In the 1950’s Hans and Lotte Hass hosted a BBC series, filmed underwater in The Red Sea and The Great Barrier Reef. Back then it was in black and white, colour hadn’t arrived. As a child I was riveted, fascinated, spellbound!
And their voice-over commentary was exotic. Hans and Lotte were Austrian. Odd for pioneers of underwater cinematography. Young and blonde, Lotte was a hottie, even in monochrome. Each show ended with a nail-biting, shark encounter.

The title of this painting – 14.688°S,145.471°E – is a spot in the ocean off Lizard Island, The Great Barrier Reef, North Queensland.
Shark portraiture! For one thing they won’t smile! Hair and make-up takes forever! They’re simply obstinate, self-opinionated, unpredictable bastards to work with!

You could ask Hans and Lotte. But they’re no longer with us. Shark encounters eh!