Michael Muller has carved a career out of impressive encounters. Famed for his portraits of the world’s most elite actors, musicians, and sports stars, he has in the last decade built up one of the most spectacular portfolios of underwater shark photography. Muller’s quest is to document sharks with an unprecedented proximity and precision, bringing the Hollywood portrait session to the ocean predator.
In ocean depths around the world, he approaches the sharks with a patented seven-bulb, 1200-watt plexi-encased strobe lighting rig, developed with NASA engineering, and no cage. This collection of Muller’s images, including the first-known photograph of a great white breaching at night, is a catalog of adrenalin and awe. Arranged geographically, it follows Muller’s ocean adventures from black tip and sand tiger sharks in South Africa to great hammerheads in the Bahamas, with thrilling narratives from each trip documenting the challenges and near-misses along the way.
To compliment Muller’s work for advocacy organizations such as WildAid and EarthEcho, the images are contextualized with essays from Philippe Cousteau, Jr. and marine biologist Alison Kock, who discuss exploration and conservation of our oceanic kingdom. Culture writer Arty Nelson adds an overview of Muller’s work, while a technical section explains the precise equipment behind these spectacular shots. Together, these insightful texts and awesome images offer a record of breathtaking photographic feats, a tribute to the beauty and might of the shark, and a rallying cry for its fragile future.
This book will also be available in a signed Collector’s Edition and two Art Editions, each including a signed and numbered print.
About the Authors
Los Angeles–based photographer Michael Muller has circled the globe shooting celebrities, rock stars, outlaw bikers, super heroes and elite athletes for such publications as Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine, and Harper's Bazaar. Ten years ago he turned his lens underwater and began photographing sharks as they’ve never been seen before.
Philippe Cousteau is a prominent leader in the environmental movement. An award-winning television host, producer, author, speaker, philanthropist and social entrepreneur Philippe is the son of Philippe Cousteau Sr. and grandson of Jacques Cousteau.
Dr. Alison Kock is a marine biologist and the research manager for the City of Cape Town’s acclaimed Shark Spotters Program. She is a member of the South African Acoustic Tracking Array Platform, is a project leader for the Save Our Seas Foundation, and scientific advisor for the South African Shark Conservancy.
Arty Nelson has written essays for monographs and artist catalogs on Wes Lang, Chris Johanson, Ed Templeton and the critically acclaimed Beautiful Losers show.
Industry Reviews
"Muller's intimate, mesmerizing shark portraits convey an energy and wonder that has you wanting to learn more." * coolhunting.com *
"[Sharks] in no way demonises the ocean's apex predators; instead, Muller's beautiful underwater images admire the animals' evolutionary perfection and graceful power. Nature's supermodels." * Esquire *
"Sharks: Face-to-Face with the Ocean's Endangered Predator, is full of strikingly beautiful, intimate shots of the animals. Photographing them with Hollywood-style lighting and free from a cage, Muller has been on a mission to help conserve these much-feared and misunderstood ocean dwellers." * CBS News *
"...extraordinary not only in its aesthetic wonder but also in its ability to change and inspire the way we see-and think about-these majestic creatures of the deep." * Flood magazine *
"This stunning monster shark book will eat you alive." * Maxim.com *
"The culmination of a decade-long obsession with these apex predators, [Sharks] contains hundreds of photos, shot in beautiful, haunting style..." * Man of the World *
