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Humpback whales late in the afternoon, South Pacific
 

The world beneath the surface has always captivated this week’s featured underwater photographer Caine Delacy, and from an early age his sights were set on a career in marine biology. Born in Australia, he moved to Townsville in Queensland to pursue his undergraduate degree before continuing his studies on the west coast examining the large-scale dynamics of reef fish communities for his PhD in marine ecology. Soon after, he found himself doing similar work in Indonesia, the Caribbean and East Africa.  

While pursuing his career in marine science, Caine also became a qualified divemaster and accomplished underwater photographer and was able to experience diving the best of the Great Barrier Reef and other destinations while simultaneously studying for his doctorate. For over 20 years, he has been diving, researching and photographing coral reefs and marine life, and he now spends his time organizing and leading expeditions for small groups of adventurers hoping to encounter marine megafauna, as well as continuing his work on numerous research projects worldwide.

While his career in marine science is based on reef fish ecology, his expeditions focus primarily on big animal photography, and perhaps unsurprisingly, so does his own portfolio. As you can see below, Caine has some awesome images of humpback whales, sperm whales, and sharks, and it is clear he knows how to put himself—and his guests—in the best spots to capture all of the action. Many of his shots feature multiple whales in the same frame, and one even includes his own daughter, who at four years old has already experienced marine life encounters that many of us can only dream of!

Aside from all the epic big animal action, my favorite shot in his portfolio is the over-under of a juvenile tiger shark close to shore. It is not often you can get close to these elusive sharks when they are young, and it makes a nice change to see a new perspective of what is most definitely the most famous underwater subject in the Bahamas. When it comes to underwater photography, Caine is clearly a big animal, wide-angle kind of guy, and having spent plenty of time in the water with whales and sharks myself, I can’t say I blame him!
 

Oceanic whitetips photographed while on a research expedition, Cat Island, Bahamas
 

A big group of sperm whales resting in Dominica
 

Juvenile oceanic whitetip shark, South Pacific
 

Stingrays in the shallow lagoon of Mo'orea, French Polynesia
 

Bajau Laut fisherman Mr Tadi from the Wakatobi region, Sulawesi, Indonesia
 

Caine’s wife diving among thousands of jacks in Cabo Pulmo, Mexico
 

Mum and calf manatee pair in the Bahamas
 

Channel clinging crab in a brackish lagoon, Bahamas
 

Tiger shark in the shallows in the Bahamas
 

Juvenile whale shark, Mafia Island, Tanzania
 

Mother and baby humpback, South Pacific
 

Caine and his daughter
 

If you would like to see more of Caine’s images or are interested in joining him on a dive adventure, you can find out more on his website, www.cainedelacy.com. You can also check out more of his work on Instagram.