Show us your favorite shots!
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Oceanic Manta Ray - Raja Ampat, October 2019
GF99/99
Contributor
I am going to change it up a little...
This is one of my favorite shots, I took this pictures couple months ago (I think maybe October'ish) on the island of Lombok located in Indonesia. The picture is of a local shark fisherman processes the shark fins at the world famous Tanjung Laur shark market. Tanjung Laur is one of the largest if not the largest shark markets in the world. Right now Indonesia is the largest producer of shark fin products. Over 100 million sharks are killed every year by humans world wide. That is approximately 11,000 sharks an hour!! 75% of sharks have been killed in the last 15 years. The majority of these sharks are killed for there prized fins that are sold to Hong Kong and Mainland China. Because of this huge rapidly growing demand shark fishing communities like the one in Tanjung Laur exist however very little is done to reduce the demand for the shark fins. In Indonesia shark fishing is not illegal so many people have taken to shark fishing to make money to provide for there families. The people fishing the sharks are not to blame, they are simply working a job that makes them money in a very poor area of the world that already has very limited job especially with the current Corona situation. These people also have very limited alternatives for work. The problem is the extremely high demand for these prized shark fins China/Hong Kong has. If there was no demand then there would be no value in the fins so people would not be killing thousands of them a day for there fins.
I call this one of my favorite shots to bring awareness to this problem. We all love to post pictures these wonderful pictures of the underwater world however there is a sad side to it as well us as a human race are rapidly destroying the beautify underwater world we love as divers. I think as divers we have a duty to share with the world the good and the bad. I am sure many are unaware of this issue that has become a very large problem. More pictures like this and the more media publicity can maybe help educate others about this growing problem that is destroying one of the most beautiful sea creatures that many of the love to scuba dive for.
Yes there are some organizations attempting to make a difference but in small poor remote areas like Lombok its very hard. Sadly the truth is most people don't care as its so far, its not in there country, its remote, and they don't have to see it. If there was a operation like this happening in an area where tons of people and tourist were like down town Miami, Byron Bay, Australia, Marseille, France etc. this would not be happening, people would protest, organizations would get funding to shut it down or lobby the government to shut it down, etc.
The most famous organization is probably Project Hiu started by Madison Stewart and she does a wonderful job trying to show the world what is happening through social media (check on the Project Hiu youtube channel) but another one that I had the opportunity to take a trip with is The Dorsal Effect started by Kathy Xu. See below videos shot in Tanjung Laur market for more info on the incredible job they are doing to help create a new sustainable solution.
I know Indonesia is one of those bucket list trips in a life time dive destinations for most but there is more to it than just Komodo, Alor, Banda, Raja, Mando, Wakitobi, etc. If you have the time take a trip to Tanjung Laur and see what is happening, something like this you really need to see in person as it will really hit you hard. This is impacting all those beautiful dive sites we all love and its not going to fix its self or get any better, it is only getting worse.
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These are probably my favorite two shots I've taken so far. Still learning this photography stuff. Just picked up a second strobe and a +12 macro lens, along with some floats and other stuff to hopefully make things better in the future as I continue to learn.
I really hope to get better at macro shots in the future as the small stuff is some of the most beautiful stuff I see in the water. Any constructive criticism/advice is always welcome.
I really hope to get better at macro shots in the future as the small stuff is some of the most beautiful stuff I see in the water. Any constructive criticism/advice is always welcome.
Dan
Contributor
Correct!
jonhall
Contributor
One of my favorites: a picture that I took of my dive buddy on a trip to Grand Bahama, 2018. Timing was great as it gave the shark an air tank and an extra set of fins.
Aqua-Andy
Contributor
Dan
Contributor
My most recent favorite shot is this first encounter with Tiger Shark last week in Submerged Rock, Cocos, Costa Rica. It was stealthily sneaking behind me while I was swimming along the wall of Submerged Rock, until I happened to look out into the blue and straight into its eye. Then it just veered away from me.
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