Some photographers shoot fashion. Others go to the Indian Ocean and orchestrate a majestic encounter with some formidable sperm whales. But it’s not only just your regular National Geographic fix, but more a dare exploration how nature and humans can coexist in a perfect harmony, uninhibited by today’s world problems.
Kristina Makeeva is not another passionate AI convert – she just prefers turning ordinary into magic, as stated on her Instagram bio. The stunning results are to behold, often otherworldly. For the last close to decade the London-based photographer has been trying to immerse her viewers into the beauty of simple everyday things that surround us. Makeeva has participated in the 2023 Florence Biennale and won numerous awards and participated in dozens of group and solo exhibitions, while winning awards for creative and mobile photography.
Her commercial jobs has seen her travel to Kenya for the Miss Universe beauty pageant in 2019, shot stunning editorials at the Baikal Lake, traversed Paris and beyond for “Girls in Dresses”, visited the endemic Dragon Blood tries in Socotra Island, but Kameeva’s latest passion project is on another (sea, pun intended) level.
When she was planning a photoshoot in the Indian Ocean with sperm whales with her diving instructor and model Alexandra Gordeeva, they both immediately thought of Kevin Kostner’s legendary sci-fi classic Waterworld (1995) – one of the most expensive movies of its time, that tells the story of humans, trying to survive and find the mythical Dryland after the polar ice caps have melted. "The DEMOBAZA clothing perfectly suited our concept for the shoot."
But it was not without a challenge: diving and swimming in the open ocean with clothes on is quite difficult, especially while trying to find enormous whales and catching the right moment to take a photo with them.
When whales are moving, it’s very difficult to catch them, and you have to time your dives from boats and rush underwater toward them, Makeeva shares. So if you’re very lucky (like us) and encounter sperm whale socialization (when they gather in groups and exchange news), you’ll have a short time to pose with them.
As calm as they may seem in the accompanying pictures, sperm whales are not to be touched or interfered with in any way under no circumstances. "Whales are very gentle creatures and don’t want to harm you. They will always try to swim around you. They’ll retract their fins or turn away if you can’t see them underwater. Encountering a whale is incredibly lucky. Interacting and swimming with them is a stroke of luck."
Maybe it’s not just a chance, but serendipity. Nevertheless, Kristina and Alexandra consider themselves very lucky to have gone to the Indian ocean one day and seen so many whales at once. "Usually there’s only one or two swimming around. It was a day when we were taking a break from the ocean, but we decided to go anyway, even though we were very tired. I could barely get into the boat with my equipment."
But the result was clearly worth it, as Kristina ended up getting some amazing shots of Alexandra, while posing in the ocean like an ethereal creature wearing DEMOBAZA.
Makeeva wants to note that swimming in the ocean in a storm (and we often swam in huge waves) is difficult and certainly dangerous, so everyone should be aware of this. "Always be alert in the water. Besides whales, the ocean is also home to sharks. And yes, you might encounter them too."
This stunningly beautiful project is very close the heart and ethos of DEMOBAZA. We have always been keen to explore the human connection with the natural world and its majestic forces, while searching for our place in the universe. Considering our campaign movies and runways have always explored not just a dystopian, futuristic or nomadic way of life, but the stunning landscapes of Planet Earth (be it Namibia, Mongolia, Portugal, Brazil, Dubai, etc.), swimming with whales is (quite literally) an opportunity to see our ideas of clothing in unknown territories. The natural, cinematic, sacred and fashionable can coexist, but what is more inspiring than the might of Mother Nature? We love the urban jungle, but a day with the whales seems just right.
Check DEMOBAZA’s latest offerings online here.