SharkDiver.com - Rangefinder Magazine

Last month Rangefinder Magazine featured Shark Diver at Isla Guadalupe in a conservation themed article by Jim Cornfield.

Article here.

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Rangefindermag.com provides online multimedia resources for the photographic professional. In addition to archives of Rangefinder's print articles, Rangefindermag.com provides original online content, news, and events.

About Jim Cornfield

Jim Cornfield is a commercial photographer and travel writer based in Malibu Canyon, CA. He’s a veteran certified scuba diver and a passionate campaigner for great white shark conservation and coral reef preservation.

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!

NBC's Today Show D- on Sharks

If there was some kind of award for shoddy, hyper inflated, negative shark coverage, NBC's The Today Show would get it.

Over the past several years they have been the media leaders in 1970's style "horror shark" media hits.

If there was an award for honestly in shark media, new Blue Blogger Dorsal Fin would get it.

This week DF earned an extra tall shark statue for calling out The Today Shows ongoing and dare we say it, "moronically half fabricated shark based clap trap."

Actually, we liked that so much we'll say it again, "moronically half fabricated shark based clap trap."

The media's responsibility for balanced shark reporting is paramount and the only way they will be made to come to their senses is if we all take the time to point out when they stray completely off the media reservation.

In The Today's Show case that is several times a year, with few if any media hits highlighting research, science, and the ongoing decimation of worldwide shark populations.

Balance. In the world we live in it is needed now more than ever.

Kudos to Dorsal Fin for providing some.

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."

Busting a Shark Myth Wide Open

This image and story have been making the rounds on the Internet like a Nigerian Bank Email. Unfortunately both image and story are completely fake.

It's a classic Underwater Onion.

YOU HAVE TO READ THIS FIRST BEFORE LOOKING AT PICTURE.

Family on vacation in Australia for a week and a half when husband, wife and their 15 year old son decided to go scuba diving. The husband is in the navy and has had some scuba experience. His son wanted a picture of his mom and dad in all their gear so he got the under water camera ready to go. When it came to taking the picture the dad realized that the son looked like he was panicking as he took it and gave the 'OK' hand sign to see if he was all right.

The son took the picture and swam to the surface and back to the boat as quick as he could so the mom and dad followed to see if he was OK. When they got back to him he was scrambling onto the boat and absolutely panicking. When the parents asked why, he said 'there was a shark behind you.' The dad thought he was joking but the skipper of the boat said it was true but they wouldn't believe him. As soon as they got back to the hotel they loaded the picture onto the laptop and this is what they saw.