Shortlisted Finalist - British Photography Awards 2026
Water Life Category / People's Choice Award

Diving in shark waters is one of life’s exciting and deeply rewarding experiences. These majestic animals really do own their kingdom. Becoming familiar with a shark’s pattern of movement makes it possible to anticipate when it might fly overhead. To capture this image, I spent much of my dive watching a particular Lemon shark swim in a figure of eight - skimming the seabed before heading up to the surface and back down again. On this one occasion, a school of fish appeared out of the Blue and joined the shark, entirely happy in its presence. I had only a few moments to make the best of the scene with cotton-wool clouds in the sky beyond and the entourage of fish friends surrounding the shark.

Camera Gear: Canon EOS 550D, Sigma 15mm F2.8 EX DG Diagonal Fisheye Lens, Sea & Sea RDX550D housing with a Compact Dome port. Natural Light.

Camera settings: ISO100, f/9, 1/640secs

Location: Open Ocean, ‘Tiger Beach’ offshore marine sanctuary on the western edge of Little Bahama Bank, The Bahamas

Photographer: Laura Storm