sharks with chunks of dead fish or 

 bags of blood to get a close shot. 

 To capture images of sharks beyond 

 their silhouettes, close proximity and 

 a flash or strobe are necessary. The 

 ideal distance is between 3 and 8 feet. 

 Low light and suspended particles in 

 seawater make long-range camera 

 work impractical. 



And long-range is where most 

 sharks want to be when a human's in 



sight. Lovin had been scuba diving 

 for nearly 10 years before he even 

 glimpsed a shark underwater. 



Of some 350 species of shark, 

 fewer than 50 are considered danger- 

 ous to humans. Even those species 

 don't roam the ocean in search of 

 humans to devour. Yet accidents 

 do happen. A large percentage of 

 unprovoked shark attacks on humans 

 is thought to be unintentional. Though 



capable of powerful bursts of speed, 

 most sharks are slow swimmers. To 

 that end, these carnivores prefer prey 

 that is easy to catch and offers little 

 resistance. Like any apex predator, 

 sharks usually select a meal that is 

 slow, weak, injured or sick. 



"To a shark, a diver is a big ani- 

 mal," says Lovin. "Sharks are really 

 weenies." 



With his fins, mask, air tank and 

 camera, Lovin says sharks must fancy 

 him a formidable opponent. He has no 

 teeth marks to show for 30 years of 

 experience below the surface. The few 

 times a shark has lunged in his direction, 

 a blow to the nose with his watermelon- 

 sized camera was enough to dissuade it. 

 Lovin' s only other "weapon" is a shark 

 billy, a club used to push them away. 



But experience, common sense and 

 knowledge of how to read sharks are 

 other tools that carry a lot of weight. 

 Lovin says. 



"As a photographer, you know 

 when you shouldn't be there anymore," 

 says Lovin. "Sharks have an attack 

 posture. They arch their backs, arch their 

 tails and their (pectoral) fins drop down. 

 At that time, it's best to take cover." 



Retreat from the animal's territory 

 is often enough to thwart an attack, 

 he says. 



Ironically, although increasing 

 televised footage gives us a widening 

 window on the shark's world, what 

 we see is an often misleading view. 



The baiting of sharks for photogra- 

 phy creates a prime example, says 

 Lovin. Often, baited sharks are agitated 

 and overstimulated, and their frenetic 

 feeding and movement is not representa- 

 tive of their typical behavior. Underwa- 

 ter photographers usually shoot great 

 white sharks from the confines of a 

 protective steel cage. A steady stream 

 of animal blood — not a lust for human 



Continued 



COASTWATCH 5 



