My friend Charles Alexis-Desgagnes recently shared this article and I was immediately mesmerized by these images. My curiosity led me to discover that this photoshoot is an attempt to preserve this remarkable species!
At first glance, Kristian Schmidt and Shawn Heinrichs’ photos of models swimming with whale sharks off the coast of the Philippines appear heavily Photoshopped. But while the levels and colors have been manipulated and the backgrounds tweaked, the most striking part – the models’ proximity to sharks – is real.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, whale sharks are listed as a vulnerable species, which means they are “considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.” They’ve been over-fished and are often killed for their fins.
