At our first dive site, dubbed by Jimmy "Edge of the Map - Where There Be Monsters" we found large tiger sharks, over a dozen bull sharks patroling the bottom (80-90 ft), and several lone Great Hammerhead (sphyrna mokarran) sharks like this one.

Great Hammerhead silhouette from below.

As the name implies, Great Hammerheads (sphyrna mokarran) are the largest species of hammerhead, growing to more than 20 ft in length. Unlike the smaller and more common Scalloped Hammerheads (sphyrna lewini), found in huge schools near Cocos Island and the Galapagos, Great Hammerheads tend to be loners.

While we did not "chum" (feed) sharks, crates of frozen fish parts were placed in the water to create a scent that attracted sharks to the area. During our first dive (at "Edge of the Map - Where There Be Monsters"), two large tiger sharks joined us, and one decided a crate might be just about "bite size." (Note: this photo taken by Jim Abernethy.)

Another big (approx. 12 ft) female tiger shark took a peculiar interest in me on that first dive of the trip. She circled around and then came directly at me four separate times. This photo (and the next one) was taken during one of those passes as she turned to come in and "investigate" me. She seems to be sizing me up...

This is that same tiger only a few inches from my wide angle camera port. Having a 12 ft shark approach like this in open (80+ft deep) water is a bit unnerving. Fortunately, a big camera housing creates a "shield" of sorts, and I deflected this shark's approach by "thrusting" the camera at her a few times at close distance (sharks are very sensitive to subtle changes in water pressure) without actually touching her. With all the adrenaline involved, I only managed to snap these few photos...

(The shark on the bottom in the distance is a bull shark.)

Caribbean reef sharks (carcharhinus perezi) are relatively small (typically 5-7 ft) compared to many other sharks, but they have the classic sleek "shark" shape. We dove with them in two locations -- a reef site, and this sandy area known as "Shark Rodeo."

Caribbean reef sharks are "pack" hunters, and dozens congregate when they sense food. However, humans are as big as they are, and not part of their normal "food chain," so like most sharks, they largely ignore (and are indeed wary of) divers. Most attacks on humans are either cases of mistaken identity (they see silhouettes on the surface that look like their prey - turtles, sea lions, etc.) or in rare cases are triggered by an injured person bleeding. We dove peacefully with more than twenty reef sharks at this location.

Two Caribbean reef sharks patrolling side by side.

Caribbean reef sharks and divers at "Shark Rodeo."

Blacktip reef shark (carcharhinus limbatus). A few of these small (5-6 ft), sleek sharks joined us at Shark Rodeo.

Caribbean reef shark beneath the boat.

"Hey, what about me?!" this Caribbean reef shark seems to be yelling. Actually, like most fish, sharks occasionally "yawn," presumably to keep their jaw muscles stretched and conditioned for times when they actually need to open wide to eat.

Bull sharks (carcharhinus leucas) are less than 10 ft long, but are very "stout" (fat), making it easy to see how they got their name. Three bulls joined us on a dive in murky shallows.

Several nurse sharks (ginglymostoma cirratum) approximately 10 ft long joined us on the same shallow, murky dive as the bull sharks. Nurse sharks are generally quite docile, leading divers to do stupid things like pull their tails; as a result, surprising numbers of divers are bitten by them in retaliation.

Another very well-fed bull shark.

Tiger sharks (galeocerdo cuvier) like this one at "Tiger Beach" were the primary focus of the trip. We saw about ten individual tigers, ranging from small (6-8 ft) ones to 12-15 footers like this one. These majestic creatures were absolutely awe-inspiring.

Tiger Beach, where we spent two full days, is a wonderful dive site. Only 15-20 ft deep, it is swarmed by dozens of lemon sharks, which are generally seen scrounging around the sand (as they are in this photo), but the real attraction is the appearance of big tiger sharks. We had as many as five tigers in view at once on some dives here.

Lemon Sharks (negaprion brevirostris) are 6-8 ft in length, and their gnarly teethlook fierce, but they tend to simply glide along the bottom and divers give them little notice. Indeed, they routinely bump into divers and each other like bumper cars. We generally ignored them entirely, primarily keeping an eye out for -- and on -- any tiger sharks in the vicinity.

Tiger and lemon from underneath. Note that the lemon shark on the right has a significantly smaller mouth than the tiger at left.

Everybody wants to be in movies! Eric Cheng was the only person shooting video on this trip, and he had no shortage of subjects! Multiple lemon sharks are joined by one tiger shark in this scene.

Ready for my close-up! The tiger sharks at Tiger Beach were generally very calm and unthreatening (although we kept a VERY close eye on them anyway). This 10-12ft female decided she wanted to check out my camera a little more closely, and began mouthing it (see next few photos).

As she mouthed my camera's dome port (note: this is shot with a 15mm fisheye lens!), I snapped a few photos of the seldom-seen inside of this tiger shark's mouth. Tigers occasionally actually take people's cameras right out of their hands. In this case, however, I gently nudged my camera out of her mouth before that happened.

No caption necessary!

At Tiger Beach, we divers generally stayed put on the bottom, and let the parade of sharks swim among us to create photo opportunities.

We were warned to constantly keep turning our heads in all directions to make sure we were aware of where any and all tiger sharks were. Although it appears that this diver is not doing that, his head was only facing away momentarily, and within a few seconds had swiveled around to see this big tiger between us.

Most sharks are accompanied by remoras, which tag along to feed on scraps too small for the shark to eat. But sharks also sometimes attract other tag-alongs. This tiger shark, named Kate by our crew, had an entire entourage of cobia.

On this trip, the tiger sharks were often found with photographers tagging along, too.

Tiger shark beneath boat

Jumpin Jimmy! The crates with frozen fish scraps (creating the smell that attracted the sharks) were always handled by one of the crew with special training. Jimmy was the most animated crate handler, and would often "elevate" as big tigers approached to let them swim right beneath him.

Yours truly with tiny tiger...

This is a photo of me photographing one of the tiger sharks at Tiger Beach. The reason my strobes appear cockeyed is that I was shooting with a Magic Filter and had the strobes turned off on that dive. (photo by Jim Abernethy.)

I seldom travel without my trusty BMW K1200LT, and she fit right in with the sleek, fast sharks of the Bahamas. And of course, being from Seattle, she is used to wet conditions, so she felt right at home!

P.S. Note that there is only one lemon in this photo.

P.P.S. A moment after taking this photo, a different lemon shark scooped up my laminated bike photo and swam off chewing on it, but ultimately spit it out -- perhaps the BMW was too rich for its taste... ;-)

The rest of these are non-shark shots taken on this trip.

These are two queen triggerfish at the "Edge of the Map" dive site.

Part of a wreck, shot with a Magic Filter (no strobes).

Loggerhead turtle (first I've ever seen).

Loggerhead turtle closeup

French angelfish on wreck (Magic Filter, no strobes)

Grunts on wreck (Magic Filter, no strobes)

Unidentified fish (3 ft long) above wreck (Magic Filter, no strobes)

Stargazer during muck dive at West Palm Beach

Stargazer closeup