Guadalupe Great White Sharks!

Hey, guys. I just finished a travel journal from the last Guadalupe trip:

http://echeng.com/travel/guadalupe2004/

We had a great time.

Few images:

The third cage:

Proper cage etiquette:

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Eric those are beautiful photos....did you have any come around to rattle the cage you were in?!?!?

M.

We had only one make contact with the cage. Last year there was much more cage drama.

Being the impatient sort, I had a look at your pictures yesterday. Looked like a great group and a really fun trip.

I think that this image with the sun on the shark is very nice:

http://echeng.com/gallery/images/guadalupe2004/normal/041107_131310_echeng2265.jpg

And I particularly liked this image of this fat and munched female

http://echeng.com/gallery/images/guadalupe..._echeng2289.jpg

which, although it is just a straight side on shot, seems to capture a different side of the white shark personality. With so many great images coming out of Guadalupe now, it is the original ones that really work for me.

Is the great white becoming the new pygmy seahorse?

Alex

Is the great white becoming the new pygmy seahorse?

Alex

I think so, Alex. The only reason to go to Guadalupe now is for the experience, and for the rare chance that a shark might gnaw on the cage while you are in it with a full-frame fisheye. Most other white shark shots in clear water have now been done.

The third cage at depth may offer unique shot opportunities. But so few people had interesting passes down there on our trip (although, it was totally cool to be down there) -- and you only get 1-2 times in that slot, so it might take many trips and an exorbitant amount of money for that unique shot.

Thanks for sharing your experience Eric. I'm still pondering the expense vs experience.

The 3rd shot down here would have made it worthwhile. Truly a great capture.

Sweet Eric! Nice shots. So, who's on top, in the cage..

So, who's on top, in the cage..

That is a good question .. and how does that position come about .. is it a new buddy system thing or strictly for buddy diving in cages with sharks ?

BTW .. alex's first pic choice is one of my faves too .. shark pics very rarely do it for me .. but i likt the fact i can see the fin very subtlely brushing the surface of the water and leaving a nice vortex of bubbles behind .. very Jaws.

I like the first shot of the Abernethy's. They look like a pair of Teletubbies.

Nice work, BTW.

I agree with Alex's pic choices as well. Both of the ones he picked out, and the head-on shot, were my favorites.

That photo in the cage is Kaz on top of Jimmy.

And yeah, when Anna saw the photo of them, she said, " I look like a martian!! "

She's definitely not used to thick wetsuits and hoods.

Here are the three white shark shots I like the best. None of these are cropped (except the head-on shot, which had its aspect ratio changed -- shaved a bit off the top and bottom).

I shot 1D Mk II on this trip, and the 16-35 was a perfect lens for cage use. I used a fisheye once, but I sat there waiting for the shark to get closer. You pretty much have to be able to touch the shark to get a good shot with the fisheye lens.

I don't know if you have heard of Pascal Lecocq, but that final image (that I think works very well with the letter box crop) reminds me of his famous image "The Matador".

Eric, now you have to go out and shoot the diver with a red sheet and recreate his paiinting. Did you know that Pascal does not dive?!

Alex

Eric, now you have to go out and shoot the diver with a red sheet and recreate his paiinting.

Alex, do you volunteer to be that diver?

Of course i would, but alas my build is a bit too chunky to make an accurate recreation!

On a more serious note, I wasn't suggesting that the diver need be even in the same ocean - and the two images could be combined to make the final version.

Alex

Looks like I should have gone on that trip. If anything just to see Jimmy and Anna in those thick wetsuits. I got a chuckle out of it.

I agree with your shot selections also. Very nice. Someday I will make it down there for that trip as the blue water and light seems to make it ideal for WS shots.

Alex -- that is a great idea.

Now, where do I find a thin blue full-body dive skin with hood?

I think the black rubber fins might be hardest to find. But it also occurs that you have done the hard part!

Alex