Sharks are one of the worlds most fascinating creatures. We’ve done quite a few articles here about the raw power and majesty these creatures radiate. When it comes down to the rest of the world appreciating these creatures though, let’s just say support is a big lacking. 90% of the worlds sharks have disappeared in the last 100 years. That isn’t a coincidence. With the development of commercial fishing, sharks are having a harder and harder time surviving human interference in their ecosystems. One photographer wanted to spread awareness about the plight of sharks around the world. 100 million of these apex ocean predators were killed last year alone. He wasn’t really sure where to start, and then a brilliant idea came to him! Check out his quest to raise awareness for sharks and the crazy stunt he used to pull it off.
The photographer wanted to create a sort of “shark shepherd” image with this set of photographs.
The photographers decided they would need someone with a unique skill set to pull off the type of photo shoot they had in mind.
They enlisted the help of Amber Bourke. Amber is a world-class and champion free diver. She has the ability to hold her breath for up to 5 minutes.
She did not test the limits of her abilities for this photo shoot however. She averaged about 1 to 1 and a half minutes between asking for air from the scuba tanks.
They even gave her a shepherd’s crook to bring about some more authenticity for the message they were trying to send to viewers.
Amber was actually tied underwater throughout the shoot so she could focus on posing for the camera.
Almost 90% of the photo shoot was spent simply waiting for sharks to get near enough for pictures to be snapped.
Sometimes they would be lucky enough to have two come over at the same time.
To get the magical look the photographer wanted, it was necessary to warm up the images.
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This is a very creative way to try to bring awareness to a creature that is seriously misunderstood. Sharks are thought off as deadly animals by most everyone who has never had true interaction with them. While sharks can be dangerous, the odds of getting attacked by one are incredibly small. Most sharks are simply various creatures. One of the ways they investigate things is to take bites out of them. When it happens to be a human, people become scared and start to make generalizations about the entire species. This is never helpful and almost always will have harmful repercussions for the animal in question. Hopefully through this underwater photo shoot with sharks, people will feel an urge to learn more about these apex predators and try to save them.