Award of Excellence
Donald Miralle
Freelance

"Free Diving With Sharks"

HALEIWA, OAHU - MAY 14: Conservationist, Photographer and Dive Safety Officer Ocean Ramsey free dives with Galapagos Sharks off the coast of Haleiwa, Oahu, Hawaii on May 14, 2014. Free diving is a form of underwater diving that relies on a diver's ability to hold his or her breath until resurfacing rather than on the use of a breathing apparatus such as scuba gear, including the extreme sport of competitive apnea in which competitors attempt to attain great depths, times, or distances on a single breath. Ocean Ramsey has dedicated her life to shark conservation and is known for diving without cages with sharks, changing the publics' perception of these apex predators. Diving without scuba gear and the bubbles they create causes less disturbance and is less invasive to the sharks in their environment.