World-renowned photographer and visual engineer Benjamin Von Wong has done it again. His breathtaking, inspiring photography has taken yet another step and this time for a great cause. According to Von Wong, this is the hardest shoot he has ever pulled off, and one he hopes has the biggest impact.
Fiji, known for its world-class diving, is now known for its world-class portraits taken by Von Wong. In his video, he takes you behind the scenes on how he captured seemingly impossible portraits. After trying to find a dive shop who would help him capture his imagination, he finally teamed up with a tourist dive shop in Fiji and a full team of divers. Here’s the breakdown in Von Wong’s words:
In addition to the standard complications of shooting underwater — limited oxygen, complex communication, specialized equipment, and experienced divers — we only had a tiny two-hour window every day, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., where the sharks would be active and light rays visible.
For each and every shot we would weigh down Amber Bourke, our champion freediver, onto the perfectly lit rock formation where light was falling. The ethereal white dress, designed specifically for this shoot by Ali Charisma, would have to be carefully placed so that it would flow beautifully into the image. When all was finally in position, we would hand over the three-piece plastic shepherds crook to amber and begin the wait.
During their shoot, they would hug the cave walls and try not make sudden movements to spook the sharks. Once a shark entered the cave, the model would rip off her mask and pose as long as she could.
Not only was this an amazing shoot, but it was also for a great cause. He has created a petition calling for the creation of shark sanctuaries in order to protect this species. According to Von Wong, 90 percent sharks in the ocean have been killed in the last century; 100 million sharks the last year for their popular delicacy, shark fin soup. As someone who grew up fishing the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, I agree with Von Wong that sharks are one of the most misunderstood creatures in the world, they are actually very timid creatures that are vital to ocean’s ecosystem.
To create these images, Wong used a Sony a7RII, Sony FE 16-35mm, and Nauticam housing with a 180mm dome port.
To view Von Wong’s amazing work, check out his website.
All images used with permission.
[via Von Wong]
As a fellow diver, I can confirm the complexities in shooting (and communicating) underwater (especially 50m down).
On a side-note, I am SERIOUSLY disappointed by Mr. Wong. I mean... I know he's all gung-ho about shooting underwater ever since he got his PADI... But I was hoping he would actually push the envelope this time around. How about something along the lines of.... Flosagja Canyon in Iceland, set amidst the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where an underwater model (dressed like a Mermaid, of course) would be fighting with Triton (the Greek messenger of the sea, in case you're wondering) for the independence of her people. The whole scene would be lit with waterproof strobes of course, and there would be flames too! (don't ask me how to make fire underwater, just make it happen!). Hell, Fstoppers could cover the BTS with some drone fly-overs and release it as their next 5-hour "how-to" series titled "between the continents".
On a different forum, there is a clarification that it was actually 15M (so about 50 ft). I remember hearing '50M' at first and just thinking that was insane (especially since the BTS video shows what looks like normal air tanks). 50ft makes so much more sense.
Yeah its 15m XD Sorry for mumbling
Thanks for clearing that up.
Von Wong, you made it to the front page: https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/41lfna/a_friend_of_mine_just_took...
How 'bout an impromptu AMA? ;)
Michael - I did reach out to some underwater welders to try and do something to mix fire and water but unfortunately I never got enough traction to pull a proper project together :(
I'll keep trying to impress you though!
Ben, on a serious note, did you give some thought to zero gravity concepts? Not low Earth orbit or anything costly. But a free fall method (the technique they used while filming zero-G scenes in Apollo 13). A plane climbs up to an altitude, then dives. Free falling at the same rate as gravity, making all people in it weightless.
Zero-G flames to add the icing to the cake? Either way, worth a thought. Keep up the good work!
Lighting anything inside a plane must need a STUPID amount of red tape...
You would you have to create a custom backdrop. Have you ever seen the inside of one of those planes? The background is obnoxiously cluttered
I must agree to the first comment, these sharks don't even have freaking lasers on their heads.
No but seriously, another piece of amazing work - best I did last year was break lightbulbs and capture the tiny burst of flames and smoke :)
This is pretty cool. I like the results, even if they are a bit too "HDR-looking" for my taste. I think this might be one of my favourite shoots of his to date.
There was a shoot (Australia I think) were Ben was pretty much scathing of the Sony A7 series. Yet i see that the equipment used is a Sony A7r MkII
Why the 180 degree turn on the viewpoint on camera bodies?
Maybe they gave him a camera to use. I'd like any camera if they gave me a free one to use...
I wish I could afford to shoot underwater. However, the price of diving school, the price of diving equipment, the price of waterproof housings for a 15 year old entry level camera, and the difficultly of convincing friends or finding people to help out head prevented me so far. I really like this awesome photo and the cause that it supports, one that cannot go unaddressed.
Von Wong you're a madman but an incredibly creative and talented one. Keep up the amazing work.
Spectacular work! Bravo!
That's pretty stunning. Amazing work.
What a great project. It combines my favorite things, diving, photography and sharks. The natural light streaming through the water is really nice. A lot of credit must be given to the model.
I don't understand the use of heavy post processing and would love to see the natural beauty of the scene. I have great respect for Von Wong. He works hard to create his style of images.
This project has been all over my feed today Ben. But it's the first where I take the time to read everything (even the comments lol). I really like what you did. AGAIN. Now let's put that 32 camera rig IN THE OCEAN! (or in space?) haha
This is beyond insane
Always wanted to do an underwater video