Scientists are racing to trace deep ocean species before they are lost, with the help of photographers who have a taste for danger.
Scientists are racing to trace deep ocean species before they are lost, with the help of photographers who have a taste for danger.
In 2010 four friends, carrying 32kg (71lb) worth of camera equipment, sunk beneath the waves of Sodwana Bay, off the east coast of South Africa. It was then that photographer, Laurent Ballesta stared directly into the eyes of a creature once thought to have died out with the dinosaurs – and took the first ever photograph of a living coelacanth.
"It's not just a fish we thought was extinct," says Ballesta. "It's a masterpiece in the history of evolution."
"After approaching the coelacanth to encourage it to move between two cameras positioned on a custom-made stand, the team turned on the lights. "At this depth, some think that there is no light," says Ballesta. "There is [very] nice light. It's tiny, it's soft, but there is still light. So, it's important to not use too much artificial light. It's like driving in a car at night. If you put your lights on full, you see just in front of the car, and all the rest is dark. If you switch off your lights – and there is a little bit of moon – suddenly you see everything: the road, the mountains, the forest. It's the same when you're deep.""