Smithsonian magazine's 22nd Annual Photo Contest | Made possible through the support of MPB.com

22nd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
The big one

A large whale shark, positions itself under the lights of a cruise boat, which attract large quantities of plankton. The undisturbed animal feeds on it voraciously, heedless of the divers surrounding it. It is completely wrapped in remoras. The difficulty of the shot is that the photograph was taken at night, so the lighting of such a large animal is difficult to achieve. Only with a mix of flash lights and lights from the boat was it possible to create an image with balanced lights.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 02.2016
Date Uploaded: 11.2024
Photo Location: Male, Maldives
Camera: NIKON D800E
Copyright: © Giacomo Marchione