Laszlo Maraczi
Escape, 2017
Cebu Island, Philippines
Category - Humanity versus Nature
Here, local fishermen have been taught successfully that feeding and keeping whale sharks alive is a better way to support the local population than killing them. Oslob attracts many tourists each year to meet “the biggest fish on the planet”, providing an example of positive cohabitation. The title of this photograph, Escape, can be interpreted in several ways: the escape from the too many divers who try to approach or the victorious outcome in the face of a death that would, in another time, have been certain. I chose to photograph the scene from below with a fisheye lens to offer an unexpected point of view and create an aesthetic effect thanks to the black halo surrounding the subjects.
10-17 mm f/3.5-4.5 Lens - 1/125 sec at f/18 ISO 200