Whitetips

Few creatures command as much presence in the open ocean as the Oceanic Whitetip. Drifting just below the surface, their broad, white-tipped fins slice through the water like beacons in the blue. In the past, sailors feared them—these sharks were never far from shipwrecks and lost seafarers, ever watchful and unshaken by the unknown. But beyond the myths and legends, these apex predators serve a vital role, maintaining the delicate balance of the marine food web. In a world without borders, the Oceanic Whitetip is both a wanderer and a ruler, shaping the open ocean as it has for thousands of years. I shot this photo during a trip to French Polynesia with a few friends—some of them shark divers and some scientists. We only had a three-hour window on the water before catching our boat back to Tahiti from Moorea, so we went straight out to a FAD (Fish Aggregation Device), which fishermen use offshore to attract pelagic species. These floating structures become a hub of life in the open blue, drawing in fish and, sometimes, sharks. We were over thousands of feet of deep water and had no idea if we'd even see a single shark. But within five minutes of arriving, we spotted our first Oceanic Whitetip. Then another… and eventually five of them. No bait, no chum—just us quietly floating, engines off, and these curious sharks circling us for over an hour. Oceanic Whitetips are opportunistic hunters, always investigating anything unfamiliar in their environment. In the vast blue desert of the open ocean, every encounter could mean survival—so they check everything out. Luckily for us, that curiosity didn’t turn into lunch. It was one of the most unforgettable and humbling encounters I’ve had out in the open sea.