A 3.5m Great White Curiously Approaches My Lens

Custom-made kit and lots of experience went into this image. Matty Smith tells Damien Demolder how he took it without becoming lunch

- Matty Smith

Photography is hard enough without a gigantic shark heading at breakneck speed towards the lens. Of course gigantic sharks are not the only things that make underwater shooting a little awkward, but photographer Matty Smith rather relishes the challenge. Winner of the 2022 British Underwater Photographer of the Year award, Matty put a decade of experience and a couple of bits of custom-designed kit into getting this spectacular prize-winning image.

‘Shots like this require a massive team effort,’ says Matty. ‘I’m just the guy that turns up on the day and puts the camera in the water, but there’s a whole lot of people behind me who make it all happen. The captain of the boat, Andrew Fox, who’s a great photographer himself, knows these waters really well. Then there’re the bait handlers and the crew of the boat. These guys know the sharks, where they are likely to be and which ones can be approached. Some of the sharks might show up and then disappear for years before coming back, so the people who run the boats are essential to making it happen – and happen in a way that’s safe for me and the shark.’

Originally an inhabitant of UK beaches, Matty moved to Australia in 2007 and gradually shifted his attention from above the waves to below them as he switched from surf photography to focus on wildlife.

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