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FALL 2013
IMAGING
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S H O O T E R
photographed, so I figured I’d just
call a few friends from California and
Australia and create a one-stop shop
for shark photos. Most of the guys
who had the photos were traveling all
the time, so it was helpful to them to
have their photos in an office with an
assistant who was there every day and
who was already getting lots of calls
from buyers.
This was before the Internet, and I
was pecking out articles on my trusty
typewriter and sending submissions by
mail. In those days it was a challenge
for photo editors to come up with a
comprehensive selection of images for
subjects like those we specialized in.
There was even a job description at
most publishing houses called “photo
researcher.” Pretty soon I was curating
the word’s most comprehensive
collection of shark photos.
It worked so well, I created another
file for whales and dolphins. After
a few more subjects were added
it became a small specialty stock
agency, which I called Innerspace
Visions. That turned out to be
impossible for clients or couriers
to spell or understand. My mail got
delivered to the Walmart Vision
Center, and I received checks made
out to “Interstate Vistas.” When it
came time to reserve a domain name
I knew I needed something shorter
and more obvious. SeaPics was
available, so I took it, never imagining
how many alternate spellings people
would come up with for that! I sold
SeaPics in 2003 and have been just a
freelancer for the past 10 years.
SF
//
In your pursuit of one-of-
a-kind images, which ones stand
out in your mind?
dp
//
I have a shot of bronze whaler
sharks tearing through a school
of sardines that is likely the photo
that most photographers associate
with my name, although it’s no
Doug Perrine photographs mantas feeding at night in Kona, Hawaii, during the Kona Classic.
Opposite: A Bryde’s whale with its throat pleats expanded engulfs a school of sardines off
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; its baleen is visible hanging from the upper jaw.
Randall Benton
