I have been blessed to realize my dream of becoming an underwater photojournalist, but with that, I feel an obligation and sense of urgency to share what I have seen with others. Brian Skerry Read Quote
On Cape Cod, great white shark stocks have been growing, or at least becoming more concentrated, because of the multiplying numbers of seals around Monomoy Island. We are fortunate to have such abundance of these sharks in our own waters. Around the globe, we are killing in excess of 100 million sharks each year. Brian Skerry Read Quote
I swam with my first shark in the 1980s. I was 20 miles off the coast of Rhode Island, working with a group of marine scientists. Late in the day, a 5-foot long blue shark swam into our chum slick. For the next hour, I marveled at the animal’s stunning indigo color and the elegant way she moved effortlessly through the sea. Brian Skerry Read Quote
All in all, the dives I made in Fiordland were some of the best I’ve ever made. Brian Skerry Read Quote
Under the snowcapped mountains of Fiordland National Park, freshwater streams empty into the saltwater fiords, creating a unique ecosystem. This is a heavily wooded park, so the water in the streams is stained with tannin, a substance found in plants that makes clean water seem dirty, though it isn’t. Brian Skerry Read Quote
I typically shoot underwater with my regular camera in an underwater housing, and then I usually have two big strobes that I use to light. But with whales, you’re not going to be able to really light a 45-foot subject. Your strobes are only effective for maybe five or six feet underwater. Brian Skerry Read Quote
The Bahamas has mangrove nurseries, coral reefs, shallow sea grass beds, and deep oceanic trenches – all perfect ecosystems for sharks. Photographing multiple shark species in exquisite water was the assignment I had dreamed about from the start. Brian Skerry Read Quote
New England waters are some of my favorite – they are some of the richest waters because they are temperate waters and nutrient-rich, and therefore provide food for so many animals, from giant whales to sharks to everything else. Brian Skerry Read Quote
I love storytelling, I love being a visual person, and it just made perfect sense to be an underwater photographer and explore the ocean and work with scientists. Brian Skerry Read Quote
As a young boy, I was very interested – as I still am – in all sorts of adventure and exploration. I thought about being an astronaut, a dinosaur scientist, or marine biologist, but I clearly was drawn to the ocean and to the water. Brian Skerry Read Quote
