A daredevil photographer has been pictured sticking his head and arms outside of an underwater cage in a bid to get the perfect shot of great white sharks.
Euan Rannachan, a London-born photographer who lives in California, has spent much of 2019 getting close to massive sharks off the coast of Guadalupe Island, the westernmost point of Mexico.
Rannachan, 34, claims he has no fear of the impressive animals, only respect, but says he still has his breath taken away each time he gets in the water with his toothy subjects.
Euan Rannachan, a London-born photographer who now lives in California, sticks his head outside the steel cage as a great white shark swims nearby. Rannachan has spent much of 2019 getting intimate with massive sharks off the coast of Guadalupe Island, the westernmost point of Mexico
Rannachan shoots one of the sharks as it heads towards a piece of meat dangling as bait close to the cage. The 34-year-old photographer said he still has his breath taken away each time he gets in the water with his toothy subjects.
The shark’s fearsome teeth and jaws gape in front of the cage of divers. ‘There is nothing else in the world like it,’ Rannachan says. ‘You can’t hangout this close to any other apex predator in the world and the fact we can with these massive sharks is a real testament to just how little of a threat to us they really are!’
‘There is nothing else in the world like it,’ Rannachan says. ‘You can’t hangout this close to any other apex predator in the world and the fact we can with these massive sharks is a real testament to just how little of a threat to us they really are!
‘The longer you are around them the more of a connection you feel.
‘You want to watch their eyes as they move past you – you just know there’s a lot going on in their heads as they do.
A massive shark bares its teeth as it swims close to the surface. ‘You want to watch their eyes as they move past you – you just know there’s a lot going on in their heads as they do,’ the photographer says
One of the colossal beasts swims over the shark cage as Rannachan takes pictures of the 14-foot animal. Rannachan grew up with a fascination for sharks, probably stemming from watching Steven Spielberg’s epic sharkfest Jaws in the 70s, he says
‘I absolutely believe these creatures will connect with you if you take the time and are in long enough. They’re very curious. While the strikes on the bait are very fast and violent, the majority of the time they are gliding gracefully past and as they study us we study them!’
Rannachan grew up with a fascination for sharks, probably stemming from watching Steven Spielberg’s epic sharkfest Jaws in the 70s.
However, after spending hours photographing and cage diving with great white sharks, any fear has been replaced with admiration.
Although shark stacks on humans do occur, they are very uncommon and usually a case of mistaken identity – mistaking a human on a surfboard for a seal for example
After spending hours photographing and cage diving with great white sharks, he says any fear has been replaced with admiration (pictured: a shark bares its massive teeth as it goes for a piece of bait near the surface)
Sun glints on the shark’s back as it swims close to Rannachan. ‘I absolutely believe these creatures will connect with you if you take the time and are in long enough. They’re very curious. While the strikes on the bait are very fast and violent, the majority of the time they are gliding gracefully past and as they study us we study them!’
‘Sharks are just inches away from me all the time actually,’ Rannachan continues.
‘The sharks are flying blind when they open there mouths all the way so when they snap their mouths shut and open their eyes again sometimes they are inches from the end of my lens as you can see.
‘Worry is not the word for it, respectful is a better one. I fully understand how powerful these guys and gals are but also I know they are not there for me. This does not mean I am reckless, it means I respect their space and do not touch or interfere with them as they pass.
‘Whenever there’s a really good pass there’s much rejoicing, cheering though our regulators, and underwater high-fives!’
Sun glints on the nose and eyes of the shark as it swims close to the cage off the coast of Mexico. ‘Whenever there’s a really good pass there’s much rejoicing, cheering though our regulators, and underwater high-fives!’ The photographer said.
The massive jaws of the shark open wide and it flashes its massive teeth while going after a piece of bait near the surface. ‘Worry is not the word for it, respectful is a better one,’ Rannachan said. ‘I fully understand how powerful these guys and gals are but also I know they are not there for me. This does not mean I am reckless, it means I respect their space and do not touch or interfere with them as they pass.’
The great white shark, one of the most highly evolved killing machines in the sea, bites down on bait close to the cage
Although shark stacks on humans do occur, they are very uncommon and usually a case of mistaken identity – mistaking a human on a surfboard for a seal for example.
It is more likely to suffer a fatal lighting strike than experience a deadly encounter with a shark.
However, climate change, poor fishing regulations and human interference has seen shark populations around the world drop by as much as 90% in the last five decades.