The boat drops anchor in one of the lagoon's many passes, rocking gently in the north-westerly swell. Within minutes hundreds of grey reef sharks have gathered in the current behind the boat. Sharks are usually quite safe to dive with, but there was no way that anyone was diving with these highly excited fish.
With underwater photography sometimes I have the time to be methodical and sometimes it is almost potluck. Here the technique could best be summed up as methodical potluck. Lying down on the swim platform at the stern of the boat I dangle my camera in the water. With everything on automatic I just hold the shutter release and a few seconds later the film is finished. The crew throw in scraps of fish to keep the sharks happy.
I pull the camera up, dry it, change film and try again. Occasionally I change lenses between films. Both are luxuries that would not be possible if I were actually diving. As with any valuable subject, I adjust settings to bracket the exposure.
The afternoon bears on and I grow more confident in the sharks' behaviour, now holding my camera at arms length. As the sharks swim up current and past the boat some nuzzle the camera housing before realising it is metal and inedible. With the sharks approaching from below my fingers are safe holding it from above.
Fifteen or so films later it is time to head for home. The last scraps of fish are thrown to the sharks and the ensuing frenzy reminds me why it was a good idea not to actually dive here. With no facility to process films on site it will be a few weeks before I get to see what results I have.