With 2008 becoming what many are calling the “year of the shark”, the recent images captured in New Smyrna, Florida of a black-tip spinner shark leaping in the air for his own personal photo-op puts a fitting face on what is becoming a most unusual year for shark encounters. If you have set to see the shots, which were released by CNN over the weekend and are spreading like wildfire, they are images like none others you’ve seen before and more than likely will never see again.

To call 2008 the “year of the shark” may actually be going a little too far and is more than likely just a byproduct of our fascination with sharks. That’s becoming a phrase the media uses lightly and it seems like we have a “year of the shark” every few years or so. What has set 2008 apart from other years however, are the very unusual locations (i.e. Troncones and San Diego) and the unusual circumstances that have surrounded this years encounters.

The images from New Smyrna fit right in with the other unusual encounters that have taken place so far in 2008. When you begin to think of how many photos of surfers are taken all over the world, day after day, and to this point to have never seen any shots comparable to these is pretty wild. They are shots that even Kem Mcnair, the photographer who took the jaw-dropping shots, had trouble believing when getting the first glance of the camera-friendly shark. “I looked at the camera and go- you gotta be kidding me!” Mr. Mcnair said while still in disbelief.

Take a peep for yourself, the chances of seeing a shot like this again are pretty rare!

Tags: Sharks

Posted by Shaun on Monday, July 21st, 2008 in Surfing.

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