We chatted to the man behind the viral dolphin photo

Finn Hopson took the breathtaking photo near the West Pier


This week, a photograph of a dolphin leaping out of the sea at the West Pier has gone viral.

The photograph, taken at about 3pm on Thursday 10th March,was captured by Finn Hopson. Finn runs Brighton Photography – a photography studio in the arches on the seafront, near the West Pier. A neighbour told him they had seen a dolphin, so he immediately ran out of the studio with his camera to capture it.

The species seen is known as a common dolphin, which, according to the BDMLR (British Divers Marine Life Rescue) is usually found off the South and North-West coasts of England, the west coast of Scotland, Ireland, the Irish Sea and in the western English Channel. It is rare for them to be found in the eastern English Channel – lucky us!

Courtesy of Finn Hopson 

We spoke to Finn about the chance encounter.

Is this the sort of thing that happens often, have you ever seen a dolphin in Brighton before?

“Not since I saw them at the dolphinarium as a kid! I have heard people say they’ve seen them here before but its pretty rare. “
Is this one of the best things you’ve captured on camera? Any other favourites?
“I’m a landscape photographer usually so I usually prefer a hill or a tree or something fairly stationary, the picture here is a favourite. This (picture of the dolphin) was mostly luck, right place, right time but as far as random moments go its definitely a favourite.”
Courtesy of Finn Hopson 
Any tips for taking good pictures?
“Take a lot of pictures! And carry a camera round with you all the time (easy with phones of course); there’s nothing more annoying than seeing the perfect moment occur and not having any way to capture it.”
What’s it like getting all this media attention for it?
“Amusing! Unexpected really. It’s always odd what ends up being so popular, but it makes it worth nipping outside to take the pictures! Always odd to see people immediately claim it as fake, too.”