Shark Photographer James Dylan - Epic!

In 2011 we were excited to have underwater photographer James Dylan aboard the good ship Horizon for a week of shark adventures at Isla Guadalupe. Famed for white shark encounters that have been thrilling divers for the past decade.

James and his sharks did not disappoint and he cranked our some amazing shark images. Here's his report and his website for a closer look at his white sharks:

"I climbed slowly down the ladder trying to adjust to the extra weight strapped to my waist. I looked around for my designated regulator and drop into the royal blue Pacific. The water was cold as ice, but I didn’t care. The metal enclosure that I stood in rocked back and forth with the waves and I had to grab onto the bars to keep my balance. I scanned the endless ocean for some sign of life besides the school of fish surrounding me. A dark shadow moves in the distance. A massive great white shark materializes out of the depths. My heart stops and I have to remind myself to breathe out of the regulator. This was the one moment I had been waiting for for 17 years and that one moment will forever be seared into my mind. 

Over the next two days I came in contact with between 10 and 15 different white sharks, all with different personalities. On day two, perhaps the most famous shark at Guadalupe showed up. They call him shredder. He is 16 feet long and always loves to show off to the divers watching him. He circled the cage for three hours giving everyone a good look. As he swims past you, he looks at you dead in the eye and you can see his eye snap from diver to diver. Let me tell you, there is absolutely nothing more amazing, thrilling, and terrifying than having a 16 foot great white, swimming mere inches away from you, stare at you; studying you.  Another smaller, unidentified shark, paid us a visit later that day. This one was showing more… aggressive tendencies. He would dive deep and torpedo up from the bottom right at our cage and veer off at the last second.

The whole reason I got into photography was for this very reason.  Shark Diver was able to provide me with the opportunity to capture stunning images which I was able to display at an exhibition last spring.  Several examples from this exhibition are posted above.  For more of my work, please visit my website at www.james-dylan.com.

I had an incredible experience with Shark Diver.  I hope to see you all again very soon."

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Man carrying shark wins coveted photojournalism prize

And we have to agree 100%.

The image, set in Mogadishu, Somalia plays on so many different levels that you need to click on the image and take it in for a while to get the full effect.

With a war torn city as a back drop a man carrying a dead shark was winner of the World Press Photo competition 2010.

Omar Feisal, from Reuters snapped the pic which won the Daily Life Single category.

Amazing.

Shark Picture of the Year?

There's some pretty good images of sharks out there, but for the money we're fans of images that capture what it's actually like to be in the water with these magnificent critters.

Face to face.

Underwater photographer Daniel Selmeczi came back with this image (click for larger size) after a trip to the Red Sea and we would like to offer it up as Shark Picture of the Year.

It's hard not to like an image that captures "a day in the life" - shot from the plankton's eye view.

See this is full size and spend a minute taking it all in. If this shot was a meal it would be something straight out of California's famed French Laundry.

Kudos to Daniel.

Nice work.

Shark Diver Santa - We Like It!

Whoever the marketing person is at Blue Planet Aquarium in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire we suggest someone give them a huge raise.

Double goes for the very cool shark diving website they built.

Yes, it is THAT time of year again when enterprising boys and girls from around the planet capitalize on the "Fat Man in the Red Suit" (not Paul Watson) to sell everything from SUV's to days at the local aquarium.

The shark diving industry approves of this recent effort.

You just have to look at the face of the little girl in the tube to see the next generation of shark divers in action. Kudos!

Australia's "Monster Shark" - The Facts

The news media is having a field day with the story of a 10 foot white shark with two giant bites out of its side, indicating that perhaps a much larger shark, as large as 20 feet might have been involved.

We took a look at the images this week and came to the conclusion "if" this animal was in fact 10 feet long, these bites could be the result of a very, very large white shark.

Some have cried foul and declared this image to be photoshopped, others have suggested this image is a complete fake. Still others have said that men, not a shark, carved up the carcass.

We decided to find out the truth and made a series of phone calls to various agencies in Australia today and here's what we know:

1. This is a real image, or so says The Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries manager Tony Ham who told us "this is a confirmed 3.3 meters white shark, caught by our contractor, he measured the primary bite mark at 50 centimeters or twenty inches."

2. The sole contractor who catches sharks in the region has been doing so for Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries since 1986.

3. Tony Hams team estimate from the 50 centimeter bite radius, the feeding shark was in the 5.2 meter range or 16-17 feet.

4. Samples were collected from the bitten shark. The shark was dumped at sea following standard protocol. The bites were so severe that the head actually fell off the animal during transit shortly after this image was shot.

5. These are not man made holes in the side of the shark according to Tony Ham, "it is not a faked photo, the photo is absolutely genuine."

Tony Ham went on to say after they released this image to the media and the estimated size of the feeding shark "the sharks size grew by a meter overnight."

Sustainable "Shark Soup?"

The post title seems like the magic bullet for shark finning, and in some ways it is. Tourism with sharks, because in our world sustainable "shark soup" looks something like this - and it lasts forever:



Hat Tip: Dorsal Fin Blog for the find and to shark diver Joe Prieto for shooting this stunning video.

Shark Shot of the Week

What would you do when presented with a 30 foot shark in the water?

If you're Paul Semmens
you jump in and go meet the critter face to face.

No, Paul is not mad, he's a just a "shark guy". There's no rhyme or reason for wanting to dive with a 30 foot Basking shark except for the joy of the "moment":

Photographer Paul Semmens captured images of the shark from the ferry The Scillonian which runs between Penzance and the Isles of Scilly as it fed close to the surface on plankton.

The size of the creature is revealed by the distance from the dorsal fin to the tail fin which is half its total length.

"It was around seven metres - over 30-ft long - a big one - but they do get bigger," Mr Semmens said. "June is often a good month to see basking sharks because the sea has warmed up and the algal blooms which they feed on are growing.

"I've seen over 20 of them off Cornwall recently - which is an average number. A couple of years ago there were over 300 spotted in one day which was a record."

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