If you’ve ever dreamed of capturing the raw beauty of marine wildlife in action, photographing striped marlins and bait balls during the sardine run in Mexico is an unmatched experience.

When most people hear “sardine run,” their minds go straight to South Africa. However, there’s another spectacle, less commercial, more raw, and much more accessible, that takes place closer to home. Off the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur, in the deep blue waters near Magdalena Bay, a lesser-known sardine run unfolds each fall.

Normally we do not condone the touching of animals, and we believe that animals should be left to their own will… but the gray whales of Baja Mexico seem to have their own plans, and ask “What’s all this no touching nonsense?? Come here and rub my face, human!!”