Scuba Diving – September 2019

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86 / SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 SCUBADIVING.COM

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ifty photos in 15 minutes.

It might not be a personal record, but

it’s certainly a testament to the action

surrounding me at the Lost Blue Hole—

dive site No. 1 on this 10-day charter

aboard Bahamas Aggressor.

I slip beneath the surface to be greet-

ed by a big school of shimmering horse-

eye jacks circling over the deep blue hole.

Then, an urgent signal from my divemas-

ter alerts me to a school of sharpnose

sharks finning off in the distance—my

very first sighting of this cute 3-foot-

long species. Southern rays circumnavi-

gate the edge of the abyss, while Carib-

bean reef sharks warily patrol the reefs.

I do my best to photograph them as they

glide over tube sponges and sea fans.

Checking my computer, I confirm that 15

minutes in, I have dozens of images and

a lifer shark sighting. I grin, thinking of

what the rest of the week might provide

as another reef shark turns at the sight

of my strobe firing.

LEARNING BY DOING

I jumped at the chance to board a Baha-

mas Aggressor charter hosted by the Jim

Church School of Underwater Photogra-

phy with instructor Mike Mesgleski. He’s

very knowledgeable and helpful in giving

photographers the fundamentals needed

to start capturing their best shots or im-

prove existing skills.

BACK TO SCHOOL

With experts on hand and heaps of subjects in sunlit waters, a photo expedition aboard

Bahamas Aggressor checks every box on a shooter’s list

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY TANYA G. BURNETT