When this photograph was first published in Africa Geographic, BBC Wildlife and later in Paris Match and the Daily Mail (London) it resulted in a flurry of e-mails, phone calls and letters from around the world asking if the image was a fake. Following publication no less than 50 websites were hosting colorful discussions about the authenticity of this photograph. The image became probably the most talked about of shark photograph ever and has become my undisputed best seller.
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The photograph is real, no photoshop, no digital manipulation, no nothing, in fact it was shot on slide film Fuji Provia 100 using a Nikon F5 Camera and 17-35 mm lens. For those conspiracy fans who still doubt its authenticity please read how I took the photograph.
To capture this image I tied myself to the tower of the research boat Lamnidae and leaned into the void, precariously hanging over the ocean while waiting patiently for a white shark to come along. I wanted to shot a photograph that would tell the story of our research efforts to track white sharks using kayaks. When the first shark of the day came across our sea kayak it dove to the seabed and inspected it from below. I quickly trained my camera on the dark shadow which slowly transformed from diffuse shape into the sleek outline of a large great white. When the shark’s dorsal fin broke the surface I thought I had the shot, but hesitated a fraction of a second and was rewarded with marine biologist Trey Snow in the kayak turning around to look behind him. I pressed the shutter and the rest was history. Throughout the day I shot many more images, most showing the kayak following the shark, but all lacked the power of that first image of the great white tracking the kayak.
Kayaking with Great White Sharks
When my friend and white shark biologist Michael Scholl discovered (in 2003) large numbers of great white sharks in extremely shallow water (less than 2m deep) very close to some of South Africa’s bathing beaches, we initiated a research project to establish what brings so many sharks so close to shore. Our initial research attempts however were thwarted because the sharks were either repelled or attracted to the boats engine’s electrical fields, disrupting their natural behaviour.
I have been sea kayaking for quite a number of years, frequently using it as a photographic platform and could not think of a better, more quiet or unobtrusive vessel from which to track white sharks from. Granted the first few attempts were a little nerve-wracking, even though we had observed the sharks reaction to an empty kayak numerous times. It is hard to describe what goes through ones mind when sitting in a yellow plastic sea kayak and a 4.5 m + great white shark is heading your way. It is a somewhat tense experience to say the least.
White sharks, despite their bad reputation are much more cautious and inquisitive in nature than aggressive and unpredictable. At no time have we ever had a shark show any agression towards our little yum yum yellow craft. So after some more testing we were soon able to make observations safely from up close and with as little interference as possible.
We believe that white sharks come inshore in such great numbers to socially interact with others of their species, perhaps even to mate or give birth to their young. We have observed many sharks interacting with one another at close range, following behind or swimming tight circles around one another for extended periods of time. To observe and document great white sharks mating or giving birth is the holy grail of shark research and marine wildlife photography, but it is also a extremely difficult and perhaps an even almost impossible task.
For a more detailed account of the research and to see more images please refer to the following book: South Africa’s Great White Shark, by Thomas P. Peschak and Michael C. Scholl, published by Struik in 2006. It is available from all good bookshops and online book merchants.
Update: In 2007 nature conservator and fellow photographer Peter Chadwick and I flew aerial surveys along a very remote stretche of western cape coastline and discovered another inshore white shark congegration location that was even greater and more spectacular than Shark Bay, Michael Scholl's earlier find. Check out my expedition field notes for further updates.