Sometimes Seagate’s World is below the surface of the ocean. Richard, the founder of Seagate has continued to be an avid diver now for almost 50 years, taking photos and videos whenever possible. In this case, the dive was off Little Cayman Island in December.
The art in taking these sorts of pictures is to try and get as close as possible to the subject without frightening him away. You also want the camera focused on the eyes and head area. Tails don’t make good shots. Large pelagic fish like this barracuda may look scary but are really more afraid of us. Same thing with most sharks. They all tend to run (swim) away when you get too close.
So this is not the easiest thing to do. You are in a challenging environment 100 feet below the surface, usually diving all by yourself (because more people around tend to scare away the fish), and you have to concentrate on the camera, its settings, and the fish. Once you have been doing this long enough, it is almost automatic.
While Mr. barracuda is the focus of this article, the lesson to be learned is that life does not end when you are over 65 if you regularly exercise, eat right, and have the right attitude.
Geriatric diving