Articles

The sun sets on a trio of lemon sharks at Tiger Beach
 

To understand what our Photographer of the Week is all about, you only have to scroll down to the final picture on this page: That work of art could only belong to someone who’s deeply passionate about sharks.

Jim Machinchick can even tell you the very image that changed everything for him: a May 1981 National Geographic cover of a shark biting a diver in a chainmail suit—an issue published a few years before he was born that his parents had kept. Add a steady diet of taped TV shows devoted to anything and everything below the surface, and Jim was thoroughly smitten.

So it will come of no surprise that Jim lives just down the road from fellow Photographer of the Week, Joe Romeiro, who has given Jim the benefit of his knowledge not just about sharks but also photography and post-processing, over the course of countless dives off Rhode Island. As Jim’s stunning portfolio of skillfully crafted shark portraits shows, Joe’s guidance has very clearly paid off.

Ultimately, like his mentor, Jim recognizes that educating people about sharks through imagery—their beauty, but also their brawn—is an important path to putting an end to the shocking slaughter of these formidable fish.
 

A hammerhead in the Bahamas investigates Jim’s dome
 

The radiant sapphire of a blue shark
 

A tiger shark shows off the tools of her trade
 

A large male white shark in the perfect waters of Guadalupe
 

The wrecks of North Carolina provide amazing opportunities to see sand tigers
 

A blue shark with the last glimmer of the sunset through the surface of the ocean off Rhode Island
 

A tiger shark says, “Hello!”
 

Jim’s favorite image of his favorite shark—a Rhode Island mako
 

Lemon snaps: There’s no better way to end a day at Tiger Beach!
 

Jim, in his element
 

Jim’s adorned arm courtesy of tattoo artist Deano Cook
 

For more of Jim’s incredible imagery, check out his Instagram and Facebook pages.