Why sharks? I just love them!

Martin Strmiska is an extremely talented underwater photographer and ambassador for several leading diving equipment brands. He comes from Slovakia, but with his camera he travels the world capturing its beauty in his photographs. He is convinced, however, that you can’t just draw from the ocean as much as you want, you also have to give something back. That is why Martin is very committed to supporting efforts to protect the inhabitants of the underwater world.

Why me?

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Since I started my journey as a full-time underwater photographer for Unterwasser magazine in 2005, my goal has changed several times. Looking at legends such as Paul Nicklen and Brian Skerry, who have reached the ‘Olympus’ of wildlife-oriented underwater photography, my original goal was for my images to be equally powerful and striking. While spending a lot of time observing the behaviour of marine wildlife, fish and other creatures have become my closest friends.

Encounters with oceanic whitetip sharks in the Red Sea changed my understanding of sharks, and subsequent species became my favourite underwater companions. People tend to see sharks as ruthless killing machines, hunting anything that moves. Meanwhile, my image of these animals is exactly the opposite. Of course, sharks are predators at the very top of the food chain, but at the same time they have a lot of beauty, gentleness and behaviour that can be respected and loved.

Some of my most memorable moments that I have experienced underwater are specifically related to sharks. Unfortunately, often when I returned to wonderful places to meet my oceanic friends again, many of them were gone. They disappeared with a whole bunch of other sea creatures before my eyes. Right in front of the lens of my camera. I witnessed many painful scenes, full of suffering of sea creatures treated like rubbish. And I felt great sadness. Unfortunately, my sadness cannot help, but my pictures can. That’s why I keep travelling and try to show a dying world that needs to be fought for. In this way, my passion has become a mission.

Ocean’s Rockstars

Without love, there is no need to help. However, love alone is no longer enough today. We have come so far in our use of marine resources that sharks need not only our love, but also our active help. They need the support of organisations, concrete committed people and decisive action. No one else can save this planet if we do not do it ourselves. No one will save the sharks if we divers don’t do it. We are the ones who know the truth about them and we have the power to make a difference!

If you think the same way and want to help too, you can do so by buying an Ocean’s Rockstars t-shirt. 15% of this amount will go to support shark conservation organisations SeaLegacy run by Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier and the foundation Blue Spherewhich is represented by Shawn Heinrichs.

Text and photos: Martin Strmiska
English translation: Tomasz Andrukajtis