----- Original Message ----- From: "Rob Studdert" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
http://www.oceanwideimages.com.au/categories.asp?cID=112&p=2
I love "air jaws" There was a documentary on the National Geographic channel a few years ago about the South African great whites leaping out of the water to catch sea lions, but more about David Doubilet's futile attempts to photograph them mid-leap. There he was on the back of a boat, Nikon F5 firmly mounted on tripod, staring through the viewfinder. The researcher with him would say something to him, making David turn towards the video camera and away from his camera. At that instant a shark would jump and he'd miss a shot. It was so funny to watch because it happened over and over again. In the end, he got a few shots, but had plenty of missed opportunities.
Later on the Discovery channel, there were more "air jaws" documentaries. Some researchers decided to see if they could incite other great white sharks around the world to jump clear of the water. Sure enough, if they towed their seal pup lure fast enough, great whites in California and Australia jumped clear of the water (an action never witnessed in those areas before). Beautiful animals. Extraordinary behavior. One cute thing was when observing hunting in South Africa, the researchers were pulling for the little seals. "Come on little guy! You can make it!" could be heard on the audio. One seal pup literally jumped through the open jaws of a leaping shark and made it to safety! Amazing stuff.
Christian
