Shark under Sunburst
Caribbean Reef Shark beneath a dive boat in Cuba
Caribbean Reef Shark beneath a dive boat in Cuba
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Sep, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken in the Jardines de la Reina off the south coast of Cuba, the sharks were attracted by a bait box and were circling around beneath the dive boatTime
Near middayLighting
whilst the other divers were taking pictures of the sharks close to the bait box, I noticed that the sharks circled before going in, and that the dive boat above kept a moving shadow over the sun. I kept taking photos at the time the sun just came out from behind the boat, and got this sunburst. My strobes lit the underside of the shark. IEquipment
Canon 50d with a 10-22mm lens, in a Sea & Sea Housing, with 2 Sea & Sea strobesInspiration
I have been taking underwater photos for 20 years now, and it just gets better. I usually keep to Macro photos, but using the wide angle lens forced me to use as much ambient light as possible, and the whole trip to Cuba became about capturing sharks - but this photo I was determined to show the surface and a sunburst, and the shark from beneath. I had to hold my breath as my bubbles were above me, even so, the last breath was originally visible in the top left hand cornerEditing
I changed the levels, and removed the bubbles that were from my exhale, and increased the contrastIn my camera bag
With underwater photography, I have my SLR and housing and strobes, and either a macro lens (50mm) or the wide angle 10-22mm to reduce the water column to the subject.Feedback
With the sharks, as with any fish/animals it is best to watch their behaviour - the picture was taken as I saw the paths the sharks were taking, and also that this was below the dive boat - this allowed me to choose the location to be, and wait for the sharks to swim by. The result was not just a picture of the shark, but of the environment
