Hi there and welcome to my website!

My name is Gillian and I’m very passionate about sharks.

The aim of my photography is to portray sharks in an aesthetically beautiful way and thus trying to change people’s perception of these utterly misunderstood animals.

In doing so, I hope to raise awareness.

As a qualified primary school teacher I’m well aware of the importance of educating people and children about different topics.
In my opinion it’s crucial that bringing awareness to people should never be imposed upon them but rather done by starting a conversation.

When I was 13 years old my family and I went on a holiday, where we got certified scuba divers. On one of my first dives I encountered my very first lemon shark which was terrifying because I had been afraid of sharks ever since I was a little child. But after seeing this beautiful creature in its natural habitat swimming in such a calm manner I realised that my fear of sharks had been shaped by the media and all the negative ways sharks are being portrayed.

Fortunately, my dad and I share the passion for diving and also the fascination for sharks. This fascination slowly turned into a passion after I went to a presentation by Dr. Erich Ritter, a Swiss shark behavioural scientist, in Zurich, Switzerland.

In 2015 my father and I completed our first shark-human-interaction course led by Erich himself on Grand Cay, Bahamas, where his research station was located.

We learnt so much about the behaviour of sharks and how to read and handle it.

In 2017 and 2018 I was fortunate enough to do internships with Erich, where I was able to assist him in his research on Grand Cay, Bahamas.

Ever since getting certified as a scuba diver, many more certifications and diving trips, especially focused on shark diving, followed.

In memory of Dr. Erich Ritter like he used to say:
”For me it would be the most beautiful thing if I knew that everyone could see sharks with my eyes - just for one minute.”