Brian Moghari
Bio
Brian Moghari is wildlife photographer and filmmaker working with Netflix, National Geographic, & Disney+
Stories (6/0)
- Supported By: Untamed Photographer
Just the Two of UsSupported By: Untamed Photographer
View print sizes for Just the Two of Us by Brian Moghari: Story Behind the Photograph: Just the Two of Us There is not a doubt in my mind the strongest bond in the natural world is between a mother and her offspring. I am fortunate to have filmed and photographed this motherly bond with humpback whales and their calves in Costa Rica’s Gulfo Dulce. It’s one of the best places to film via drone as these whales nurse their calves and teach them to breathe in their first weeks of life. The gulf is surrounded by mountains on three sides, offering glassy waters for much of the year and allowing you to easily see their interactions from the air. Capturing their images beneath the water, however, is pretty difficult due to subpar visibility. When the opportunity came to film and photograph them in the middle of the South Pacific, I couldn’t resist. The visibility there seems endless and gave me a new perspective of these gentle giants.
By Brian Moghari3 years ago in Earth
- Supported By: Untamed Photographer
Misunderstood PredatorsSupported By: Untamed Photographer
View print sizes for Misunderstood Predators by Brian Moghari: Story Behind the Photograph: Misunderstood Predators I grew up surfing at a beach notoriously known for having sharks and lots of them. New Smyrna Beach Florida is best known for being the shark bite capitol of the world and knowing sharks like Great Hammerheads were just beneath the surface petrified me. There was not a day that I surfed there and did not see a shark in the water. Spinners. Black tips. But back then, the idea of intentionally diving with sharks was out of the question, that was until I began to understand their role as the oceans’ top apex predators. Sharks remove the dead, the dying, and the diseased. They are key to cleaning our oceans, making them stronger and healthier, yet humans continue decimating shark populations. As a wildlife photographer and filmmaker, my responsibility is to accurately illustrate wild animals and the ecological issues they face, including sharks. To fulfill this responsibility I needed to become more comfortable with them and overcome my childhood fear.
By Brian Moghari3 years ago in Earth
- Supported By: Untamed Photographer
A New BeginningSupported By: Untamed Photographer
View print sizes for A New Beginning by Brian Moghari: Story Behind the Photograph: A New Beginning Just after sunrise, a green sea turtle calmly rests in a small coral cave along the reef's edge. I’ve been fortunate to spend many hours with sea turtles, both on land and at sea, but this encounter was a bit different from previous ones. Usually as I approach sea turtles in the water, they quickly swim off wanting little to do with me, but this individual reacted differently. It was aware of my approach and responded by continuing to rest. It was so unfazed by my presence that at one point I turned my camera off and floated to about 2 feet away where we made direct eye contact with each other. A lot of times whenever I make direct eye contact with a creature, I wonder what is its level of consciousness? I wonder about what they do to survive, how they perceive the world around them— I feel certain their level of consciousness is much higher than we perceive it to be. We don’t know what is going on in their minds, but I sense a connection. I feel extremely fortunate to be able to photograph and film wildlife as my profession, but sometimes you get tunnel vision with your camera’s eyepiece and miss actually experiencing what’s right in front of the lens. After a short time examining each other, I slowly floated a few feet back and snapped this photo.
By Brian Moghari3 years ago in Earth
- Supported By: Untamed Photographer
Sonic SeaSupported By: Untamed Photographer
View print sizes for Sonic Sea by Brian Moghari: Story Behind the Photograph: Sonic Sea You never know what you might encounter when you're out in the ocean. All of us on board were all packing up our gear after an excellent afternoon of filming and photographing Great Hammerheads off the coast of Bimini. The dive boat was a jumble of fins and masks, regs and empty tanks, dunk buckets and soggy neoprene. The captain had hinted that we might, just might see some dolphins on our way back to the dock. Sure enough, we crossed paths with a small pod.
By Brian Moghari3 years ago in Earth
- Supported By: Untamed Photographer
Majestic MantaSupported By: Untamed Photographer
View print sizes for Majestic Manta by Brian Moghari: Story Behind the Photograph: Majestic Manta I’ve spent hundreds of hours filming and photographing in our oceans, and every once in a while something truly unexpected happens. In 2019, I was filming whale sharks near Isla Mujeres Mexico for National Geographic’s first ever live VR shark experience. In this particular area, hundreds of millions of eggs from the fish known as the Little Tunny are released into the food chain, attracting whale sharks throughout the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. This spawning alone is responsible for the world’s largest whale shark aggregation which was scientifically discovered only a decade before in 2009.
By Brian Moghari3 years ago in Earth
- Supported By: Untamed Photographer
Thin Blue LineSupported By: Untamed Photographer
View print sizes for Thin Blue Line by Brian Moghari: Story Behind the Photograph: Thin Blue Line The ocean covers around 70 percent of our planet’s surface and holds over 96 percent of the Earth’s water. It is our planet’s largest ecosystem driving our weather, regulating temperature, and ultimately supporting all living organisms, but we know very little about this underwater world. More than eighty percent of this vast environment has yet to be explored by man. When I look out to the ocean and see where mountains, forests and mangroves collide with this expansive body of water it is easy to think there’s nothing more but water beyond this intersection; but beneath the surface begins a whole new world full of life just out of sight.
By Brian Moghari3 years ago in Earth