These sharks are suspended over the colossal-squid display at Te Papa, New Zealand's national museum in Wellington. As is usually the case, the light's very focused, with overall levels dim, making photography difficult. This is at ISO 1600.
The squid itself, while large (four and a half metres long, apparently), seemed smaller than I'd imagined. I guess the monsters from the movies, the tales of the kraken and the huge international interest during its preparation have a lot to answer for. While not wishing to criticise unduly the difficult and presumably nerve-wracking job of thawing and preparing the squid for display, the exhibit itself seemed rather murky; I couldn't help thinking of Damien Hirst's famous shark. However, I did appreciate the comment from the little guy next to me as he slid down from leaning over the squid and wandered off, saying, "That's a lot of calamari."
I wonder where he'd heard that?
All content © 2009 Pete McGregor
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9 comments:
*Laughs*
These sharks really bite you!
Oh, that's hilarious! It might be a lot of calamari but I bet it wouldn't be tasty.
Aren't sharks beautiful animals? I love the gleam on their skin and those amazing teeth. Do you know what type of shark they are, Pete?
Miguel, Anne-Marie: they're great, aren't they? They look like mako sharks to me, but I have to confess I didn't check.
They do look like mako sharks. Great shot! (This is the only thing that Roger fears. It's sad/amusing to see his reaction. I'll not be sharing this photo with him!)
Thanks Emma. I guess he'll have to skip a visit to the colossal squid when you visit NZ, then... ;^P
(On another note, it's sad that sharks in general have far more to fear from humans than vice versa.)
to be honest I was startled when I clicked on the tab of this picture. I would imagine being in awe of the exhibits there, but then again maybe your picture makes them look so cool!
It's a pretty cool exhibit, D.V.A. They're very well done, but it'd be nicer if they were swimming in the sea (and not a risk from having their fins cut off for soup)
I totally agree with you on that one! An aquarium, especially one for a breeding facility, would help these animals so much! We don't need a mausoleum to see what they look like dead, we need to keep them alive for our children. I know there are a few in the world, with live presentations and even special shows (Shamu for example :) haha I know that's a corny example) but still, they're going away too fast. Thanks for the quick reply and accepting my comments here! Cheers
You're most welcome, D.V.A. Thanks for your thoughtful comments :^)
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