B&W PhotoContest | TheScubaSherpa | Catch of the Day

Good morning Steemers!

I was poking around the Steem this morning and found the BWPhotoContest by @papa-pepper. Soooo I figured I could double it up for a cool Catch of the Day!

This Tuesday, I'm showing off the Caribbean Reef Shark!

I saw these steely-eyed predators during a dive in the Bahamas and was lucky enough to capture two of them in the same shot. The shark in the foreground glided towards me until he was about 5 yards away, then took a turn and soared to the left of my head. I remember the slight feeling of panic in the eerie moment of this shot, truly realizing that we weren't in a zoo, and that there wasn't any glass between myself and them.

I'd dove with reef sharks once before in Grand Cayman, but never this close. This particular dive was actually a shark feed where after the feeding was done, we were able to go and swim with the sharks, but were told not to get too close.

Throwing caution to the current I ended up drifting a little bit away from group after the feeding in hopes to get a clearer shot. Away from the group, I curled up in a ball, floating feet from the bottom and waited. Three sharks calmly passed one at a time within a yard of me before one circled back around for a closer look.

These sharks ranged between 6 and 8 ft long, marking their territory as the apex predator from the Floridian to Brazilian coasts. Caribbean Reef Sharks can best be defined by their silvery coloring, small secondary dorsal fin, smooth skin, and their overall body shape. Unlike many reef sharks, those of the Caribbean appear like the Dusky Shark in form as they are noticeably larger and thicker around.

As far as perception of these sharks goes, they're not quite the gruesome surfer-munchers that we all think of when we see a shark. Although they seem menacing, at least for divers, we're roughly the same size as they are underwater, and they've never seemed too interested in us. I've come to view most of them a lot like dogs, but I still wouldn't stick my hand in a Rottweiler's mouth and expect good things- rather like most things above and below water, be respectful, keep your hands and feet to yourself, and most of the time- good things will come.

That closes up another Catch of the Day! I hope you guys liked it! These pictures are from one of my favorite dives out of the 100 I've completed. Like most of my posts, these were taken with a GoPro Hero 3+ Black, but then edited through PhotoScape X, a free editing tool for Mac.

Until next time, this was your Black and White Catch of the Day!
Keep is Steemy 😎