Through a Photographer's Lens, Sharks Get a Makeover
More than a hundred million sharks are killed each year, primarily for their fins. Brian Skerry goes to extraordinary lengths to highlight their importance—and show us their beauty.
Photographing wildlife within the ocean is quite unlike terrestrial photography. Undersea photographers can't use telephoto lenses to make pictures of animals in the distance. Even in the clearest of water, visibility is never that good, and water acts as a giant filter, removing color and refracting and scattering light.
I cannot sit in a camouflaged blind for weeks waiting for an elusive animal to wander past or use wonderful tools such as camera traps. Instead I must dive underwater, where I can remain only as long as the air supply on my back will last, often less than an hour. I need to get close to my subjects, typically within a couple of meters.
Imagine your subject is an apex predator, and
