Behind the Scenes with an Underwater Photog Shooting Billfish and Sharks

Photographing apex predators on land is one thing, but do it in the ocean and it’s an entirely different ball game. This behind-the-scenes video follows underwater photographer Marc Montocchio of 36North on a trip he took to the island of Saint Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. His goal was to capture a photograph of a free swimming blue marlin, which required the fishermen helping him to “fish” with a lure and no hook.

In the video, we see him experience days of failure before finally and unexpectedly snapping a once-in-a-lifetime shot — a shot that he knew he got as soon as he pressed the shutter button.

He ended up giving the resulting photo the title “One Second”:

The next day Montocchio decided to do some video recording. After filming some footage of another billfish, he was “ambushed” by a group of sharks.

It’s crazy how casual Montocchio is about swimming with sharks in order to capture amazing underwater footage. When you hear a photographer talking about the fact that they can deal with two hungry sharks circling him, that’s when you know he’s dedicated to his craft!

(via PictureCorrect)