Equipment Used: Canon EOS-1D X Mark II in a Nauticam housing; Tokina fisheye lens at 15 mm; pair of Ikelite DS160 strobes; 9-inch Zen glass dome port.
 
Location: Aliwal Shoal (Shark Park at 5pm - Sunset), KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Chasing the Setting Sun! Capturing a close-focus wide-angle shark portrait against the colours of the setting sun requires many elements to come together. These distinctive “over-under” images of Aliwal Shoal’s blacktip sharks are created using a large dome port positioned half above and half below the surface. It may look effortless, but almost everything is working against the photographer. The sharks are constantly moving—and often extremely close to the housing. The light is fading quickly, while bubbles and water droplets cling to the dome and can easily render an image unusable. Balancing the exposure above the surface with the shark below requires careful control of the ISO, aperture, shutter speed, strobe power and strobe positioning. It pushes both the camera setup and the photographer to the limit. A disciplined routine is essential: wipe the dome with a gloved hand, shoot a burst, review the images, adjust the camera and strobe settings—and repeat before the light disappears.