Is my Underwater Photography "Art"? /  by Wolfgang Leander



A craft, perhaps, but Ila France-Porcher considers my shark photography to be artistic.

I have to admit, false modesty aside, that I feel quite flattered by it, as I admire multi-talented Ila for being an accomplished author and a sensitive painter*), a very professional and competent non-academic shark ethologist, and, last not least, a deeply passionate shark lover and eloquent shark advocate.

So, having her review my work is indeed a much valued privilege, and it fills me with honor. I cannot say it any other way.

If you, dear Reader, haven't heard of Ila France-Porcher, you ought to know also that she is one of those rare shark people who have such a healthy ego that it doesn't have to be constantly pumped up like a cracked bicycle tire... She has neither an organization behind her, nor is she her own PR-manager; she is she, and doesn't need to be more than that.  

Here is Ila's article as published in the latest international issue of the prestigious X-Ray-Magazine. 

 *) I have one of Ila's Tiger Shark paintings that captured the essence of tiger sharks far better than any of the best photographs of these incredibly expressive, strong, yet most gentle creatures I have ever seen - including my own images, of course...   :-)  :-)



Jean-Francois Avenier - known to everybody as "Jifa" (1947 - 2014) /  by Wolfgang Leander


Jifa and Machin, Hermanus 2010


I am very sorry and sad to have to report that Jifa has died from a cancer he fought most courageously and discreetly during the last months.

The illness was diagnosed in August 2013, and although the prognosis didn't look good at that time, there was some hope that with the usual palliative therapies (chemo and radiation), to which Jifa was subjected, he could still have a few relatively good years to look forward to. 

Both Jifa and I developed a deep friendship even though we have met only twice, in South Africa (in 2008 and 2010).

We knew that becoming very close and congenial friends at our age had to be something special as it happens in general rarely, if at all, in the autumn of life. 

 We were already over sixty, me closer to seventy, when we began to communicate electronically on a shark platform with each other, both staunch individualists and not really gregarious, except with folks that we liked and felt close to. Grandiloquent people could not only not impress us in the least   -  we avoided them like the plague. 

We did not always agree on issues that seemed important to us but we fully respected each other's opinions.  That type of tolerance and mutual appreciation of diverging points of view is what basically constituted our friendship, as any solid relationship.

Apart from having shared many passions such as photography and diving with sharks, what really made us soul brothers was our self-deprecating sense of humor and an abhorrence for conceited, pathologically ego-driven individuals within, and without, the international shark community. 

Rather than writing a "real" obituary, which I know Jifa would have totally disapproved of, here are three blogs I wrote in 2008 and in 2010 after our last encounter which I believe pretty much describe this intelligent, sensitive, yet extremely strong-minded and life-loving human being. 


Only a few months ago, I was toying with the idea of going back to Hermanus next year just to spend a few weeks with Jifa and his dogs "Machin" and "Cheyenne", and perhaps dive with tiger sharks, depending on his state of health. 

 Not anymore, as I have no other reason to travel all the way to South Africa knowing that he won't be able to pick me up at the airport with a big grin and his 5.7 liter, 400 hp driving machine he loved so much.  

My world has become a little colder now that Jifa has left it...

A bientot, mon bon ami.


Wolf

Tiger Beach - and an end in sight, unfortunately. /  by Wolfgang Leander


It almost hurts to state that. But, yes, I have decided that this year's November back-to-back trips to that literally breathtaking place will be my last shark dives. 

"My last shark dives"... Sounds awful to me, kind of like a terminal disease... Well, at least I can say, not proudly but anecdotally, that I have been diving on one breath of air for sixty years which probably makes me one of the oldest free-diving farts in the world. 

Sure, now that old age - hey, I am 73!! - and the aftereffects of my stomach cancer five years ago are taking their tolls, I could start switching to diving with Scuba tanks. But that would be like betraying my life-long tenet that free-diving is the only way to get closer to, and feel homier in, that incomparably magic of the blue world of silence.... 

I am thankful that I have had the incredible privilege to dive and interact with the most gracious, gentle, intelligent, and sensitive sharks during the last eight years: The tiger sharks, along with the great white sharks probably the most misunderstood and vilified "requiem" sharks.

I cannot express how excited I am knowing that I will be seeing "Emma" or "Smiley" once again, and, frankly, at the same time I don't know yet how I will cope bidding them and the other striped girls good-bye for good... All I know is that I will sorely miss them.

The trips I am on, as always aboard the legendary Dolphin Dream, spacious and comfy, are not fully booked yet, there are still a few spots open but experience has shown that those vacancies won't last long.

Thus, if someone reading this should feel the irresistible urge to accompany me to celebrate life, the ocean, and those magnificent creatures, please contact the arranger of the trips, my good old pal Dom Macan, a truly passionate diver, both cosmopolitan and British to the core.

To conclude this message fittingly, here is a moody portrait of "Smiley", the new celebrity of Tiger Beach. 

Click to enlarge

I have selected this image as it transmits  -  as 'eloquently' as a photograph can  -  the bond I would like to believe she and I have established interacting with each other, lovingly and respectfully. Just look at the way she looked at me when I took her picture - doesn't it say it all? 

 And when I look at the image myself - will I, indeed, could I REALLY stick to my decision to call tiger shark diving quits?.....  :-) 
  

Sharks: To touch or not to touch them - that is not a question for Mike Neumann. /  by Wolfgang Leander

Mike Neumann will not compromise. Divers who touch sharks, worse: ride them, are, in his opinion, submarine perverts. He calls them 'Shark Molesters'. 

I have a slightly different opinion. I say: If you have a lot of experience diving with sharks, have learned to understand their distinctive body language, and, most importantly, if you love and respect these animals, actually all animals, then I believe it's OK to touch, even caress sharks.

Nurse Shark love. These sharks are very gentle if you treat them gently.
Photograph by Karin Leander (Bahamas, 2004)
Click to enlarge 

Riding them is a different story. Sharks are not horses or bulls, and even former rodeo riders should not manipulate sharks abusively, like turning them upside down or jam Go-Pro cameras on a wand into their mouths (I have seen such totally unacceptable behavior during my last tiger shark trip).

Further down is a brillant article wherein Mike puts forward his thoughts about the subject. Not only do I hold him in the highest esteem for his convincing arguments, but I really believe that his way of introducing his underwater guests to sharks as a responsible and sensible diving operator should become standard protocol in the shark diving industry. 

I am sure that after having read the interview with Mike you will agree with me that this is how shark operators should run their businesses - always allowing certain exceptions,  of course...... otherwise, how would I be able to go back to where I could caress my beloved striped girls again?.... :-)




Contrary to their bad press, tiger sharks can be as gentle as nurse sharks - if you know how to communicate with them.
Photograph by Felix Leander (Aliwal Shoal, 2008)
Click to enlarge