Hannah Fraser photos Real-life mermaid swims with whales Underwater swimmer Hannah Fraser has been fascinated with mermaids since she was three years old.
Hannah, 36, an Australian who now lives in LA, made her first mermaid tail at the age of nine, after seeing the film Splash with Daryl Hannah.
Now she works as a model, actress and performer, swimming with whales, dolphins, stingrays and even sharks.
Real-life mermaid swims with whales using very own fish tail - and holds breath for two minutes on deep sea dives
Hannah, 36, was inspired to make first tail after watching Daryl Hannah in mermaid film Splash
Stunning: Photographer Ted Grambeau captured beautiful photographs of 36-year-old Hannah Fraser swimming with whales in the wild to promote their conservation
Inspired: Hannah, an Australian who now lives in LA, made her first mermaid tail at the age of nine, after seeing the film Splash with Daryl Hannah
Hannah can hold her breath for up to two minutes and swim to depths of 45 feet, allowing her to move like a real mermaid, without the restraints of diving gear.
In these images she is seen swimming with humpback whales off Vava'u Island, Tonga, to promote marine conservation and oppose whale hunting.Hannah and her then husband Dave Rastovich, a surfer, were upset and frustrated after International Whaling Commission meetings where whaling nations were allowed to continue their slaughter under the guise of 'scientific research'.
'It was depressing and we wanted to go somewhere to connect with the whales and to raise awareness,' said Hannah.
Fish out of water: Deep sea swimmer Hannah Fraser has been fascinated with mermaids since she was three years old and can swim to great depths using her homemade tail. Now Hannah works as a model, actress and performer, swimming with whales, dolphins, stingrays and sharks
Feisty fish: Hannah has been confronted by sharks while underwater, but says she scared them off with a frightening faceThe couple flew to Tonga with photographer Ted Grambeau, who was able to capture beautiful images of humpbacks swimming with Hannah, in scenes documented by filmmaker Bali Strickland.
'A baby humpback was curious and actually came up to me,' said Hannah.
'The whales were singing so loudly and the baby whale was squealing, which sounds even louder under the water. It was a very powerful experience.'
Many photographs for anti-whaling campaigns show brutal acts including harpooning and whales being winched onto ships, which can be too horrific for ordinary observers.
But Ted's images appear in the children's book, The Surfer and the Mermaid, and aim to inspire whale conservation. He added: 'All the shots of Hannah are really poetic - really just surreal, beautiful shots.'
In 2007, Hannah swam in the sea in Taiji, Japan, with 30 surfers, celebrities and musicians, in an attempt to halt the ruthless slaughter of thousands of dolphins by local fishermen.Hannah remembers: 'Half of the dolphins had been caught and the others were roped off in the middle of the bay to be herded towards the fishermen.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk
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