Are sharks attracted by flash ?

[oliviamarine]

Hi,

I have a question. I have a camera and would like to know if the flash on the camera will attract sharks if I take a picture ?

For example, if I see a shark that is quite far away and I want to take a picture of him with the flash on, what will be his reaction ? Will he just keep going or he will try to discover what is this big light and becoming quite agressive ?


Thanks !

Marine

 

[ScottyK]

I don't think you'll have a problem as long as everything else seems OK.

I saw a documentary about an underwater photographer who got attacked and bitten on the arm after taking a flash picture. There were were mitigating circumstances however.

This guy was a professional, and was actively pursuing the sharks. One of them was getting very agitated with the guy, and was giving him a display of aggression for a minute or two before he took the pic (another diver got video of the incident). It was zipping back and forth in front of him with it's pecs down and it's back arched. They interviewed him, and he said that in hindsight it probably wasn't the smartest thing he's ever done

Having said that, thousands of pics of sharks have been taken without incident. It's more a matter of being attuned to their behavior in general. If you ever se a shark and it's giving you an aggressive display, you're going to want to get calmly away from it regardless of whether or not you even have a camera.

I personally would consider myself lucky to see a shark, and be even happier if I got a decent picture. Don't worry too much about it.

Scott

 

[Wendy]

I think it would depend on the strenght of the battery for your flash persoanlly. I have heard of Bull sharks getting upset with divers with HID lights cuz of the electrical field created by the battery pack, so this could also happen with camera flashes I guess.

 

[sealkie]

.. but to expand ...

sharks are attracted to electrical impulses - when a strobe recycles - even on dinky cameras - even a human can hear it - sharks are norticeably interested in this - they will turn toward the recycling unit. In my MANY dive with sharks I have only had one incident where the shark did more than change direction for a second or 2 - in Nassau a shark VERY breifly grabbed at the strobe - the shark in question was already irritated by a large hook in it`s mouth - and his posture was definatly that of one p****d off puppy - I should have known better and left him alone - Having said that my buddy reported the same reaction from the same shark later in the dive - so I least I wasn`t the only idiot !

The actual strobe firing - the flash itself - usually is frightens them - so you get them turing away from the light then turning back quite quickly when they recycling attracts them

But all in all - you are not in any danger - so don`t be afraid

 

[cdiver2]

I did read a article that said "they may be attracted by the electrical impulse as the strobe charges up" However I have never seen this and have found it very hard to approach them. On a recent trip I was attempting to get close (3ft) for a photograph with no problems untill another diver charged at them with a camera, result sharks takeing off in all directions, and this happend on a number of occasions.
On another trip doing a night dive we did have some approach us but they turned and fled when the strobe fired.

 

[CBulla]

the charge up may attract, however, sharks work on smell primarily. The electrical impulse may give the feeling of a "wounded" fish, but the attack would be more exporatory to find out what you are.

 

[CBulla]

Something I do remember from "Shark Week" is that Hammerheads are exceptionally sensitive to electrical impulse. The underside of their head is a huge receptor that helps the shark zero in on prey that would be otherwise hidden in the sand.

 

[Tavi]

the first time a shark came to within about 4 feet of me, I had the thought "what's he going to do when the flash fires??"
The next thought was "I guess we're going to find out!!"
No problems yet!
I love photographing Sharks

Only Caribean Reef Sharks and Nurse Sharks so far
I don't think I'd want to get that close to some of the others!

Some of my pics are here

 

[Charlie99]

oliviamarine once bubbled...
IFor example, if I see a shark that is quite far away and I want to take a picture of him with the flash on, what will be his reaction ?

Others have commented on the shark reaction. I just want to mention that if the shark is far away, you will get a better picture without the flash. Using the flash will illuminate all the particulate junk in the water between you and the shark; and depending upon your exposure mode, the flash may also cause distant objects to be underexposed.

 

[archman]

From what I dimly recall of comparative physiology the ampullae of Lorenzini on sharks is EXTREMELY short-ranged (less than a meter), and used as a last-moment guidance tool for open water sharks to find food when they close their protective eye membranes. The benthic sharks use the ampullae to grub up food in the sand... species like hammerheads have to hug the bottom for the things to work right.

My guess is that the shark is cueing in on either the visual flash itself, or the sound given off, unless you have a shark sitting directly atop your camera.