Ocean Ramsey, a marine scientist, spotted tiger sharks just as he was about to dive into the water
Close encounters with tiger sharks were captured in video from the north coast of Oahu, Hawaii.
Ocean Ramsey, a marine scientist and freediver, was having what she described as an ordinary day when she almost dived into the mouth of a "friend" — Queen Nikki, as some kind of tiger shark in the area was called.
Ramsey said she's known this particular shark for nearly 20 years — and it's great to see her again.
"Sharks like Queen Nicky are rare, let alone encountered — I have thousands of dives and decades of experience," Ramsey told reporters.
"She's one of my favorite tiger sharks," she added.
Ocean Ramsey, a marine scientist, entered the water when she spotted Queen Nikki, a known tiger shark in the area, quickly approaching her.
From the picture, you can see that Ramsey was about to dive into the sea when Queen Nikki jumped at her and splashed her fins.
Ramsay said she had just seen the shark when she jumped into the water to reorient Queen Nikki and grabbed a piece of plastic floating in the water.
"It wasn't until I saw her white belly coming out of the smog that I realized how bad visibility was," she said.
The tiger shark — known as Queen Nikki by divers and others in the area — walked toward Ramsay from the water.
Ramsey believes sharks are moving rapidly toward schools of fish hiding under their boats.
"The whiteness of my fins, the splash on my fins and the ladder and shadow casting probably added to her excitement," she said.
While it was a close encounter, Ramsey said she and her team continued their day — and dived in the same area as soon as they captured that moment via video.
Ramsey said she was just waiting for Queen Nikki to pass.
She then looked for other sharks before returning to the water.
Ramsay quickly climbed back into the boat and waited for Queen Nikki to leave the area.
Ramsey organizes dives every day for One Ocean Ramsey.
One Ocean Ramsey is an organization founded by Ramsey and Juan Oliphant. He is a professional shark conservation photographer – their goal is to protect sharks.
The organization also offers snorkeling opportunities to the public. They teach people how sharks behave and how to enjoy spending time with predators instead of being afraid of them.
Oliphant told reporters that the day's dive was special — but the job of diving still had to be carried out.
"We laughed and went into the water with these misunderstood apex predators to do our usual research and collect more footage for our conservation efforts," he said.
The organization also records physical changes in local sharks for use in its shark identification database.
"We always evaluate shark behavior before inviting others to join us in the water," he said.
The organization recommends that anyone interested in shark diving should only do it with a professional.
Ramsey and Oliphant are co-authors of The Shark You Should Know: Shark Language, Social Behavior, Human Interaction, and Lifesaving Information.