VAVA'U ISLANDS, TONGA - UNDATED: A humpback whale mother is given a kiss by her calf off the coast of Vava'u Islands, Kingdom of Tonga.   A HUMPBACK whale calf gives her mother a tender kiss on the head. But moments after the tender underwater moment the youngster swam directly at the photographer.   The humpback mum, which was as long as a London bus at up to 50-foot-long, looked relaxed as she floated for the photo-shoot.   However her young offspring was so excited to see a human he swam right towards US photographer Jon Cornforth.   Despite the heart-stopping brush with one of nature’s biggest babies, the 41-year-old from Seattle managed to keep his finger on his camera shutter-release button to take the extraordinary pictures ten-miles off the shore of the Pacific island of Tonga.   “I did have a heart-racing moment as the baby whale almost ran me over,” said Jon.   “When I’m diving with a family of humpbacks, Mum is always casual.   “She knows that she could run me over and swat me like a fly, so I give her the respect that she deserves.   “But clearly the baby became very excited when I was in the water.   “I just curled-up into a ball and allowed the whale to swim as close to me as it wanted to.   “I was so close, if I extended my arm I would have been touching the whale's body.”   Once under threat from whaling ships, thanks to laws protecting them the humpback whale population is now increasing each year.   Current world numbers are estimated to be more than 60,000 individuals.   “It is an amazing feeling to be able to spend time in the water near such gentle, but enormous creatures,” said Jon.   “I have to be an accomplished swimmer and confident in my abilities to swim in deep blue water in the open ocean.   “This is a sensation that is not for everyone, and I do need to be careful when swimming with these giants.   “When I am near whales in the water, I give them all the room that they require to move around.   “But sometimes they will even approach me quite close.”