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21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
The Resilient Grin

Photographing a Tiger Shark has been at the top of my bucket list since I began Underwater Photography 5 years ago. After having dove earlier in the week at the same location and only seeing Galapagos sharks in the water, I was unsure if I'd have any luck seeing the familiar face of "Roxy," the well-known Tiger Shark often seen by divers on the North Shore of Oahu. After gearing up and diving in, within moments of dipping my head into the water, what had been a scattered cloudy day mere moments prior opened up and let the sun shine through. And sure enough, in the distance, Roxy, joined by two other juvenile tigers, emerged from the depths to see what creatures had entered their domain. From a respectful distance, I captured a head-on shot showing Roxy's torn-up yet seemingly exuberant grin lit up by rays of sunshine from above.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 06.2022
Date Uploaded: 11.2023
Photo Location: Oahu, Hawaii, United States of America
Camera: ILCE-7RM4A
Copyright: © Max Blakesberg