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