Photographer's Note
During my recent trip to Western Australia, I was very lucky to be able to dive on the World Heritage listed Ningaloo Reef. The Reef is famous for its marine life, the most awesome of them being the Whale Shark, the largest fish in the world. Whale Sharks can grow to as large as 12 metres and weigh 21 tonnes. This bloke was 9 metres long. I swam within 3 metres of him. No photo of these gentle creatures will ever do it justice, in terms of communicating the size and power of the Whale Shark, nor will it do justice to the awe and exhilaration that the humble human feels when being allowed to swim next to one.
My Workshop has 2 photos to show a wider angle of the shark and then compared to a 5"8 80kg girl.
Western Australian writer Tim Winton conveys it better than anyone:
"...The shadow has a body. It turns and its mighty dorsal fin breaks the surface and you see it's a shark. Eight metres of shark. The tail swings by like a factory gate and already you're fumbling with your goggles and fins....in fifty-five metres of water you have no sense of scale, nothing to fix onto...you can't immediately tell if it's an anchovy or a nuclear submarine. But as it climbs slowly and evens out...quite suddenly you see it's a shark's mouth, big as the bucket of a steam shovel. The shark alters its course and the real shock hits you as you begin to see the size of its body. The colossal flanks are delicately spotted, as mesmeric as an Aboriginal dot painting...as intimidating at first sight as a ship's hull. Astonishingly silent, unhurried and seemingly slow motion, but hard to keep up with for too long... this thing is really, unbelievably big. a plankton eater, harmless, majestic and willing to swim with you a while, as long as you keep your distance and behave yourself...Then slowly, with imperceptible changes to its trim, it tilts away into the deep, tail fin swinging off into the haze below.
You tread water and marvel. Within sight of the shore you have swum with a whale shark, the ocean's largest non-mammal. Your snorkel blasts clear and pipes the sound of your hoot".
Olympus Tough TG2 Underwater Camera
ISO 200
f/5
1/160 seconds
13mm
Critiques | Translate
snunney
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 10627 W: 63 N: 29874]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-g-g.gif){kind=small}
(130967) 2015-04-14 3:57
Ciao Lisa,
An impressive and awe-inspiring creature in anyone's book! An excellent capture, well composed with beautiful cool blue tones.
dkmurphys
(79209) 2015-04-14 4:32
Hi Lisa,
Spectacular underwater scene. I want to do that, to swim with the fishes. Great shot!
Daniel
lousat
(139198) 2015-04-14 4:43
Ciao Lisa,non faccio diving perche' ho paura,ma mi piace lo snorkelling ed θ fantastico vedere delle foto come queste su TE,3 immagini spettacolare dell'altra parte del nostro pianeta..e che foto,una qualita' esagerata!!! Complimenti e buona serata,Luciano
carlo62
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(81265) 2015-04-14 5:34
Ciao Lisuccia
che spettacolo, foto degne del National Geografic.
La qualitΰ θ incredibile, il blu dell'acqua θ fantastico.
Ci mancavano le tue foto.
Un abbraccio forte
Carlo
Sergiom
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(117241) 2015-04-14 6:16
Ciao Lisa,
A little bit too close for confort for my taste.A slap on the side of the head by that tail and it is finish. But what a result. The blue water is spectacular.
Have a nice day
Serge
danos
(110407) 2015-04-14 7:17
Ciao Lisa,
nice the view of the whale shark with the other in the WS to be more interesting for my mind.In this we can see more details from this big fish.Informative your note as ever.
Regards,Danos
ourania
(51103) 2015-04-14 7:44
Hello dear Lisa,
it's awesome indeed! I like very much this suggestive scene that plays with the sense of movement and dimensions and it's amazing to think that you were swimming right behind him when you took this picture! The blue colour, the play of light and his little group of followers are marvellous. I enjoyed the workshop pictures too, particularly the one with the diver. Great photos and a fascinating experience, congratulations and thank you!
All the best, have a great day,
Ourania
sabermonajati
(11537) 2015-04-14 7:56
hi lisa
excellent frame with amazing crop from fish you captured.
regard
saber
worldcitizen
(16048) 2015-04-14 10:10
Hello Lisa,
It must be amazing to share a moment with these underwater creatures. I wonder if they are as curious about you as you are about them. :-) I like this view of the tail and fin immersed in the beautiful, blue water. Having some smaller fish on the right side is a charming detail, too.
No_One
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor [C: 4179 W: 26 N: 9240]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-s-n.gif){kind=small}
(4) 2015-04-14 10:50
Hey Lisa,
So you've swapped walkabout for splash about? Heh heh, I say that with tongue in cheek because you are braver than I. As beautiful as this is, and it really is an eye capturing blue blue blue scene, it does give me the heebie jeebies. I think I said to you before I have this thing about the sea, that includes eating what lives in it, and being close to them, and this guy looks ginormogantic. The way you composed this with the sharks head disappearing out of shot gives a very jaws like element of the protagonist escaping the scene.
I've never taken an underwater photo, I hope someday I can take one had as good as this, and maybe half as much further away too. In a cage. :)
Hope you and yours are well, best wishes from the soggy rock.
Noel
cornejo
(61504) 2015-04-14 11:03
Hello dear Lisa, very good picture of the whale shark tail interesting, beautifully captured in this picture, with good sharpness, light and color. Great job well done, congratulations my friend. Thanks for sharing this interesting work.
Good day and happy week.
A warm hug from southern Spain.
Angel.
Praetzer
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(209) 2015-04-14 11:48
Awesome.
Outstanding compo.
The fish bottom right escalate the picture above "excellent".
Congrats.
Alfred
Silvio1953
(221493) 2015-04-14 12:57
Ciao Lisa, tre foto spettacolari, favolose, da National Geographic, ma non avevi paura a stare cosμ vicina ad uno squalo? Grazie per averci mostrato questa spettacolare sequenza, il blu dell'acqua θ fantastico, bravissima, un abbraccio Silvio
Gigidusud
(21679) 2015-04-14 14:25
Ciao cara Lisa,
Wow! Che spettacolo e che coraggio. Tre immagine incredibile!
Splendida cattura di questo squalo balena nella splendida acqua blu. Complimenti e un grand applauso!
Baci e buon compleanno alla tua Mamma !
Gigi
jjcordier
(79299) 2015-04-14 22:34
Lisa
Trois photos belles et impressionnantes de ce requin baleine et de ses nombreux poissons nettoyeurs.
Amicalement
JJ
kordinator
(8738) 2015-04-15 0:14
Dear Lisa
Beautiful atmosphere, good point of view, many details to see under good management of lights, beautiful realization.
An excellent capture, well composed with beautiful blue color tones.
Wrem regads
Saa
CLODO
(45116) 2015-04-15 0:37
Hi Lisa
what an experience! You are in the blue world of silence, and the remoras are fixed under its lateral wing as milking babies
hats off
CLODO
abmdsudi
(95869) 2015-04-15 3:11
HI Lisa
Fantastic underwater capture and amazing experience of a lifetime that I can't imagine being that close to something so big and it seemed the whole marine ecosystem moves with it with surrounding 'cleaner' fish. Excellent composition & three captivating images, bet you will always remember this moment, awesome caught on camera and having the diver in the shot, allows the viewer to see the extent of the size of these magnificent creatures. Great visibility and beautiful colour, I love the light and those wonderful markings too, by the way smashing shot - very impressed - I am very envious, My compliments
Best regards
macjake
(98408) 2015-04-16 6:18
Hey Lisa
wow, I liked it on IG too, funny to see it here on TE aswell.
glad to hear you didn't end up being shark-bait!
but I know they are dosile, it would be rare for them to attack a human - the human would have to do something terribly stupid.
this is so cool though, must have been exhilarating to say the least. so what's it like to be so excited but you can't open your mouth to shout out! lol..
seriously...I can't swim, so it must be a strange feeling.
wicked cool photo Lisa, awesome experience.
who are you swimming with next????
cheers
craig
photoray
(13981) 2015-04-16 17:09
Howdy Ningaloolisa,
Interesting underwater close up of the backside of the impressive Whale Shark. A special marine animal for its size and unique coloring. Not a man eater, but certainly caution advised when in their environment.
I would love to have been there with underwater camera.
Thanks for sharing,
Cheers,
Ray
Matyas
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(0) 2015-04-19 0:43
Hello Lisa! Splendid work. Very sophisticated idea and very original, but minimalisctic composition. Superb Blueeeee! Good cut. Good frame. Regards!
mkamionka
(74329) 2015-04-19 3:11
Ciao Lisa,
very impressive picture, the tiny fish allows to imagine the size of the big one. Although you got just a fragment of it -it makes a nice curve in the frame. I tried to do some underwater pictures and it never worked, the fish was too fast for me :)
Excellent work,
M
Royaldevon
(85862) 2015-04-19 3:16
Ciao Cara Lisa,,
A photograph symbolic of freedom!
A whale, flipping its tail in the blue, shimmering with reflections and off!
Since I haven't seen you around for a few weeks, I revisited your page to see if there had been any updates. I couldn't help looking back at your favourite photograph. It still has strong, emotional impact!!!
I hope all is well with you,
Bev :-)
emka
(158058) 2015-04-19 13:50
Ciao Lisa, Big wow! Was it not dangerous to dive near the sharks?? In South Africa some people swim, or maybe are only put in water near sharks but in the cage. Amazing blue photo. It must be incredible experience. Awesome picture.
REgards M
tyro
(30513) 2015-04-21 3:36
Ciao cara Lisa,
What an amazing experience this must have been for you! I know that these creatures wouldn't attempt to eat you but is it not dangerous being in such close proximity to them? I mean, one delicate swing of that enormous and strong tail could surely inflict a lot of damage to a puny human being, couldn't it?
Your note is fascinating and I can appreciate fully the quote from Tim Winton - he describes very well what that experience must have been like.
And this is a fabulous photograph too, considering that you took this (and the workshop pictures) with a small compact underwater camera.
Fabulous!
Kind Regards,
John.
Photo Information
-
Copyright: Lisa DP (delpeoples)
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5609 W: 342 N: 12455]](//i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(60342) - Genre: Τοποθεσίες
- Medium: Έγχρωμο
- Date Taken: 2015-04-00
- Categories: Φύση
- Έκδοση φωτογραφίας: Πρωτότυπη έκδοση, Workshop
- Θέμα(τα): Cute Critters, Under The Sea, The Wild Wild West, The Blues [view contributor(s)]
- Date Submitted: 2015-04-14 3:37
- Αγαπημένα: 1 [view]
Discussions
- To Silvio1953: Grazie Silvio (1)
by delpeoples, last updated 2015-04-14 03:06 - To Noel_Byrne: Ciao Noel (1)
by delpeoples, last updated 2015-04-14 03:32 - To Gigidusud: Grazie cara guagliona! (1)
by delpeoples, last updated 2015-04-14 03:39 - To carlo62: Caro Carluccio (1)
by delpeoples, last updated 2015-04-14 03:45 - To macjake: Hoot! (1)
by delpeoples, last updated 2015-04-22 04:04
