A new angle of the ocean

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Charlie Pingree

By Hoku Tiwanak, CLA Student Writer - February 17, 2026

Charlie Pingree, originally from Marblehead, Massachusetts, is a fourth-year marine studies student at the College of Liberal Arts. For most of his childhood and high school years, Pingree was a competitive skier. He trained and competed, regularly traveling across the country, including to Oregon’s Mt. Hood. 

It was those trips to Oregon that unexpectedly opened a new chapter of his life. After training at Timberline on Mt. Hood  as a high schooler, he decided to tour Oregon State University.

The moment he walked onto campus Pingree said he was “totally hooked.” Despite being a bigger university in both campus size and student population compared to New England colleges, it wasn’t overwhelming to Pringree. “It felt homey, welcoming, and having the Hatfield Marine Science Center so close, I knew this was the place,” he said.

When he enrolled as a marine studies major, Pingree found an immediate community in the Ocean11 marine club, a student-led group that organizes field trips, beach cleanups, speaker events, and networking opportunities. “As a freshman, it was the perfect place to meet people with the same interests. I made a lot of close connections there.”

Pingree’s decision to major in marine studies stemmed from his interest in documenting whales up and down the New England coast. Pingree’s journey in whale filmmaking began with a DJI drone he and his dad had bought simply for fun. His first big opportunity came in the spring of 2021, when endangered North Atlantic right whales moved close to shore near his hometown. It was too early in the season for boats to be operating, so Pingree set up onshore, launching his drone over the water and capturing his first whale footage. The videos he captured even made local news. 

The drone gave him a new vantage point. It let him see the ocean in ways he never had before. “That moment really set everything in motion,” he said. “Once summer came around, I had endless opportunities to film.”

He spent many days out on Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off the Massachusetts coast filming humpback whales, offering an angle most people never get to see. Pingree’s work eventually caught the attention of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who he shared his footage with. Pingree sees his filmmaking as both art and potential scientific data.

“I love the artistic side of videography,” Pingree explains. “But the aerial perspective also gives researchers a different look at these animals. It’s cool knowing the footage could be useful in scientific contexts.” All of Pingree’s work can be found on his website: Stellwagencreations.

The marine studies program introduced Pingree to an academic community who share his passions and expand the way he thinks about outreach, communication, and conservation. Over the years, two classes have stood out: Society, Culture, and the Marine Environment (MAST 300) (“It opened my eyes to what opportunities are out there,” Pingree said) and Marine Mammals Ecology and Conservation (FW 457X), a 9-credit, five-week field-intensive class taught at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. With just 11 students, Pingree spent time with the Marine Mammal Institute, learning from experts around the world about marine mammal behavior, bioacoustics, feeding strategies, migration, and conservation. 

This past summer, Pingree returned to Massachusetts to intern with Cape Ann Whale Watch in Gloucester, working as both an onboard educator and a research assistant. It was immersive, high-energy, and involved talking to hundreds of people every day.

“There are usually three educators on each trip,” he explained. “We teach passengers about species, ecosystems, and migration patterns using maps, charts, and samples like real whale baleen. Once we reach the whales, we switch into data-collection mode.” 

Whale researchers depend heavily on identification catalogs, using unique markings on the underside of a humpback’s tail, like a fingerprint. Pingree and the other interns identified the individual whales, recorded behavior, collected data, and shared it with ongoing regional efforts.

“I never thought of myself as a good public speaker,” Pingree admits. “But trying to educate 200 people at a time, three trips a day, for 10 weeks straight, you get good at it.”

After graduating this spring, he is interested in pursuing marine tourism, particularly whale watching, while continuing to expand his filmmaking. “I’ve found a real love for sharing what I get to see. Taking people out to experience whales, maybe even for the first time, can spark the same passion I grew up with.”