The Invitation: Jean-Marie Ghislain

Sharks engender our most primal emotion: fear. Real danger is something we seldom experience in the modern world, protected by the comforts of civilization. Yet fear is deeply inscribed at the core of our being. Jean-Marie Ghislain overcame his fear of water by learning to swim with sharks. By confronting his emotional responses to these graceful predators, he sought to recover from personal trauma, asking himself: 'Can beauty cure fear? These photographs are among the most beautiful pictures of sharks ever taken. Working entirely with natural light and a focal length as close as possible to that of the human eye, he brings these magnificent creatures closer to us than most could ever dare. The tiniest mark and scar is rendered so clearly that we feel we could reach out and touch them. By sharing his profoundly personal experience with sharks, Jean-Marie Ghislain captures the character and beauty of these exceptional creatures, so often maligned or threatened, and urges us to learn to share our oceans with a new sense of respect and even love.

Sharks engender our most primal emotion: fear. Real danger is something we seldom experience in the modern world, protected by the comforts of civilization. Yet fear is deeply inscribed at the core of our being. Jean-Marie Ghislain overcame his fear of water by learning to swim with sharks. By confronting his emotional responses to these graceful predators, he sought to recover from personal trauma, asking himself: 'Can beauty cure fear? These photographs are among the most beautiful pictures of sharks ever taken. Working entirely with natural light and a focal length as close as possible to that of the human eye, he brings these magnificent creatures closer to us than most could ever dare. The tiniest mark and scar is rendered so clearly that we feel we could reach out and touch them. By sharing his profoundly personal experience with sharks, Jean-Marie Ghislain captures the character and beauty of these exceptional creatures, so often maligned or threatened, and urges us to learn to share our oceans with a new sense of respect and even love.