AmateurPhotographer

Photo Insight
Shark
shepherd
Benjamin
Von Wong
The surrealist photographer recounts
the challenging process behind his
stunning underwater shot of one
model’s encounter with sharks
Despite being of
Chinese descent
and growing up
in Canada, my
roots lie in Malaysia, a country
my parents considered to be
their home. As a result, when
I heard of conservation efforts
to establish shark sanctuaries
there, I felt compelled to use
my photography and network
to support the environmental
campaign for change.
It soon became apparent
that, if the campaign were to
succeed, a political petition
would be required. Along with
YB Datuk Seri Panglima
Masidi Manjun, the Minister
for Tourism, Culture and
Environment in Sabah,
northern Borneo, and the
Shark Stewards (an
organisation dedicated to
combating the shark-fin trade),
we aimed to collect 100,000
signatures worldwide. By
encouraging people to abandon
their misconceptions
surrounding sharks and
instead, understand the facts
– in particular, the importance
of sharks to the oceans’
ecosystems – we hoped to
reverse the plight of these fish.
I had heard that Fiji is home
to some of the most incredible
sharks, so I was keen to go
there and see them. My first
problem was that I was unable
to find the right contact or
make concrete plans until I
had actually landed in Fiji.
Meanwhile, not knowing how a
usually merciful white-tipped
reef shark might react to a
model in a billowing dress
underwater, made the
challenge totally unpredictable.
Of course, the regular
complications of shooting
underwater offered their own
strains. Finding a team of
experienced divers to assist
us was always going to be a
problem, especially since we
had no budget. We were using
specialist equipment, including
a Sony Alpha 7R II in a
Nauticam housing. However,
once in the water,
communicating with each
other was complicated and our
oxygen supply was limited.
Also, the demanding
conditions meant we could
shoot for only two hours at
around noon each day when
the sharks were most active
and the light was most visible
Benjamin Von Wong
Benjamin, 29, is a Chinese-Canadian photographer based
in Montreal. His background is in engineering which, he
says, gives him an edge in creative problem solving. He
specialises in shooting surrealist compositions that,
he insists, are definitely not the result of Photoshop.
Visit www.vonwong.com
© BENJAMIN VON WONG
inside the caves. I wanted to
use off-camera strobes, but
without enough manpower we
had to rely entirely on natural
light. Somehow, we managed
to overcome all the obstacles.
The plan was to go out in the
boat to the underwater caves.
Thomas Vignaud, our French
marine biologist, would then
search for the sharks and
signal to us when he found
them. The rest of us would hop
into the water and set up the
scene, only calling our model
when we were ready.
As a champion Australian
freediver in her own right,
Amber Bourke has, crucially,
a fine-tuned appreciation of
safety, as well as lots of
underwater experience.
Wearing a free-flowing
dress by Indonesian designer
Ali Charisma, she was tied to a
rock formation under a beam
of available light using a
slipknot attached to a 10kg
lead weight. Once she was in
position, the shepherd’s crook
was handed to her, dead fish
were rubbed on the rock to
release a scent to attract the
sharks and all we had to do
was wait. Simple – or not so,
as it turned out.
The white-tipped reef sharks
hovered around us like curious
squirrels in the park, but
darted away if anyone dared
to get too close. It was a race
against time whenever one
swam far enough into the cave,
as Amber would take a deep
32 14 May 2016 I www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113