sharks

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Science

Underwater Footage Captures a Graceful Whale Shark Swimming Through the Gulf of Thailand

Underwater footage from a dive off the coast of KoTao opens on the spotted body of a whale shark. Documented by a small team from Aquatic Images on two excursions, the giant, slow-moving creature is shown gliding gracefully through the Gulf of Thailand with what appears to be dozens of remora, or suckerfish, tagging along for the ride—these smaller swimmers tend to clean bacteria and parasites from their host in exchange for food and easy travel.

Whale sharks are currently the largest living fish species, and similar to flamingos, they’re filter-feeders, although they utilize a cross-flow method that involves water passing by the filter toward the back of the throat rather than through it. Their distinctive spots are also unique to each specimen, meaning that like human fingerprints, no two patterns are the same.

This is the second time in recent years that Aquatic Images has encountered the “gentle giant,” and you can find more of its undersea footage on YouTube. (via The Kids Should See This)

Photography Science

A Deep-Sea Montage Unveils the Fantastic, Bizarre Creatures Swimming in Monterey Bay

A compilation recently released from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (previously) invokes the old adage that reality is stranger than fiction. Featuring dozens of otherworldly sea creatures, the footage highlights some of the most bizarre animals spotted during the organization’s ROV dives, which range from the water’s surface to its 4,900-foot-deep floor. The montage includes a diverse array of species from aptly named strawberry squid and the elusive psychedelic jellyfish to the pacific viperfish. The institute’s partner organization, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, is also hosting an exhibition dedicated to the mysterious creatures living in the region, which opens this April. (via Moss and Fog)

Peacock squid

Swimming sea cucumber

Feather star

Vampire squid

Strawberry squid

Barreleye

Photography

A Pair of Sharks Photographed Through a Cresting Wave by Sean Scott

All images by Sean Scott

Photographer Sean Scott was headed to Red Bluff in Western Australia, a remote camping location where the desert meets the Indian Ocean, when he spotted a giant pack of fish congregated near the shore. Feasting on this bait ball were about 200 bronze whaler sharks which Scott began to follow with his drone. Once the swarm of fish moved a bit closer to land he was able to spot the sharks without the assistance of his elevated camera, and began shooting from his perch on the beach.

“The shore break was quite large so the first wave came and I fired off a test shot to get my exposure and focus right,” explains Scott to Colossal. “The very next wave rose up right on the shore, and sure enough there were 2 big sharks in excess of 2 meters in the wave. I snapped away and ended up with 3 of my favorite shots. I stayed and waited for a further 2 hours and did not see them in that close again.”

Scott was able to capture two locked in a rising wave, caught just as it was swelling to shore. You can see more of his aquatic images on Instagram. (via PetaPixel)

Photography

Matty Smith’s Photographs Display Vibrant Life Lurking Just Below Sea Level

“Physalia Physalis” – Bushrangers Bay, NSW Australia

Appropriately titled Over/Under, Matty Smith‘s series showcases the dual environments that exist just above and below sea level. Smith focuses on images right at dusk in order to expose the vibrant colors that shine within the dark waters. Each shot is divided by a wavy strip of ocean just above the center of the photograph. Fish and coral live below the horizon as seagulls and sunsets populate the upper half of the photos.

Tricky photographs to shoot from a technical standpoint, Smith uses a strobe light for the bottom half of the image to ensure that both the animals above and below water are highlighted prominently.

The Australian photographer views each half and half image he captures as a landscape photograph, and prefers environments with depth and attitude over blue sunny skies. Typically Smith scouts his locations via snorkeling expeditions. “For me one of the most wondrous parts of any dive is the moment that the water engulfs my mask as my head slips below the surface,” says Smith. “I think it’s the suspense of the unknown of what lies beneath, the transitional part of moving from one element to the next that feels so magical and the thought of what alien creatures I might encounter.” Many of his photos are available as prints. (via My Modern Met)

“Smiling Assassin” – American Crocodile, Jardines de la Reina, Cuba

“A Silky Encounter 1” – Jardines de la Reina, Cuba

“A Silky Encounter 2” – Jardines de la Reina, Cuba

“Bluebottle Army” – Bluebottle cnidarian, Bushrangers Bay, NSW Australia

“Crimson Tide” – Waratah Anemones, Port Kembla, NSW Australia

“Ocean Rose” – Bass Point, NSW Australia

“A Shock of Blue” – Bushrangers Bay, NSW Australia

“A Splash of Yellow” – Sargassum Seaweed, Bushranger Bay, NSW Australia

Art

A Mechanical Shark Mural by ‘Phlegm’ in San Diego

Sheffield-based muralist and artist Phlegm just unveiled this awesome mechanical shark mural for PangeaSeed’s Sea Walls: Murals for Oceans festival in San Diego. The piece is done in Phlegm’s signature black and white illustrative style that often depicts shady masked figures manning the controls of unwieldy machines or contraptions. The Murals for Oceans project involves a collaboration with internationally renowned artists in an attempt to focus attention on major environmental issues involving the ocean. You can see many more pieces by Phlegm spanning the last few months on his blog. (via StreetArtNews)

Photography

Software Architect Turned Photographer Alexander Safonov Captures Breathtaking Underwater Scenes off the Coast of South Africa

Alexander Safonov is a software architect from Voronezh, Russia who currently lives and works in Discovery Bay, Hong Kong. Not content to sit in front of a computer full-time he obtained a diving license in 2002 and started to experiment with underwater photography about two years later. He has since made numerous excursions to photograph underwater wildlife off Cocos Island, Fiji, the Galapagos and Raja Ampat. However his favorite destination is the annual sardine run off the coast of South Africa where most of the photos you see were captured over the last few years. You can see much more of his work on Flickr and 500px.