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I am Brian Skerry, Shark Photographer for National Geographic. AMA!

Edit: Thanks for all your questions! I'm signing off now, but really enjoyed talking with you all.

Hi Reddit, I’m Brian Skerry, a photojournalist specializing in marine wildlife and underwater environments. Since 1998, I have photographed stories for National Geographic magazine covering a wide range of subjects, and I was named a National Geographic Photography Fellow in 2014.

Sharks are my passion; I have photographed them for nearly 4 decades. For the artist within me, sharks represent an endless well of inspiration, a blend of grace and power that lures me into the sea time after time in hopes of producing a new rendering that truly captures their essence. They move through the sea with exquisite elegance, almost ethereal, yet exude supreme confidence and strength. However, as a journalist, I am driven by a sense of responsibility and a sense of urgency to broadcast what I have learned from my nearly four decades exploring oceans: sharks are in trouble and need our help.

My new book, Shark, is a collection of my images of these magnificent predators and my appeal to the public to save these key species who are so crucial to the health of the oceans.

I’m very excited to be here today and looking forward to any questions you may have. My assistant helping me by typing, but rest assured, I am reading and answering all your questions; responses are 100% my words, and I am picking the questions.

AMA!

Book available here: https://www.amazon.com/Shark-Brian-Skerry/dp/1426219105/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1496775423&sr=8-14&keywords=shark

Check out images from the book here: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/books/features/12-jaw-dropping-photos-of-sharks/

Read more about me here: https://www.brianskerry.com/

Proof: http://imgur.com/a/FS8wp

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Slow-moving-sloth :

Hello there, Brian…can you tell me about your encounter with the Oarfish, aka

enormous sea serpent? How did that come about?

BrianSkerry :

Yeah, thanks for asking! I encountered an Oarfish in 1996 in the Bahamas. I

was actually there photographing sharks in a place known as the Tongue of the

Ocean, which is a deepwater trench. I noticed something just at the edge of

visibility in the distance, and at first, thought it was some type of large

fishing lure, that was maybe being towed by a sport fishing boat. But

curiosity got the best of me, and I swam out towards it. As I approached

closer, I realized it was a living animal, but it was bizarre, like nothing

I'd ever seen before. The animal was about 10 feet long, laterally flat, and

only maybe 3 inches wide. It was shiny silver, it had very large eyes, and a

crest at the top of its head like a bird. It was oriented vertically in the

water column and had two thin, monofilament-like appendages (called pelvic

rays) that extended out below its gills on either side of its body, making it

look almost like a cross drifting in the water. When the animal saw me, it

rotated its pelvic rays alongside its body, and then sank vertically into the

depths like a sword that had been dropped in the water. I didn't know what it

was, but after a bit of research, realized it was indeed an Oarfish, the

animal that inspired sea serpent legends, and learned that this was the first

time that this animal had been photographed alive. It was a very cool

experience.

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Zan_H :



Who is your favourite Beatle?

BrianSkerry :

I love them all, but I've always been a John fan, though McCartney is

brilliant and I love him too.

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Emil__M :



My family went to see the exhibition at the National Geographic last week and

really enjoyed it. The kids were a little nervous that the lighting was too

dark, but quickly got over it and enjoyed trying on shark chain mail and

pretending to be in a shark cage. Keep up the good work! Do you think there

have any ideas how to discourage killing of sharks for the fin soup? Is the

soup for nutrition or some sort of folk remedy to promote big boners?

BrianSkerry :

Thanks for visiting the exhibit, and glad you enjoyed it! I do think there

are ways that we can discourage the killing of sharks for shark fin soup.

There have been some successful campaigns in Asia using celebrities to talk

about not eating shark fin soup and why sharks are important to our planet. I

believe that if we can educate people to the magnificence of sharks, and show

them for what they really are and not just a shadowy, one-dimensional demon

that poses a threat, we can move the dial in favor of conservation. This has

been a big part of my work and what my new book, Shark, is about.

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PMMEYOURSMALLTITTIES :



Have you ever been bitten? And if so how bad?

BrianSkerry :

No, I haven't.

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emelexista407 :



What's your favorite shark to photograph?

BrianSkerry :

Difficult to single out only one species, but right now, my favorite shark to

photograph is the mako shark.

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MattBaster :



Aside from over-fishing for their fins, what are some lesser-known, but very

valid threats to general shark populations?

BrianSkerry :

See previous answer, but also to be more specific, most scientists tell us

that to have a healthy ocean, which includes predators like sharks, we need

at least 30-40% of ocean habitats to be protected. Currently, only about 3%

of the ocean is protected. Sharks are one component of these complex

underwater ecosystems and will benefit greatly by the creation of more marine

reserves. The threats are the fact that we don't have enough protected places

– they're vulnerable because their ecosystems are breaking down.

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Ampluvia :



Could you give tips for people about taking good photos?

BrianSkerry :

I would say the first tip for taking good photos is to be passionate about

your subject. If you have a real interest in the thing you're photographing,

you will not become bored, and you'll want to continue to work it until you

have the perfect image. It's also important of course, to understand the

fundamentals of photography, of exposure, and light, and composition. But

once you understand those basics, don't be afraid to experiment and break the

rules sometimes. Ultimately photography is about your individual vision,so

use your eye to communicate from your heart.

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IamAbot_v01. Alpha version. Under care of /u/oppon.
Comment 1 of 3
Updated at 2017-06-16 11:04:13.439520

This is the final update to this thread

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