Chris Fallows

When Canon Ambassador and renowned wildlife photographer Chris Fallows fired the shutter on his camera over two decades ago, he had no idea the image he had just shot would go on to become world famous.

His iconic picture of a great white shark breaching at South Africa's Seal Island was featured on the front pages of some of the biggest publications across the globe, catapulting Chris into the spotlight.

"I'd never seen anything like that before," he explains. "We knew we'd stumbled on something incredible. When the photo got out, it was a media sensation all around the world."

Today, Chris and his camera travel to some of the remotest corners of the earth capturing mesmerising images of animals on land and at sea. He has also featured in several documentaries, including the Discovery Channel's Air Jaws series and BBC Planet Earth's Shallow Seas episode.

It was while filming Air Jaws in the summer at Seal Island in South Africa that Chris captured another magnificent shark image, which captivated the world once again. "I created a sled for my camera, and I used a remote to control it," he explains. "I got this unbelievable shot of a truly spectacular great white breach around 10ft clear of the water and you feel like you can walk under the flying shark. I couldn't believe the reaction. The image was on 10-storey buildings in Times Square, New York! The most fantastic thing is it wasn't an image that had a sensational impact; this was a really beautiful image which celebrated the athletic ability of the shark."

One of Chris' main focuses is fine art photography, and he donates proceeds from his sales to non-governmental organisations working to protect wildlife. He and his wife also buy land in Africa for wildlife and habitat restoration. "I'd like to believe I'll leave a legacy of people appreciating wildlife through my photography," he says. "When I've left the planet, I'd like there to be large tracts of habitat where animals will hopefully be safe forever."

Chris has carved out a captivating career since that iconic shot more than two decades ago. "It gave a lot of young people insight into the fact that if you follow your passion, you can become successful doing what you love," he says. "It also gave me a podium on which to convey the need to protect sharks and wildlife, and really look after what makes Africa so special.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I realise how the world would be transfixed by it. At the end of the day, I press the button, but it's all about the animals I photograph and how amazing they are."

What's your most memorable wildlife experience?
"In 2000, a whale died in False Bay, South Africa and 28 great white sharks fed on it for over 18 hours, eating two thirds of the whale. Nobody before or since has seen so many adult great whites together. It was just the most unbelievable experience to be within arm's length of these incredible animals. To see the complete breakdown of social structures and behaviour atypical of the species was just spectacular."

What's the proudest moment of your career to date?
"That I have never done anything to jeopardise an animal. Most of the time I'm on my own or with my wife, so I could do whatever I wanted, and nobody would be any the wiser. I think the fact that I can look in the mirror and know I've always done what is best for the animal while trying to capture a great image is, for me, my proudest achievement to date – and I hope it's a quality I never lose."

What's the toughest shoot you've ever done?
"In terms of wildlife interaction, it was probably photographing while walking along the ocean floor in New Zealand – in the dark, 65ft down, running out of air. I had multiple great whites around me, and I had no idea where they were. They'd swim through the occasional beam of light that my strobes were illuminating. That was a very tense hour or so!"

What would you say are the biggest challenges with wildlife photography?
"I don't work with captive animals, so they're all wild and free to come and go as they please. The most difficult thing is that wildlife is disappearing so quickly; it's becoming more and more difficult to find the subjects that I'm used to photographing. A lot of the areas that were wild are no longer wild, so it's a race against time."

How important is understanding animal behaviour when it comes to wildlife photography?
"That's the most important thing; while I might not be of the same technical standard as some of my peers, my greatest strength is my knowledge of my subjects. I've spent a huge amount of time around predators, and I have a thorough knowledge of what my subject may do, so I can prepare myself for what might happen. They say luck is where anticipation meets preparation, and I think that holds true."

"No photograph of mine is any better than anyone else's. Everyone is on their own photographic or artistic journey and you should never forget you started at the beginning. I always try and pull people up rather than knock them down, offer encouragement where I can and remember how kind people were to me when I started out. Also, just spend as much time out there in the field as you possibly can. The more chances you give yourself on the roulette wheel, the more likely it is to pay off."

Twitter: @ApexSharks

Website: www.chrisfallows.com