, so they are constantly on the surface."

"They are unpredictable in their direction and behaviors, so I have to be very patient until they do something interesting or come surprisingly close.

"Over the many years that I have spent observing them feed in Alaska, I have experienced a few very close attacks that are, shall we say, exhilarating moments, though, not usually photographically productive."