lairdb:
Actually mine are Grey Reef sharks, its an island in the Tuamotus called Apataki, accessable only by liveaboard.
Nice shots of the Black tips
You're at 84 ft and you see a school of bullsharks. Now what?
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Actually mine are Grey Reef sharks, its an island in the Tuamotus called Apataki, accessable only by liveaboard.
Nice shots of the Black tips
ch0ppersrule
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Mike Veitch:Here is a photo of the sharks in French Polynesia i mentioned (no feeding) I went on this dive perhaps 200 times, this is as close as i could ever get to them!!!!!
The sound of bubbles they just don't like!
Speaking of which, one of the best shark deterrants is to take your octopus and purge it, inquisitive sharks will veer away immediately
Beautiful!!! I myself would probably have swallowed my reg though. I love seeing sharks, but that many would probably have scared the crap out of me and also made me elated. I could feel my heart rate go up just imagining being the photographer. Awesome and scary at the same time.
Mwright15:
You don't have to out swim the shark just your buddy.
Canadian_Diver
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Disregard this post.... all my comments were already covered by other members.
djanni
Contributor
Mike Veitch:
For that Bull.... Would you consider 8' to 10' close?
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pilot fish
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Mike Veitch:Here is a photo of the sharks in French Polynesia i mentioned (no feeding) I went on this dive perhaps 200 times, this is as close as i could ever get to them!!!!!
The sound of bubbles they just don't like!
Speaking of which, one of the best shark deterrants is to take your octopus and purge it, inquisitive sharks will veer away immediately
Mike, incredible pics. What did you and the other divers do when you saw this school swimming near you? If I and other divers should see this, what should we do, other then reach for the Charmin? Did they pass on and pay no attention to you, or did they circle? Can you tell when a school of sharks are hunting for food, or just swimming?
These guys are just swimming, they live in this narrow channel because of the strong current. The dive consisted of jumpin in at the mouth of the channel and drifting in with the current. Once we got to where the sharks were (always the same place) we would hook in to the side wall of the channel at around 50 feet. From then on in you just watch the show as the sharks cruised up and down the bottom of the pass in a large circle.
Grey reefs are a requim shark, in other words they cannot sit on the bottom like a nurse shark or a white tip, therefore they need to find an area of current in order to "rest". The streamlined shape of these sharks enables them to ride the wave of the current without exerting much energy and therefore conserving energy for the dusk periods in which they feed.
In this situation these sharks are pretty much a non existant threat to divers as we are not food to them. We are large and bubble blowing so they don't like us.
(these are greys, other sharks such as bulls, tigers are not as threatened by us)
However, don't take this as me saying these sharks are kittens, they stilll have the potential to be dangerous and deserve respect.
But if you ever have the good fortune to see a situation like this consider yourself lucky, sharks don't hunt in packs, they are solitary predators. During the day certain species do school but that is a social behaviour rather than predatory.
Grey reefs are a requim shark, in other words they cannot sit on the bottom like a nurse shark or a white tip, therefore they need to find an area of current in order to "rest". The streamlined shape of these sharks enables them to ride the wave of the current without exerting much energy and therefore conserving energy for the dusk periods in which they feed.
In this situation these sharks are pretty much a non existant threat to divers as we are not food to them. We are large and bubble blowing so they don't like us.
(these are greys, other sharks such as bulls, tigers are not as threatened by us)
However, don't take this as me saying these sharks are kittens, they stilll have the potential to be dangerous and deserve respect.
But if you ever have the good fortune to see a situation like this consider yourself lucky, sharks don't hunt in packs, they are solitary predators. During the day certain species do school but that is a social behaviour rather than predatory.
Ok, here is a different type of shark that is also seen in schools. These are Scalloped Hammerheads from Cocos Island off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. They are also very common in the Galapagos, Malpelo, and a few other places as well.
When divers first discovered these areas and saw the amount of hammers in the water they were often in and out of the water in seconds. However, it was soon discovered, by those that wanted to get photos or video, that it was actually extremely difficult to approach these sharks.
You will now find that many of the boats who now visit these areas on a regular basis really push the use of rebreathers simply due to the fact these sharks bolt when bubbles are exhaled on open circuit.
This shot was one of only two decent "schooling photos" from a week in Cocos as well as a week in Galapagos due to the fact i use open circuit and therefore the sharks just wouldn't come close enough to get a decent photo.
When divers first discovered these areas and saw the amount of hammers in the water they were often in and out of the water in seconds. However, it was soon discovered, by those that wanted to get photos or video, that it was actually extremely difficult to approach these sharks.
You will now find that many of the boats who now visit these areas on a regular basis really push the use of rebreathers simply due to the fact these sharks bolt when bubbles are exhaled on open circuit.
This shot was one of only two decent "schooling photos" from a week in Cocos as well as a week in Galapagos due to the fact i use open circuit and therefore the sharks just wouldn't come close enough to get a decent photo.
Mike Veitch:
Mike, this is not a good news. I am tentatively planning a trip to Galapagos next April and was hoping to use the 10.5mm lens for a nice picture schooling hammerheads. Hmm, might have to rethink this a bit. Even the 12-24mm may be too wide if I can't get that close on open circuit. May be the 17-55mm might be better. How is the viz there? I heard that it is not the greatest either so 17-55mm might not be all that suitable either.
Oh well, I hope at least the whale sharks are not so skittish
btw after seeing your 2 pictures, I hate you
ssra30:btw after seeing your 2 pictures, I hate you
Can i say laughing my *** off here? Well i just did.
Just so you hate me even more....film!
I thought the viz in Cocos to be much better than Galapagos and my photos from there were better. I shot 100 ISO in both places and was really disappointed in my Galapagos shots (i learned two years later and brought a few rolls of faster film to Cocos)
However, i really think you will not have too much of a problem in Galaps as you can change ISO on the fly with your camera and see the results.
The 10.5 is definitely too much for the hammers of Galaps, i used a 15mm and never got a decent result, for whale sharks on the other hand it could be great. What month are you going?
Send me a PM (with itinerary and dates) and i will give you my genuine thoughts of it all.
Mike
ps my good friend is in Galaps right now and i should get a low down from him next week, he is using D70 as well as an F100 so i can give you some comparisons hopefully
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