Gray Reef Shark
On an early morning dive off of Little Cayman, here’s what showed up to check us out…
To learn more about the Weekly Photo Challenge, click here.
Weekly Photo Challenge – Half-Light
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I was betting as I waited for your post of load, whether or not it would be an underwater shot. I win. 🙂 Beautiful shot, Cathy. Happy Easter.
janet
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There are so many half-light opportunities, Janet. This challenge was a no-brainer! 🙂
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I would not want to be in the water when this guy showed up, Cathy. Remember the shark in Finding Nemo? You can’t trust em’. You just can’t. :).
Beautiful shot as always. Have a wonderful weekend!
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Thanks, Brigitte! Yeah, you can’t trust em, although the gray reef sharks are pretty tame. Still, I wouldn’t pet them! 🙂 You have a great weekend too!
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This is such a remarkable underwater capture, the lighting is incredible! 🙂
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Thank you, Amy. That means a LOT coming from you! I liked the light, too!
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🙂
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Great photo, Cathy, but weren’t you a bit too close? :-p
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You’re right, Mary, I did not use a telephoto for this! But the gray reef sharks are pretty harmless unless you’re trying to feed them by hand! 🙂
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I can hear the music from Jaws now….great shot
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Thanks, Jim!
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That grumpy expression would fit in perfectly on the subway at rush hour, Cathy! Great shot!
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Hi V! Yep, I can see some grumpy subway passengers at rush hour assuming that facial expression. Sharks get a bad rap I think because the do have that fixed grumpy look. Maybe it’s because they get a bad rap!
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Sharks also have pretty scary teeth. And so do some subway passengers at rush hour, Cathy!
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Very true…
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What a great shot! … but I would have been just too nervous with this guy so close!
Happy weekend!
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Hi Don! Thank you! These guys are not usually a threat to divers and gray reef sharks are pretty safe to be around, but they’re very curious – kind of like cats, so they often show up when they hear diver’s bubbles.
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What a beauty! He doesn’t look all that thrilled to see you, though. 🙂
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Hard to tell, Jennifer. He shows the typical down-turned smile of a shark. I mean, they are kind of primitive predators with a somewhat limited sense-of-humor. 🙂
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Were you scared? Just a little bit? I was just thinking about you there!
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Scared is not exactly the right word. It’s more like – paying attention…paying very close attention. Whenever a shark is around on a dive, I find that I’m watching it carefully. And I do have a camera rig between me and it that I could hit it with if it decided to get too close. While I have seen many sharks on many dives and have never been challenged, I’m told that they don’t like to have their noses bonked and will back off. And I would not hesitate to try said approach…
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Brave lady
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Great shot, Cathy! My hands would have been shaking to much to capture it.
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Thanks, Russ. This particular species is really not all that dangerous. And while my gray reef friend seems to display a grumpy expression, the key to his general mood is that he is not going to be aggressive if his pectoral fins are horizontal, which in this case, they are. When they drop those pectoral fins towards a more vertical position, it’s time to exit stage right. I have seen many of them on many dives and I have never seen them drop those pectoral fins.
But I also have a camera rig that I could hit him with if need be. Fortunately, I’ve never had to do that.
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All I can think of is a conversation bubble saying: “I told you not to take my picture!” This shark looks like every picture ever taken of my sister-in-law! Or me, come to think of it!
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I laughed a lot at your comment, Elyse. Yes he does look like he’s not amused at the camera and flash. But, sadly, they always look like that, whether there’s a camera involved or not. I’m not sure evolution has been particularly kind to sharks (perhaps because they have basically refused to evolve – they’re too efficient at what they do), but they definitely look grumpy.
A still shot actually doesn’t do them justice. While I do like this shot, I must admit that it is an amazing experience seeing these creatures in their natural environment, as they are beautiful swimming machines.
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I prefer the pictures, thanks just the same😙
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My pleasure, Elyse. But they really are pretty in motion!
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Not the friendly Welcome Wagon representative … but a good pic!
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Thank you, Frank! I think their energy is more one of curiosity. We divers are really no threat to them and we’re about as big as them, so they generally leave us alone. This one swam around between groups of divers, just checking us out, then moved on. It’s more like they just want to see what we’re doing. I just feel blessed to be able to get a nice shot of them as they are really quite beautiful in the water.
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Glad you were confident about the curiosity factor! … but scary and exciting at the same time.
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[…] LargeSelf Weekly Photo Challenge – Half-Light […]
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What a wonderful shot, Cathy! And I love the light. Were you scared at all? Cuz, like that’s a shark! You’re so brave. What you won’t do for your art.
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I’m still laughing, Amy. I’m not really that brave, nor am I that devoted to my art! 🙂 This particular species of shark – the Gray Reef Shark – is really not very aggressive. I suppose that it would attack if cornered, but it seems mostly curious.
I can tell you right now that if a Great White showed up? You would not be seeing pics from up close as I’d be walking on water!
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Hahaha! Well, you could have fooled me. 🙂
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OH, wow! Gulp. Great light…half-light, I mean!
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Thanks, Leon!
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Oh my! My, what an amazing shark, what an awesome photo, how incredibly thrilling it must have been… and how lame am I? Off in Israel, overwhelmed by so many things, sorry I missed this wonderful photo, Cathy! It’s wow!
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Thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment, Dawn. I know you’ve been busy and away. So glad you got to spend time with your grandson. It sounded like the wedding was amazing!
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