Quote:
Debunking sharks’ bad reputation
Who would believe someone would free-dive unprotected with great white sharks in the open ocean unless you had photos to prove it.
Divers William Winram, Fred Buyle and Pierre Frolla do just that.
No shark cage. No spear gun or knife. Just cameras.
In the last few years, divers like Winram have been debunking the sinister reputation of the so-called man-eater.
He wants to show that human’s natural fear has been blown far out of proportion and convince people that the creatures deserve protection.
His business card says “Shark Publicist.”
Before going into the water to get their shots, they check their diving gear and photo and video equipment.
Underwater with sharks nearby is no place to be changing batteries or memory cards, so Winram makes sure they’re all charged and cleared.
They also spend time on the boat watching the animals to make sure it is safe to get into the water with them.
The shots they get are unpredictable because they cannot know what direction the sharks will arrive from. There are shots they would like to get, but “it really is a fluid environment — pardon the pun,” said Winram.
He said all of the photos in the gallery above were taken “in the moment without any preconceived idea of ‘setting up’ a shot.”
To keep from being a shark’s next meal, Buyle and Winram stay alert. They could be watching one shark for a photo but have to keep an eye out for any others that may sneak up.
They also watch each other’s back.
“Since Fred and I have worked together a lot, we intuitively understand what we are going to do and are able to follow each other’s lead, which is important when dealing with unpredictable animals,” said Winram. “This is how we have managed to capture some really interesting shark/human interaction with photographs.”
The also have some fun while underwater with some gag shots. There’s one in which Winram is pretending to drink tea while lounging on a rock. To get that photo, he swam down about 15 meters in 18-to-20-degree (Celsius) water wearing jeans and weights hidden under the pants and held his breath for 2 to 2.5 minutes. He had to make sure to avoid sitting urchins on the rock. This shot took four attempts as bubbles from nearby scuba divers ruined the shot.
http://framework.latimes.com/2011/08/22/debunking-sharks-bad-reputation/#/0
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