© Karen Glaser

Photographer Karen Glaser traveled to remote parts of the Pacific Ocean for her self-motivated series Dark Sharks. Using her Nikonos V camera, a special underwater camera, Glaser settled herself behind rocks at the bottom of the ocean to watch the underwater world unfold in front of her. Using only the dim natural light that is available underwater, Glaser made these unusual images in an ocean cleaning station where small fish rid the sharks of parasites and other harmful bacteria. While capturing the beauty of these animals, Glaser also hopes to bring attention to their risk of extinction. “Sharks and rays have been swimming on this Earth for eons,” Glaser says on her website. “These creatures are closely related and prehistoric, so are the waters in which they swim. However, my locations, in Pacific waters off the Americas, though remote, are deeply affected by many modern threats including: over fishing, illegal fishing, and shark fining. The shark population is plummeting and rays are following suit. It is not inconceivable to think they might follow the dinosaur into extinction.” (more…)

We confess: Even when we’re knee-deep in producing a professional photo magazine, we’re easily distracted by pictures of cute animals. Here at PDN we’re conducting our second annual Faces contest, seeking today’s best portrait photographs. Below is a sneak peek at some early entries in the Animal Portraits category. These are not the winners of the Faces Contest. These are a few early favorites based on popular votes on the People’s Choice page. There’s still more great work being entered in Animal Portraits and the three other categories: Celebrity/Editorial Portraits (studio), Environmental Portraiture and Self-Portraits. The contest remains open for entries until April 7, 2009. Select winners will be exhibited at the PDN PhotoPlus International Expo from October 23 to 25, 2009 in New York City, and a winner’s gallery will appear in the December issue of PDN. To see more People’s Choice entries, or to enter the contest yourself, visit the PDN Faces portrait photo contest.

Photo by Camille Cier.

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