Photographer Captures Image of Jumping Blacktip Shark at New Smyrna Beach
July 29, 2008
Release from:
FLMNH
Kem McNair is a surfer and photographer who frequents the waters at New Smyrna Beach, Florida. During 44 years of surfing in this area, he has seen many sharks, and attests that he may see 2 or 3 a day while in the water. In addition to surfing, McNair spends a lot of his time taking photographs of surfers. Given all his time on the beach, it's no surprise that McNair would eventually capture that once-in-a-lifetime shot. However, he was still astonished one day when he looked at the viewfinder on his digital camera and noticed an object next to a surfer in mid-air. While snapping photos of the many surfers that day, McNair happened to capture a few images of a blacktip shark jumping out of the water next to a surfer riding a wave: "It was a total fluke. Spinners, blacktips are so fast the 3 shots only took .5 sec. The shark jump again but 20 ft closer and I was looking at the display in the camera and I saw the shark in the air. Before I could get the camera up to my face the shark was gone." Most who have seen the photograph agree that the shark is probably a blacktip (although spinner sharks and blacktip sharks are difficult to tell apart), and his photographs garnered instant media attention.
The conditions of the beach and the life history of the blacktip shark may have something to do with McNair's photograph. New Smyrna Beach is often dubbed by surfers as "the shark bite capital of the world" due to the high number of sharks that frequent the area, and the number of shark attacks relative to the rest of the state. Moreover, blacktip sharks are common to the area and are known to jump from the water (although scientists are uncertain why), so the behavior exhibited by the shark that McNair photographed was not unusual. However, McNair still captured a great picture, and just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
(image courtesy of Kem McNair)
(image courtesy of Kem McNair)
(image courtesy of Kem McNair)
