After receiving the award Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021 thanks to a photo capturing an extremely rare moment in French Polynesia, Laurent Ballesta is now auctioning a unique print of this photo, containing the DNA of Fakarava!
The spawning of groupers off the atoll of Fakarava, undoubtedly one of the rarest and most precious events nature offers. Every year, during the full moon at the winter solstice and within a window of only 30 minutes, nearly 18,000 groupers gather in a narrow channel connecting the lagoon to the ocean to reproduce. Each explosive spawning lasts a fraction of a second and some 700 sharks patrol in packs all around to hunt them.
To trigger his camera at the right moment and capture THE shot, Laurent Ballesta and his team accumulated 3,000 hours of diving and 85,000 photos taken over a period of 5 years! This image is the result of this extreme labor of patience, a split second during which the orientation of the flashes, the shape of the cloud, the movement of the groupers … everything was perfect!
Discover the story of this extraordinary image in issue #37 of Plongez!
An exceptional award, a unique work… for Fakarava
In 2021, Laurent Ballesta became the first Frenchman to receive the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year award for this image. An award given by the Natural History Museum of London each year. Upon receiving this award, the photographer stated it was « a tribute to this beautiful place, classified as Man & Biosphere by UNESCO, showing that preservation is the key to protecting a precious heritage. » To give meaning to this award, Laurent Ballesta and his team decided to donate the entire reward to the commune of Fakarava in order to contribute to the protection of this atoll and its exceptional biodiversity.
And to take it even further, they decided to create a unique print of this photo printed on paper containing theDNA of Fakarava! A paper pulp was specially created for this work from dead corals, collected on the beaches of the atoll then crushed, and seawater also taken on site, making this photo the rarest print ever made!
This print, measuring 100 x 140 cm, was auctioned in July during a sale organized by HVMC (Hôtel des ventes de Monte-Carlo) at the Hôtel Monte-Carlo Bay. The print was sold for the sum of €10,000, and all proceeds from the sale will be donated to the commune of Fakarava to contribute to the preservation of this site and the marine life it shelters.
opening image © Gil Kebaïli