A 50ft-long humpback whale has been caught on camera in the Cromarty Firth.

Skipper Sarah Penn took the pictures while captaining the whale-spotting vessel Soarsa on October 1.

The whale breached and dived less than 10ft from the boat, surprising its passengers.

Ms Penn said: "We had seen several minkes and porpoise throughout the day and were sat watching another young minke when in the distance something much larger breached the surface.

"It was a long way off but a blow was clearly visible. After two distant surfaces and 15 minutes of waiting we began to lose hope that whatever it was would reappear.

"Then, suddenly, a massive blow right in front of the bow and as our jaws hit the deck about 15 metres of humpback whale slowly arched and dived less than 10ft in front of us."

She added: "It is the first time in 23 years we have been lucky enough to see a humpback in these waters and it is something I personally will never forget."