ONE-IN-A-MILLION SHOT ENOUGH TO MAKE JAWS DROP
FEW people would jump into the water with a shark, let alone with one that is feeding.
But that’s exactly what photographer and conservationist Tanya Houppermans has done to capture her “one in a million” shot of a sand tiger shark dissecting its way through a huge bait ball. Photographed from beneath, the image shows the shark diving into thousands of fish.
Ms Houppermans, 44, (pictured) took the incredible series of photographs on July 10 and 11 in waters off the coast of Morehead City in North Carolina, US, where she has been shooting for the past eight years.
In all her time diving, the snapper said she had never seen a bait ball of the size she witnessed in July.
“I am always amazed by how incredibly graceful and beautiful sharks are,” she said.
“Here is an animal that has been around in one form or another for a few hundred million years, and is so perfectly suited for its environment that you can’t help but be awestruck seeing one in the wild.”
Ms Houppermans hopes the images will dispel misconceptions about sharks, saying they are not creatures to be feared. There have been no reported human fatalities caused by a sand tiger shark.