A few years ago, Berkley White (Berkley White) and Dan Baldocchi (Dan Baldocchi) put together a trip to the Bahamas. Berkley is one of the world’s top underwater photographers and owner of Backscatter (Backscatter) and Dan leads Light & Motion and is the lead travel coordinator for Berkley’s photo trips and expeditions.
This trip objective was to see and photograph tiger sharks, lemon sharks, Caribbean reef sharks, and wild dolphins. We boarded Jim Abernethy’s M/V Shear Water out of Palm Beach, Florida. Jim is quite a character and has a deep and abiding passion for sharks, dolphins, and the magnificent animals that inhabit the Florida and Bahamian waters. Jim really spends a lot of time educating his clients about what they see underwater and about the importance of protecting and preserving these impressive animals that we are fortunate enough to see and capture on camera. You can read more about Jim on his website – Jim Abernethy
This trip was not disappointing. The chance to dive the famous Tiger Beach, snorkel with wild dolphins, and see lemon sharks and Caribbean reef sharks up close was a real treat. I must say that one of the tiger shark “supermodels” named Emma was a little intimidating. Emma was most curious about Berk’s dome port! I think my favorite part of this trip was snorkeling for 3 days with wild dolphins on the Little Bahama Bank. You are not allowed to use scuba gear when engaging with the wild dolphins. Sometimes the dolphins were just not interested in us humans, and sometimes they would engage us and hang around the Shear Water for an afternoon nap. I like to think we humans have a spiritual connection with dolphins as they are sentient and sapient beings. They are highly intelligent, wise, and live in highly organized family structures. They were hard to photograph, as they often liked to swim their own course and direction. These wild dolphins were simply glorious and the highlight of my trip.
