Incredible footage has captured rare angles of more than one hundred killer whales in the wild.
Filmed in November in the fjords of northern Norway, it was shot by wildlife filmmaker Patrick Dykstra.
The 36-year-old was able to capture incredible close-up shots of the whales in the freezing Arctic water - and also employed a drone to take stunning aerial views of the magnificent sea mammals.
orcas
The Colorado-born adventurer was joined on the trip by German orca expert Marco Schulenburg, 40, who spends six months of every year following pod migrations.
The pair filmed more than 100 killer whales on the expedition encountering family groups of five to ten - observing them playing, communicating and feeding on herring.
Expedition leader Patrick explained how the duo gained the animals' trust over the week-long period.
He said: “Orcas are incredibly smart and so if you just jump in the water, they will leave.
“Marco and I take a lot of time with each family pod to allow them to get used to our presence before we attempt to enter the water with them.
“We only enter the water when they are comfortable and show that they will not be bothered by our presence, which also results in the best experience with them.”
The Dubai resident was able to film the whales from an entriely new perspective using the drone.
He said: “The video is unusual because it shows drone footage of orcas from angles that have rarely been filmed.
“The orca showed a curiosity about the drone and would often approach it and pop up and look at it.”
Patrick, who originally hails from Denver, USA, also revealed the difficulties of filming in such cold and dark conditions.
He said: “You are dealing with a dark animal, in dark water, often moving fast, so that is everything a photographer or filmmaker does not want when trying to get a well-exposed photo or video clip.
“The orcas also chose to congregate in the high Arctic in the winter, which means potentially rough seas and cold weather, as well as very short days.
“Towards the end of our trip, the sun was only up for about two hours each day because the polar winter was closing in.”