The Shark Adventures of Pepe

Just got back from a week of diving with sharks in the Bahamas with the Abernethy's...

Here are a few shots from the week:

Thanks to Jim Abernethy's heroism, (smelly) Pepe was saved from the playful jaws of a Tigershark or five.

Reef shark a la macro

I hope that Lemon shark is wearing her SPF40

Quite a change from my mangrove split-shots

What shark?!?!

Sweet stuff Laz, nice sunburst on the lemon, good use of finding some random object to obscure the centre of the sunball

Sharpness and colour on the reef shark is outstanding

What is your setup again?

Nice silhuoette Laz

Karl

Thanks, Mike. Since this was one of Jim Abernethy's Shark Expedition, I knew I'd be able to get close enough to get some good macro shots of the sharks. This gave me the option of not missing that seahorse shot at Tigershark Beach should it present itself.

I usually shoot with an EWA-housed digital pinhole camera. At other times it's a Subal-housed 20D, 10-22, 100mm & 1.4TC (w/ Woody diopter to make my life even more difficult).

Ahh EWA bag....that explains it, got to get me one of those!

Hahah! The seahorses at Tiger Beach - I remember Jimmy telling me and Eric: "If you see a seahorse at Tiger Beach you BETTER not say anything!" LOL.

Nice shots Laz - I'm really looking fwd to seeing the rest. Glad you guys had a good trip.

Cheers

James

Nice shots, Laz...and it was nice to meet you on this trip. Since I had to "depart" the boat on the third day, I got limited shots, but I'll add a couple... (photo of my bye-bye wave, compliments of Capt. Jim)

Bruce,

Having worked offshore quite a bit, I've had to send folks "back to the beach" like that a few times, usually under very stressful circumstances. I hope you all all right!

James

Bruce,

 

Having worked offshore quite a bit, I've had to send folks "back to the beach" like that a few times, usually under very stressful circumstances.  I hope you all all right!

 

James

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Thanks for the concern, James. It occurs to me that I should have clarified the circumstances a little. I was NOT bent, and the evacuation was in fact totally unrelated to diving. I just had an atrial fibrulation, which I've had before, and (by satellite phone) my cardiologist said I needed to get to a hospital pronto. Fortunately, I have DAN's premium level of insurance, so that covered the evacuation. My heart quickly "converted" back to a normal that evening. At any rate, I'm fine now, and I'm glad I at least got two days of great diving in before it happened!

Interestingly (and surprisingly), it turned out that I was somewhat dehydrated, and that may have actually contributed to the A.F. Although I always drink a lot of water on dive trips, the long, shallow (15ft) dives with sharkies apparently sucked more moisture out of me than usual! <_<

Glad to hear you're OK Bruce. I guess the excitement of diving w/ Tiger Sharks might have something to do w/ it too?? :-)

What did you think of your Seacam 1d series setup? Did you like it? Did you use the sportfinder?

Sorry to get so off-track Laz. I checked your site for updated pix but didn't see any yet. Hint hint...:-)

Cheers

James

Bruce:

Sorry your trip was cut short. As a cardiologist, I know how problematic atrial fibrillation can be. I'm just glad you spontaneously converted back to sinus rhythm.

Laz:

Great shots as always. You made me jealous as I saw your group getting ready to board Shear Water last weekend. Now, after seeing your outstanding photos, I'm even more excited about my next Shear Water trip in July. Last year my then 15 year old daughter was at Tiger Beach with me. This year we have the whole family -- me, wife, daughter (now age 16), and son (age 12). I haven't decided yet if our son is going to be in the water at Tiger Beach. Sometimes I still kick into "dad mode"!!!

What did you think of your Seacam 1d series setup?  Did you like it?  Did you use the sportfinder?

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I love my Seacam rig, and the S180 viewfinder is great, too; I can always see what I'm likely to get when I hit the shutter. Unfortunately, the results are still subject to that old "weakest link" phenomenon, and, whereas I used to be able to complain about ineffective hardware, the weakest link now is nearly always BEHIND the viewfinder!

BTW, Laz, I too am sorry to have gotten this thread so off-track! I'm also anxious to see the rest of your photos from the trip!

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the nice compliments.

Bruce - I too enjoyed meeting you and I'm glad to know everything turned out okay. Hopefully we'll have the opportunity to dive again. If you're ever in town, drop me a line and I'll show you around to some of my favorite local spots.

Regarding the rest of the photos... It might be a while. I'm in the midst of redesigning my web site and will probably not add the images until its complete. Soon -- I hope.

I love that pic with the lemon shark and the sunburst, it's a beautiful shilouette! Macro reef shark has good sharpness and lightning, it is an amazing close up. And the last one is preety nice! Thanks for sharing, great job!

I was on the trip with Bruce and Laz and I am glad that everything worked out for Bruce. We were all very concerned for his well being and were relieved to hear that he was in good health that evening. I was in the water when the helicopter arrived and I could see it from the bottom when I looked up....If I only would have pointed my camera up.........I still giggle when I think about the rescue swimmer looking out the door of the helo and clearly seeing alot of big sharks in the water....I'll bet he re-thought his career choice...anyway they put the Coast Guard guy on the deck of the shear water and got Bruce to the hospital...

I met some great people on this trip and I hope to dive with them again....Laz is a true gentleman who was without ego and was free to answer any questions i had....

I am watching his websit with interest......he seems to have an inate sense of composition that is completly lacking in me...

Laz,

I'm sorry to report Pepe made an emergency swimming accent while on our trip. The anchor gave way and he suffered an air embolism.

I have the last shot of him on his way up to the surface.

On a positive note he had just finished diving with his favourite subjects, sharks at Eldorado. He was buried at sea in the traditional manner.

Photo to come..

I was on the trip with Bruce and Laz and I am glad that everything worked out for Bruce. We were all very concerned for his well being and were relieved to hear that he was in good health that evening. I was in the water when the helicopter arrived and I could see it from the bottom when I looked up....If I only would have pointed my camera up.........I still giggle when I think about the rescue swimmer looking out the door of the helo and clearly seeing alot of big sharks in the water....I'll bet he re-thought his career choice...anyway they put the Coast Guard guy on the deck of the shear water and got Bruce to the hospital...

 

I met some great people on this trip and I hope to dive with them again....Laz is a true gentleman who was without ego and was free to answer any questions i had....

 

I am watching his websit with interest......he seems to have an inate sense of composition that is completly lacking in me...

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If there is any form of composition in my photographs it's only because I had the best models to work with...

It's great to hear from you, amigo. Thanks for the nice comments, Don. If there's anyone who is more deserving of kind words it is you. I had a blast hanging out and diving with you. How's the Hunt for Red Nudibranch coming?!?! LOL! Make sure you let me know when you're down here again for your 20th shark trip this year.

Hi Laz,

Nice shots, I really like the close up of the reef shark. Now, be careful with your photos! You may be inspiring an entire new style: comic underwater photography. And I like it!

:)

Laz,

 

I'm sorry to report Pepe made an emergency swimming accent while on our trip. The anchor gave way and he suffered an air embolism.

 

I have the last shot of him on his way up to the surface.

 

On a positive note he had just finished diving with his favourite subjects, sharks at Eldorado. He was buried at sea in the traditional manner.

 

Photo to come..

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Ohhh, no!!! Not Pepe!

An air embolism?!?! That's not possible since he was always free diving. First Beaker.. now Pepe.. The Shearwater must have some curse against The Muppets. Who's gonna be next?.. Miss Piggy? Fozzie? Statler & Waldorf?

Here's one from a couple of trips ago of Beaker and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew... err.. Jimmy preparing for a dive...