Hannes Klostermann Underwater Photography

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  • Did you know that at least every other breath we take contains oxygen generated in the ocean? This fact alone should highlight the importance of this vast ecosystem that covers around 70% of our planet's surface. <br />
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Despite its importance though, we as a species have been doing our very best to destroy marine ecosystems through run-off, overfishing and plastics, just to name a few. <br />
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Thankfully, many countries are now starting to re-think their relationship with (single-use) plastics, but lots remains to be done! It's important to remember that every little bit helps. Taking your own cup on your daily coffee run alone can help avoid hundreds of pieces of plastics that can potentially end up in the ocean. And that's just for one person! Try and get your friends, family and co-workers to be more aware of their impact on the world and little by little we might be able to make the change the world needs!<br />
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Tiger shark, Tiger Beach, Bahamas
    hk_bahamas_2018_086.jpg
  • These are the largest bony fish in the world, growing up to 3 metres  from the tip of one tip to the other. They are a fairly common sight at the wall of Punta Vicente Roca, Isabela in the Galapagos Archipelago. The dive on which this picture was taken featured more than ten of these strange, but fascinating creatures!
    hk_galapagos_2017_054.jpg
  • Isla Isabela, Galapagos
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  • Shot at Punta Vicente Roca, Isla Isabela, Galapagos.
    hk_galapagos_2017_055.jpg
  • Tiger shark extraordinaire Emma comes close to check out my legs (and camera) :)<br />
<br />
Because it's time for Shark Week, let me just point out that there are NO dangerous sharks. <br />
<br />
I'm sure there will be plenty of quality shows this week but also the usual programmes exploiting many people's irrational fears. Even a tiger shark the size of Emma (~15ft/5m) can be pushed away with ease when the situation is handled correctly. Again: there are no dangerous sharks. There are however potentially dangerous situations. Poor visibility, food in the water and people doing foolish things (like swimming away, splashing around etc) can make a shark investigate with its mouth. If their other senses aren't enough to determine what you are, that's simply the only thing they have left. Humans use their hands every day to figure out what something is, but sharks obviously don't have that tool available to them. As long as you keep a close look on the shark, you can always remain in control of the situation. We have to remember that we are only guests in the ocean, so let's treat all its inhabitants with the respect they deserve. Please just keep that in mind as you enjoy this year's sharky programmes :)
    hk_bahamas_2018_039.jpg
  • Hammerhead Sharks are known to travel long distances between the sea mounts in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Indivuals move between the likes of Cocos, Galapagos, Malpelo or the Revillagigedo Islands (Socorro) on a fairly regular basis. During those long journeys, they often get infested by fungi that grow on their bodies (the blotches on the side of the shark in this picture). Luckily, certain reef fish at those sea mounts provide a cleaning service to the sharks. In fact, most reef fish are cleaners at some point in their lives! They simply eat the fungi off the shark's body and in return, the sharks don't feed on them. This symbiotic relationship is just one of many examples of how these supposedly mindless killing machines interact with their environment in an intelligent and sustainable way. A balance that was intact for millions of years - before human intervention. Today, hundrets of millions of sharks are killed every year, mostly for their fins, but also for cosmetics, leather, hydraulic oils and other things. This will undoubtedly have a severe effect on the entire marine ecosystem - an ecosystem that billions of people around the world rely on for food and oxygen. If we keep disturbing this balance, this will ultimately be our own downfall.
    hk_galapagos_2017_020.jpg
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  • Cormorant hunting sardine. <br />
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Awarded Best In Show in the Beneath the Sea Imaging Competition and recipient of the David Doubilet Award for Excellence in Underwater Photography.<br />
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Awarded Best of Show and 1st place in the wide angle category in Deep Visions 2019 UPY Awards.<br />
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Awarded Runner Up of the Seascapes category and winner of the Seascapes Public Choice Award in Ocean Geographic Pictures of the Year 2020.
    Strange Encounters
  • Winner of the Underwater Seascapes category of the United Nations World Oceans Day 2020 Photo Competition.
    Cold Water Colours
  • Let's make the next 12 months a good year for the conservation of our oceans! Many countries are now heading in the right direction regarding the use (or rather ban) of single-use plastics, but there is still lots to be done! Every little helps! You can be a voice for our oceans. Convince your favourite restaurants and takeaways to get rid of plastics and say no to products sourced from sharks. I captured this gorgeous pregnant tiger shark at Tiger Beach in the Bahamas, one of the few places left in the world where you can see these apex predators in good numbers.
    hk_bahamas_2018_092.jpg
  • hk_galapagos_2017_062.jpg
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  • A playful juvenile California sea lion blows bubbles at me. These are amazingly curious animals and a dive with them is guaranteed to be a great time!
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  • Mosquera, Galapagos
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  • Everyone on the boat gets very excited when someone shouts this word. It's Spanish for 'bottle' and describes a feeding behaviour where Whale Sharks stop swimming, which causes their tail to sink. They then 'stand' in the water and feed by moving their massive mouths and gills. It is still not clear why they do this. However, there seems to be a link to the concentration of food in the water.  One common theory states that they stop when they find a very dense patch of food. An opposing theory is that they might be saving energy by not swimming when there is little food present. Maybe one day we will know for sure :) Taken on the Wetpixel Whale Shark Trip 2017.
    hk_isla_mujeres_2017_051.jpg
  • Taken on the Wetpixel Whale Shark Trip 2017.
    hk_isla_mujeres_2017_042.jpg
  • See the little fish? Whale Sharks are often followed by smaller fish for protection and sometimes food.
    hk_isla_mujeres_2017_028.jpg
  • A Grey Seal resting in the kelp at the Farne Islands in the UK.
    hk_farne_islands_2017_006.jpg
  • Conditions were challenging when I went to Bimini in March. The sand there is like powder and countless pesky nurse sharks can stir it up a lot. Without a current to carry away the particles, divers quickly find themselves surrounded by a giant cloud, which makes photographing these beautiful, but shy creatures very tricky.
    hk_bahamas_2018_008.jpg
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  • Vincent Canabal interacting with Rodeo, one of the resident ladies at Tiger Beach.
    hk_bahamas_2018_035.jpg
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  • A sabre squirrelfish hides under coral from a pack of grey reef sharks
    hk_french_polynesia_2018_068.jpg
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  • Last Monday I had my very first encounter with what for me is the most beautiful of all sharks: the blue shark. These extremely elegant, pelagic animals are unfortunately a rare sighting in many parts of the world these days, due to the high demand for shark fins and other products. Their large pectoral fins make them a prime target for shark fishing worldwide and their lifestyle makes it fairly easy to catch them. Did you know that Spain is one of the top exporters of shark products? We Europeans tend to regard China as the source of all evil when it comes to shark-related issues, yet we're still very much part of the problem!  The IUCN currently lists the blue shark as near threatened. The last assessment, however, was made in 2005, so numbers are likely lower today, as commercial fishing continues largely unhindered.
    hk_blue_sharks_13-02-2019_002.jpg
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  • Another older image, taken at Tiger Beach last year. The eye of a Caribbean reef shark. Can anybody tell me what those things are to the left of the eye? Some sort of parasite, I assume?
    hk_bahamas_2018_078.jpg
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  • This is my 1st place winning image in the Wide Angle Unrestricted category of the Digital Shootout 2019.  The groupers in the Cayman Islands are famous for being extra friendly. They regularly approach divers and pose for photographers which makes for good opportunities to get the creative juices flowing!
    hk_dso2019_0379.jpg
  • While I was on Little Cayman for the Digital Shootout, I spent almost an entire dive with this good-looking creature! Sometimes you don't have to venture far (or deep) to find good subjects. He/She was extremely chill, and had absolutely no issues with me being VERY close. At times I moved the camera out of the way and I ended up almost hugging the fish! Encounters like these always make for great dives! In fact, this image won me 2nd place in the wide angle traditional category of this year's competition.
    hk_dso2019_0336.jpg
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  • This turtle clealy didn't mind having her picture taken! Encountered at the Landslide at Wolf Island, Galapagos.
    hk_galapagos_2017_029.jpg
  • Isla Darwin, Galapagos.
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  • A Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) swimming away after a close pass.
    hk_isla_mujeres_2017_025.jpg
  • Collision Avoidance - Even though they have a huge blind spot right in front of them, Whale Sharks are amazingly aware of their surroundings and always make sure they don't just run you over.
    hk_isla_mujeres_2017_023.jpg
  • Taken on the Wetpixel Whale Shark Trip 2017.
    hk_isla_mujeres_2017_002.jpg
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  • Taken on the Wetpixel Whale Shark Trip 2017.
    hk_isla_mujeres_2017_043.jpg
  • 30 degrees delicate cycle, no fabric conditioner :)
    hk_isla_mujeres_2017_034.jpg
  • During the summer, there are a lot of Whale Sharks in the waters just north of Isla Mujeres in Mexico. However, this does not go unnoticed so there is an armada of boats heading out each day to give people a chance to snorkel with these beautiful giants. Sadly, not all operators use the appropriate amount of care when navigating these waters which can lead to sharks being injured. This guy here for example has a large portion of both his tail and dorsal fins missing. The good news is that despite the very obvious injuries the shark has grown to a large size so thankfully, he still seems to be able to feed efficiently. Nevertheless people should make the safety of these magnificent animals their number one priority.  Like, share or comment if you agree :)
    hk_isla_mujeres_2017_029.jpg
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  • Last weekend i visited the very playful Grey Seals of the Farne Islands in the North East of England. Sadly, day 1 was blown out but day 2 certainly made up for it big time! The seals were very curious from the first minute, messing about with the divers' fins and cameras. Who doesn't love interacting with such entertaining creatures?
    hk_farne_islands_2017_003.jpg
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  • Mangroves are nurseries for many species of fish and other animals. The young use the roots for protection from larger predators before venturing out into open water. This is only one reason why mangroves are extremely important to marine ecosystems.
    hk_bahamas_2018_026.jpg
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  • Part 3 of my shark close-up series shows the eye of a Lemon Shark, one of the most common species of shark at Tiger Beach in the Bahamas. It is important to keep in mind though, that although they may seem abundant there, their numbers are in rapid decline around the world and they could be threatened with extinction very soon!
    hk_bahamas_2018_081.jpg
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  • To answer yesterday's little quiz, that aerial shot was of USS Kittiwake, a former submarine rescue vessel for the US Navy. After being decommissioned in 1994 it was sunk as an attraction for scuba divers off Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman in 2011. It's pretty amazing to see just how much it has changed in only 8 years. Check out earlier pictures on the web and you'll find that it used to be white! What's even more impressive is that it was sunk upright, but strong surges from tropical storm Nate pushed the wreck closer to the reef and tipped it over on its port side.
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