Up Close: Meet the man who swims with sharks

© Provided by Time for Kids

By Karena Phan, Time for Kids

Meet Daniel Botelho. He grew up near a beach in Brazil.

As a boy, he loved diving and taking pictures of turtles. Now Botelho is an underwater photographer.

He takes pictures of marine life for publications in the U.S. and other countries. “I want to show the world all kinds of beautiful fish and animals,” he told TIME for Kid s. Here, Botelho talks about four of his photographs.

Close Call

Botelho enjoys swimming with great white sharks. But on this trip, he took pictures from the boat. “I observed that they were on the hunt that day,” he says. “I needed to respect the sharks’ comfort zone.

A Big Risk

When Botelho saw this Portuguese man-of-war near his home, he ran to grab his camera. But he forgot one thing: gloves. The creature stung his hand. “I was so happy to take the photo,” he says. “I didn’t really care that I got stung.”

Sea Fun

It is rare to see an ocean sunfish. The fish spends most of its time in deep waters. It is one of the heaviest bony fishes in the world. It is also shy. So Botelho was surprised when one followed him for an hour. “It was one of the best interactions of my life,” he says.

Gone Fishing

Sardines gather in what is called a bait ball. They form a mass. Sometimes, it protects them. But a dolphin can trap them. It releases bubbles from its blowhole. The bubbles create a net for the sardines. “It was amazing to see,” Botelho says.

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