"We spent three days in Exmouth whale-sharking, as they call it. For a long time it's been on my short list of things to do before I die.

"This particular whale shark, for whatever reason, would chase us. Not like a great white but more like a puppy following you around. I was swimming backward, shooting, and it just kept coming and coming. When it was three feet [0.9 meter] away, I said, "OK, he's not going to turn." I got run over. I rolled down its belly, holding my camera out so it wouldn't hurt the shark. Neither of us were hurt."

—Mark Gamba, photographer

Photo Facts

Camera: Nikonos
Film: Fuji Provia 100
Lens: Nikon 15mm
Lighting: Strobe

Talking Shop
"Shooting underwater, the normal lens is a 15mm, because the farther light travels through water, the more of the spectrum it filters out.

"After six to eight feet [1.8 to 2.4 meters] you're basically down to blues and greens. So you want to be as close to the subject as possible—even shooting with a strobe—to pick up any color."

Photograph by Mark Gamba