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Swimming with giants: Black and white whale portraiture by Jem Cresswell

02 Jun

Creativity showcase site My Modern Met recently interviewed Jem Cresswell, an Australian photographer who has just completed a project he calls Giants. The project is a series of portraits of humpback whales presented in black and white and offers an intimate look into the personalities and emotions of these ‘gentle giants.’

In the interview, Cresswell describes his process (much of which you can see from the behind-the-scenes video above), as well as some interesting details concerning his interactions with the whales. In addition to only swimming with ‘certain whales,’ Cresswell says they never use scuba gear and he always enters the water ‘as calmly as possible, keeping my heart rate low and wait to see the behaviour.’

The interview also addresses the presence of ‘spindle cells’ in humpback whales, which are cells that are thought to be responsible for social organization and empathy. ‘It is obvious though, that humpback whales exhibit complex emotional behaviors, have intricate social networks and complex song structures,’ says Cresswell.

Head on over to My Modern Met or Cresswell’s website to view these stunning portraits for yourself – all of which, Cresswell says, were captured on a Canon 5DS R, 24-70mm F2.8L II and 16-35mm F4L in an Aquatech underwater housing.

Via: My Modern Met

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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