Fish roundup - Alec Connah - Wildlife Photographer of the Year2007

2007: Underwater Worlds - Highly Commended

Alec Connah Enlarge image Fish roundup

Alec Connah (United Kingdom)

Fish roundup

'I visited Lankayan Island, off Sabah, Borneo, to photograph nesting turtles. One morning from the jetty I saw these young blacktip reef sharks, seemingly herding small fish into the shallows. I liked the patterns that formed as the fish leisurely evaded them. Sometimes, a shark would lash out and try to feed. I never did get the turtle shots, but this more than compensated.' The blacktip reef shark is relatively small, less than two metres long. All its fins have black or dark brown tips, and it lives around shallow waters in the Indo-Pacific. It is a fast predator, feeding mainly on reef fishes, but also stingrays and crustaceans such as crabs. Its fins are valued for shark-fin soup, a market that is decimating shark populations worldwide.

Nikon F5 + Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 lens; 1/250 sec at f5.6, Fuji Velvia 50 rated at 100 asa