These stunning shots of fierce sharks were taken at Red Bluff, at Quobba Station in Western Australia. Photographer Sean Scott went with his family to Red Bluff for surfing, as he knew that big waves were expected to come. This is a fairly remote place for camping, where the desert meets the Indian Ocean.
Bait ball
The first thing that the photographer noticed when he tried to set up camp on the shore was a huge globular accumulation of fish in the water near the shore. In science, this phenomenon is called bait ball ("ball-bait", or "ball-bait"). It is an example of the protective behavior of fish. During the approach of danger, they stray into a ball that rotates around its axis due to the fact that each fish tends to get inside the cluster, because loners are much more likely to be eaten than those inside the flock. At the same time, sharks that are present nearby can get only the smallest and weakest fish. Although some of the predators may risk breaking the ball to enjoy larger prey. Such pack formations can reach 10-20 meters in diameter.
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About half an hour after arriving at the beach, Sean Scott gave up trying to set up camp and launched a drone into the air so as not to miss the moment for a unique photograph. When the drone took off, the photographer was amazed at how many predators gathered in the water. More than two hundred whale sharks hunted small fish that fell from the bait ball, and some of them were already trying to break the flock.
Shooting from the shore
The photographer took pictures of sharks for about an hour, until he noticed that some of them were pushing the bait ball to the shore, and a dense flock was already beginning to disintegrate. Some of the predators were very close to the surface of the water. Sean Scott decided to lower the drone and take the camera and lens to try to remove the predators directly from the beach.
The surf was quite strong, so when the first wave came, the photographer took a test shot to check the exposure and focus. The next big wave hung right above the shore, and there were two huge sharks, each of which exceeded two meters. These predators almost carried to the beach! Sean made a few clicks and got amazing shots (one of them is the main photo of the article). After that, he waited about another hour, but a suitable case no longer presented itself. Sharks no longer swam so close. However, what he did is impressive.
