Diver shrugs off ‘idiot’ tag after sharing ‘insane’ shark photos

Striking images of a diver pressing his bare hands against the nose of a four-metre shark is enough to send some people queasy.

And while deaths from shark attacks are extremely rare, such a demise was thrust back into the Australian spotlight last year with the tragic death of 35-year-old diving instructor Simon Nellist, whose gruesome end was caught on camera, reigniting the public's fear of the ocean's ultimate predator.

Yet British photographer Danny Lomas is intent on changing the perception of sharks, and is capturing stunning imagery in the process.

A diver holds a shark at arm's length in Hawaii. Source: Danny Lomas/ Media Drum World/ Australscope

Some of his more unbelievable photos show divers coming face-to-face with sharks, including one image that shows a a 13-foot tiger shark happily being controlled by its nose.

Danny captured the once-in-a-lifetime encounter in North shore Oahu, Hawaii on his Canon R5 in a Nauticam dive housing, which has taken a vast array of images that make up his Instagram page with more than 18,000 followers.

“We come across the sharks on the north shore of Oahu on our shark ecotourism business Hawaii Adventure Diving,” he said.

Photographer Danny creates a range of shark-related content for his socials. Source: Danny Lomas/ Media Drum World/ Australscope

“We were out there early in the morning because we had a lot of encounters with tiger sharks earlier in the week on customer charters. We decided it would be a good idea to do a crew training day and spend as many hours as possible in the water to see what we could find.

“We came across multiple large female tigers throughout the day, some of these tigers are so comfortable around divers that they physically engage with tigers either to show dominance or maybe general curiosity.

He hopes his photos are helping dispel myths about sharks and humans. Source: Danny Lomas/ Media Drum World/ Australscope

Dannys says while perceptions of the predators have changed over the years, there's still an irrational fear of sharks.

“I love the connection with nature it shows," he said. "Twenty years ago we would have been called idiots for interacting with sharks of this species and size, but the images show what's really happening under the surface of society's fear, an animal as curious about us as we are of them.

“I like the shot of the diver being approached by the largest shark vertically. It shows them almost as mirror images of each other. “Capturing these moments I felt overwhelmed and didn't even realise what I had captured until later.

“There is no other way to be then fully in the moment in these situations, you live completely in the present. When people see these shots they are blown away.”

Danny's Instagram comments are filled with comments from users in disbelief, who describe his work as "insane", "nuts" and "fascinating".

Influencer's perception on sharks changed after dive

South American influencer Vanese Seco last year accompanied Danny on a dive, and revealed her views on sharks had completely changed.

Influencer Vanesa Seco was overwhelmed with her experience with Danny. Source: Instagram

"I can’t express enough how shook I was by my changed perspective on sharks," she said.

"I love them now. And it sucks that media makes us believe they are these horrible creatures when they’re literally so kind and sweet and curious."

Treatment of sharks in Australia a controversial issue

Tiger sharks are a contentious issue on Australia's east coast, with shark control mechanisms such as nets contributing to their decline.

Yet Queensland's government stressed "human life and human safety must come first", and has vowed to keep their program going despite resistance from ocean advocates.

While 10 people are killed on average each year by sharks around the world, humans kill around 100 million sharks annually.

With Media Drum World/ Australscope

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