PADI Photo Contest Winner David Valencia – The Story Behind the Shot

Published 12 years agoon November 29, 2013

In 2014, every PADI Diving Society member will receive a membership card with this amazing whale shark photo from photographer David Valencia.

David, a marine biologist and PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer has logged more than 7000 dives and currently works on the Solmar V liveaboard out of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. PADI asked David to tell them a little about the circumstances that lead to the winning shot:

“[It was] taken aboard the Solmar V at my favorite dive site Roca Partida, Socorro Islands, Mexico with a Nikon D300 using Ikelite strobes. What makes our interactions with whale sharks at Roca unique is that the Whale Sharks will swim circles around the rock, coming back again and again.

“I tried to communicate what it was like actually being there. This shot shows how large the whale shark is with the divers as a size comparison. You can see all the divers and the dive site in the background. This particular shark was 11m / 35ft and stayed with us the entire dive. The curiosity of these sharks amazed us and if you give them their space they will stay in the area.

“Although the Socorro Islands are a Mexican National Park , the islands do not receive any protection from human threats like illegal fishing both commercial and for sport. Unfortunately, Mexico does not have the resources to police the islands. Led by the Solmar V there is a movement among the liveaboards here in Socorro to protect the islands. The islands are so isolated, that most people in Mexico and around the world don’t even know they exist. It is my hope that sharing these images might not only bring Mexican national awareness to this valuable natural resource, but drum up world wide support. May this image of the Whale Shark at Roca Partida, Mexico inspire divers to go experience these magnificent animals and inform divers about threats to them and their habitat.”