By
Joseph Tepper, April 18, 2013 @ 06:00 AM (EST)
Like many who grew up in the 1970’s, underwater photographer Sam Cahir had a pathological fear of the ocean and sharks. Carrying through to his adult life it wasn’t until a series of coincidences and chance found him participating in an organized shark dive.
This encounter fundamentally changed his views on the sharks and the ocean forever: “It was an epiphany and one of those events in life which direct your future,” says Sam. “I had always feared sharks as a result of Jaws and here I was watching these stunning animals in their own environment with no fear, just awe and amazement.
Inspired by that first dive he went back armed with a compact camera and took a few shots. To his surprise friends and family loved seeing the pictures and enjoyed being educated with the little he knew about sharks.
“Photographing sharks soon went from a hobby to a passion,” recalls the shark fanatic. “Having no photographic background, no training and a serious lack of talent I took up underwater photography almost jokingly.”
Teaching himself using the trial and error method has resulted in uniqueness to Sam’s photos, which have a seen him rise rapidly in the world of photography and seen his skills acknowledged on the world stage in major photo competitions such as the Sony World Photography Awards, Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the year and the Our World Underwater.
Sam’s work has featured worldwide on television, newspapers, magazines, calendars, books, scientific papers and numerous websites. All funds generated from his photography are put back into shark research programs. Aside from the underwater photography Sam also gives talks to interest groups on Great White Sharks and is working towards the release a collaborative book on sharks and shark imagery with all proceeds again directed to shark research and conservation.
Sam is also a valued part of the
Fox Shark Research Foundation team (FSRF), located in South Australia, whose mission is to inspire the appreciation and understanding of great white sharks through research and education. Together with his friend Andrew Fox (son of the famous Rodney Fox) they now have the world’s largest collection of Great White Shark images and identification records. Together with the foundations resident shark scientist, Dr Rachel Robbins, they strive to uncover the mysteries and ensure the long term survival of the Great White Shark.


The Fox expeditions provide the only opportunity in the world where to do bottom cage diving with great white sharks, and Sam regards it as the best place in the world to photograph white sharks (having traveled to most of them) because of the topography on the bottom, the number of sharks, and the visibility. The sharks present so differently when observed and photographed on the ocean floor and it gives you truly unparalleled and otherwise unobtainable photo and viewing opportunities.