‘The tricky part for the remora, and me,’ says Alex, ‘was staying close enough without being sucked in.’ Alex swam with this whale shark for three hours, even after his camera ran out of battery. Keeping an eye on Alex, the gentle giant granted him this powerful close-up, the wide arch of its mouth set off by the timely curve of the remora.
The world’s largest fish, whale sharks are filter feeders, sustaining their huge size with plankton and small crustaceans, like krill. Remoras often associate with a larger host, using the modified fin on their heads like a suction cup to hitchhike. They get free transport, protection, and a tasty and steady supply of parasites from the larger sharks.
USA
Alex is a fine art photographer who started taking his cameras underwater in 2010 on his holidays. He currently lives in Los Angeles, where he is working on a new environmental project focusing on the decimation of California's kelp forest.
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