The last time I was up at Mamoli with Barry Skinstad, I was using a borrowed Nikon D100 with no strobes, and it was my first real attempt to capture the essence of a wild animal in the constraints of an image - needles to say I failed dismally.

Zambezi or Bull sharks are not the easiest animals to photograph - despite their fearsome reputation they are surprisingly difficult to get close to. This time I had the benefit of over a years experience of photographing sharks and other large pelagics with my own camera, plus strobes, plus a great team, so no excuses this time.

But as is often the case, it was not to be. On the first dive I was using my Nikkor 10.5mm, a lens where the subject has to be CLOSE, and in the majority of my pics the Zam’s just looked tiny and far away. When I did manage to get in close, the squat shape of the Bull Shark looked even squatter, kinda like a stunted Shrek. On the second dive I switched to my 12 - 24 Nikkor and got some workable imagery, but I have still to get my head around the use of that lens underwater - it just seems to lack the punch and sharpness of the 10.5.

In terms of the brief to capture the essence of the highly capable and cunning Zambezi or Bull shark, this image above is perhaps my favourite. While its far from a great shot, it suggests for me the maurauding, menacing and business like nature of the Zambezi Shark, and the numbers aggregating into a ‘pack’ also hints at the frightening prospect of becoming Zambezi prey. I have seen a pack of Zambezi’s tearing into a speared fish, and its ferociously impressive.