© 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.”

© Karen Glaser

© Karen Glaser

© Karen Glaser

© Karen Glaser