I started diving the Bahamas in 1991 and have enjoyed it for many years. Over the last decade my travels have taken me more to the Pacific and in that time new discoveries have been made in the Bahamas. Always a hot place to dive with sharks two special locations were discovered, an area near Bimini that Great Hammerheads frequent daily that we didn’t know existed when I dove there regularly and a special patch of sand, 20 miles north of Grand Bahama Island named Tiger Beach where apex predator Tiger sharks regularly came in. Over the last 10 years or so dive masters have learned how to interact with these animals and even feed them all while allowing divers to observe with no cages or chain-mail. This is not without risk as there have been serious injuries but for those willing to brave it the experience is without parallel.
I’ve been wanting to do it for several years and in November took the plunge! With my wife Red looking on from the boat, ok let’s be fair she was feeding the Lemon sharks above my head while I was down below. Check it out. The experience below was intense, at times I was having to use my camera to shove the sharks away and in the case of the hammerhead keep her exposed teeth away from my face and shoulder. My pulse was definitely pounding! Also there are times the tiger sharks have been known to grab a camera from a diver and carry it briefly away. Given this was my first trip with my brand new camera rig that just added to the anxiety. Overall great experience and amazing photo opportunities. Please take a look and enjoy the journey with me.
For those curious the new camera rig is a Nikon D850 in a Nauticam housing and a pair of Ikelite strobes. The lens for the above photos was the Nikon 8-15mm Fisheye with a 1.4x tele-converter.