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3rd place Collective Portfolio Award

Shane Gross Bahamas

A turtle drowned in monofilament. “This green turtle got hooked and tangled in monofilament fishing line,” says photographer Shane Gross. “The line then got tangled in coral. The turtle could no longer reach the surface to breathe and drowned. By the time I found her she was long dead, her eyes eaten by scavengers.”

All of Shane's Collective Portfolio Award entry

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1-3-scaled

BEHIND THE LENS

ABOUT THE IMAGE

  • Taken at sunrise
  • Walk-in, knee-deep
  • Camped on nearby beach
  • Took 100 hours to capture this image

Nurse sharks mating. “Each year nurse sharks gather on a large sand flat adjacent to a mangrove creek to mate,” says photographer Shane Gross. “The water is so shallow their dorsal fins are often above the surface. The male will bite the female’s pectoral fin and pin her to the seabed for copulation.”

 

21-1-scaled

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ABOUT THE IMAGE

  • Midnight shoot
  • Taken while snorkelling
  • Coastal walk-in
  • More than 200 hours to capture this image

Seahorses feeding on plankton. “There is a small pond in The Bahamas that is home to the highest density of seahorses on Earth,” says photographer Shane Gross. “At night they feed relentlessly on tiny plankton. I used a flash on a mini tripod behind the seahorses to light them and their food.”

3-3-scaled

BEHIND THE LENS

ABOUT THE IMAGE

  • Clear, calm conditions
  • Taken at sunset
  • Captured while snorkelling
  • 'Backyard' shoot

A lemon shark swims amongst mangroves at night. “This small mangrove creek in The Bahamas was home to a dozen tiny lemon sharks,” says photographer Shane Gross. “They use the mangroves as protection from larger sharks, but nothing could protect them from people. The sharks were caught and killed by fisherman.”

 

4-3-scaled

BEHIND THE LENS

ABOUT THE IMAGE

  • Midnight shoot
  • Taken while scuba diving
  • Site accessed by boat
  • Clear, calm conditions

A larval wunderpus pulses close to the surface, above a deep ocean at night. “We did 12 blackwater dives over six days and this was taken in the last 5 minutes of the last dive,” says photographer Shane Gross. “This individual was found about 6ft from the surface with the seabed several hundred feet below. It was an exciting discovery.”

 

8-3-scaled

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ABOUT THE IMAGE

  • Morning dive
  • Taken while scuba diving
  • Calm, clear conditions
  • Captured while on holiday

“The Caribbean reef sharks in the protected area known as the Gardens of the Queen aren’t exactly shy, but they still keep a six-foot buffer from divers,” says photographer Shane Gross. “To get closer I set my camera on a rock and backed away using a remote trigger to make images as they investigated my camera.”

 

7-3-scaled

BEHIND THE LENS

ABOUT THE IMAGE

  • Taken while snorkelling
  • Calm, clear conditions
  • Site accessed by boat
  • 'Backyard' shoot

“I found this little shoal of Caribbean reef squid hiding under my boat,” says photographer Shane Gross. “Over the course of an hour I approached the squid to show them I wasn’t a threat. Eventually they took me for cover and no matter where I swam, they followed me. They were constantly changing colour, pattern and group formation. I don’t know what they were saying with all that body language, but I was extremely grateful to spend those four hours with them.”

 

9-3-scaled

BEHIND THE LENS

ABOUT THE IMAGE

  • Took several months to capture
  • Walk-in location
  • Taken while scuba diving
  • Morning shoot

“The Bahamas cave fish, aka lucifuga, is an almost-blind fish that lives in the dark recesses of blue holes and caves,” says photographer Shane Gross. “I wanted an image that showed the fish’s relationship to that environment so I framed her against the tiny opening of the tree-lined blue hole.”

 

5-3-scaled

BEHIND THE LENS

ABOUT THE IMAGE

  • Morning shoot
  • Calm, clear conditions
  • Taken while scuba diving
  • Site accessed by boat

A hawksbill turtle in silhouette. “I was diving at the back of the group when I spotted this hawksbill turtle feeding at the edge of a crevasse in the reef,” says photographer Shane Gross. “I quickly dived under the reef to get a perspective looking up and waited for the turtle to swim into position. I got lucky.”

 

10-3-scaled

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ABOUT THE IMAGE

  • Impromptu idea
  • Taken while scuba diving
  • Calm conditions
  • Site accessed by boat

“I had just descended to 40ft and wanted to check my camera settings when I was struck by this amazing emerald green coral,” says photographer Shane Gross. “I decided to try for an abstract shot of the mouth of the artichoke coral, showing off its amazing colour.”

 

BEHIND THE LENS

2020 Collective Portfolio Award, third place, Shane Gross

Shane Gross Canada

Shane Gross is a Canadian marine conservation photojournalist and Emerging League member of the International League of Conservation Photographers. He is currently based in The Bahamas working to conserve queen conch, Nassau grouper, seagrass and mangrove habitats, among others. Shane's work has been recognised by the Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Underwater Photographer of the Year, Nature Photographer of the Year and many others. He is widely published around the world and his first book, Bahamas Underwater, is out soon.

MORE IMAGES BY Shane Gross