Stevie the one-eyed shark

[Mike Poole]

This might not immediately look like a theme image for this month, but please bear with me...

On the pre-dive briefing we were told the sharks may well approach and touch us, and we might even need to push them away if they remained too close. Not a problem I thought, then I saw one coming in close at a good angle for a shot. Then she came in closer, then closer, then swam straight into my ribs, giving me a decent blow. Not aggressive in the slightest, just clumsy.

I mentioned this back on the boat and one of the regulars asked which side I was hit on. I replied 'my right' and was told 'That'll be 'Stevie' then'. (The sharks are a resident population and all have names given to them). I was then told that Stevie had lost her right eye some time ago and sometimes struggled with distances and often bumped into people!

Anyway, we went back in the water and knowing what to look out for I saw Stevie about to give me another close pass, and here's the result - no eye contact because she doesn't have one!

A bit more PP than normal on this one as I had to evict 2 divers and a small fish from the shot, and this will probably be my last frame from the series due to the number of distracting BG elements in most of the others.

Canon 1dx in a Nauticam housing
Sigma 15mm fisheye
ISO 400
1/160th f10
twin Sea and Sea YS D1 strobes

Mike

[haseeb badar]

Hi Mike -- " Stevie " looks menacing with all those teeth gritted tightly. Isn't it dangerous of such close proximity with the sharks ? what protection do you guys have ? just curious to know !
The image is fantastic , nicely popping against the blues with that priceless expression. Considering the circumstances it definitely qualifies for this months theme for me .

TFS !

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Mike - I had to laugh at the bg story or "fish tale". I hope your ribs were ok and it gives you a great story for close encounter conversations. Excellent image. I like the rich blues and all the hangers on. Only thing I'm not sure about is the fish in the urc. It draws the eye a bit.

TFS,
Rachel

[keith mitchell]

Mike your a braver man than me.This looks excellent to me a a must for this months theme,think the colour's are super.

Keith

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Mike:)

First of all thank you so much for sharing this image as well as the story behind it, I read it with so much interest!

Like Rachel, I too hope Stevie did not cause too much damage to your ribs and that your next encounter with her will be less traumatic:)

She is a beauty, despite the missing eye - well portrayed! The more I look, the more I develop a soft spot for this survivor. Nice PP work, love the colours and the framing is great, I am 50/50 about the little fish in the URC though.

Please share some more if you have, I took great pleasure viewing as well as reading the story.

Have a wonderful week-end,

Kind regards

[Mike Poole]

Hi Mike -- " Stevie " looks menacing with all those teeth gritted tightly. Isn't it dangerous of such close proximity with the sharks ? what protection do you guys have ? just curious to know !
The image is fantastic , nicely popping against the blues with that priceless expression. Considering the circumstances it definitely qualifies for this months theme for me .

TFS !

Hi Haseeb,

Cheers for commenting. As with any wild animal encounter you need certain skills and knowledge, but as far as I am aware there are no recorded human attacks from Lemon Sharks. There were other species around including Bull Sharks which have a poor reputation, but most of it is scaremongering and although they don't generally come as close they are not aggressive unless you make a mistake and push your luck. The big draw is the possibility of a Tiger Shark, an although you have to be extra vigilant with them, again they are not aggressive despite their reputation. Sadly, no Tiger Sharks on my dives,

So, to answer your question, the main protection is knowledge of behaviour and diving skills, then a few sensible precautions such as being totally covered in dark equipment including gloves and hoods, so there are no little flashes of bright skin that cold be mistaken for small fish.

There are no cages, sticks, or any other physical deterrents - they're simply not needed.

Mike

[Mike Poole]

Hi Mike - I had to laugh at the bg story or "fish tale". I hope your ribs were ok and it gives you a great story for close encounter conversations. Excellent image. I like the rich blues and all the hangers on. Only thing I'm not sure about is the fish in the urc. It draws the eye a bit.

TFS,
Rachel

Thanks Rachel,

it wasn't a massive blow - more like rough play with a big friendly dog!

I did think about losing the fish in the URC, but as I'd already removed a couple of distractions I held back - probably should have gone all in considering I'd removed things already

Mike

[Mike Poole]

Mike your a braver man than me.This looks excellent to me a a must for this months theme,think the colour's are super.

Keith

Cheers for that Keith, once you have some knowledge of them you quickly realise they're not scary at all - very relaxing believe it or not!

Mike

[Mike Poole]

Hello Mike:)

First of all thank you so much for sharing this image as well as the story behind it, I read it with so much interest!

Like Rachel, I too hope Stevie did not cause too much damage to your ribs and that your next encounter with her will be less traumatic:)

She is a beauty, despite the missing eye - well portrayed! The more I look, the more I develop a soft spot for this survivor. Nice PP work, love the colours and the framing is great, I am 50/50 about the little fish in the URC though.

Please share some more if you have, I took great pleasure viewing as well as reading the story.

Have a wonderful week-end,

Kind regards

Thanks Gabriela,

As I replied to Rachel, no problem with the ribs! With further thinking and opinions the URC fish should probably be evicted.

Although the experience was fantastic, the number of decent shots were limited, mainly due to other divers and their bubbles in the BGs, so I think that might be my lot from the sharks for now, this unprocessed shot shows what most of the backgrounds were like



Mike

[Anette Mossbacher]

Hi Mike,

oh that is just not my place to be. I always say, a shark will eat me some day I like the pose and the fish around this majestic beast. I miss a tad more clarity, which can be done quite easy in LR or even with TK in Photoshop.
I love the little fishy in the upper RHS corner. Just gives for me a tad in this image as well.
Just not my thing under water, but have to do it some day.

Have a great week

Ciao Anette

[arash_hazeghi]

pretty cool image Mike, well one