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IMAGING
SHOOTER
98
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FALL 2016
( O P P O S I T E )
W H A L E S H A R K ,
C E N D E R A W A S I H B A Y , I N D O N E S I A
“A whale shark passing overhead allows a different perspective and an opportunity to incorporate the sun
and the surface of the sea into the overall mood. In many parts of the world where diving or snorkeling
with whale sharks is reliable, authoritarian rule makers have decreed strobe lighting may not be used due
to a wholly unsupported pseudoscientific belief, in my opinion, that whale sharks are especially sensitive
to lights. I find this one of the truly irritating absurdities of humans’ presumptions about animal welfare.
As an ambassador for Global Shark Diving’s alliance, it is my duty to bring educated reason to the
public’s and policymakers’ perceptions about the true nature of these sublime animals.”
L E A F Y S E A D R A G O N
“If an award were given for the animal that looks most like a float in a Mardi Gras parade, the leafy
seadragon would have no close second. These unique members of the seahorse family are endlessly
fascinating to watch, and they must be watched intently if one is to perceive their appendages
among the surrounding kelp and seaweed. The wave-crashed shores of South Australia, where leafy
seadragons are found, are dramatic, so in that spirit I framed the animal with wild seagrass and
gorgonia forest. I leveraged the strong sunlight, which suggested to me the lighting of an opera —
Richard Wagner’s Siegfried in a cosmopolitan theater, perhaps.”
AD