Rebecca McCall is a local photographer who also scuba dives in the Gulf. Recently she was 20 feet away from a 12 ft. Tiger shark. Here is her account of what happened that day.
Swimming near shore a large remora spooked me as it approached full speed from the ocean floor. When I saw its size I knew this remora did not leave a small host. I swam into deeper water now about 600 feet out keeping my eyes peeled as a second, much smaller, remora appeared. I had a gut feeling I needed to turn around. I am glad I did or I may have missed this moment.
I saw the outline of a large dark figure. It stayed near the bottom and slowly swam in my direction. I immediately recognized its shape as a tiger shark. I did a quick glance around to ensure this big tiger was the only one. It swam within 20 feet of me and I took a photo as we made eye contact before it turned to swim back off into the deep. I stayed for a while longer sitting on the sandy bottom hoping to get a another glimpse of my favorite shark to swim with. They are curious, gentle and misunderstood animals.
For you photo enthusiast the camera Rebecca used was a Nikon D-850 inside a waterproof housing. You can see more of Rebecca McCall photos on Instagram at Rebecca McCall Photography and Navarre Photos on FB.
