WHETHER she's shooting from the open doorway of a high-flying helicopter or scuba-diving the depths of the sea, Whitsunday photographer Brooke Miles is passionate about ocean photography.

Ms Miles, who last week returned from an eight-day trip to Tonga to swim with and photograph humpback whales, said the experience was "something else” and rated as her most "amazing” photographic expedition so far.

"I've always scuba dived, in lots of places around the world, but this was just extraordinary,” she said.

"There's something about the whales and being that close to such a massive beast who is so gentle and so aware ... it's actually hard to describe.”

Ms Miles said she was left speechless by the magnificence of the marine mammals and the opportunity to snorkel with and photograph them while on the Whales Underwater trip with well-known Australian photographer Darren Jew.

She said the whales had been migrating to breed, so she was also able to capture plenty of images of mother-and-calf groups.

Ms Miles, who has been a professional photographer for 12 years, said she took about 2000 photos and she would display some of the images in her new gallery, Above and Below, due to open in Airlie Beach in September.

Ms Miles' Above and Below Photography label focusses on ocean shoots, both from the sky and in the water.

When working from the skies, Ms Miles charters local helicopters and aims for unique angles and photographs of the Whitsunday landscape.