(CNN) – Let’s say you’re ready to close your ho-hum job and trade for a not-so-typical, always dangerous, adrenaline-pumping kind of career.
If so, shark cinematography may be a good fit for you. That is, if you are okay with the possibility of a 1,400-pound tiger shark sometimes adding to your camera table. Or a mako shark sniffing at you in a nightmare.
All in a day of work for Joe Romeiro, shark cinematographer extraordinary. For the past decade, its main focus has been filming some of the largest predator marine animals in the world.
You name it, he filmed it. From massive large whites in Cuba to tiger sharks in the Bahamas and hammerheads in the Galapagos Islands, which can grow up to 20 feet long.
Joe Romeiro gave up the thumbs up, saying he got the shot from a tiger shark.
Mike Dornellas / Discovery Channel
This begs the question: Why does he swim to sharks when most people do the opposite?
Simple: Through years of careful research and first-hand knowledge, he knows that the chances of fatal attacks are extremely slim. Sharks are just not the machine-eating machines that “Jaws” make them out to be.
For Romeiro, the obsession began at age 4 when his family moved from the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal, to the United States. He could not speak English, so he engraved mainly on monster films and natural history films that did not require translation. Every time sharks were on display, he was enthusiastic.
“Because of that, I found my first heroes,” he recalls.
‘I’m trying to change the way people see sharks’
In adulthood, the fascination built up. Launching this hobby into a career just made sense.
“I shoot and dive all the time, and I made the conscious decision one day to just go for it,” he says.
Romeiro was certified by PADI, NAUI and SSI, scuba diving schools, in his 20s.
He started filming sharks with a small camera, and after about 15 years he worked his way up to impressive cinema systems used to film Hollywood movies. Although he followed the advice of mentors along the way, he is a self-taught filmmaker.
Romeiro and crew saw more than 10 macro sharks the day he received this photo.
Joe Romeiro
A Tuesday fast ahead and his gear now costs more than the price of a starter house and Discovery Channel, BBC and National Geographic fly him all over the world to film everything from makos, the fastest shark in the world, to soft whale sharks, those it can grow to the length of a school bus.
“I try and change the way people see sharks through the photography and videos I make,” he says. “It shows people how these sharks treat me and how they behave in their natural environment.”
One thing is for sure: it’s not your typical 9-to-5 job. While most people only think about sharks for a few weeks each summer, Romeiro has sharks on their brains every day of the week.
When he’s not shooting the world to film the Tuscan creatures, he collects images at home in Rhode Island, brainstorming ideas for upcoming shows, sketching sharks, and serving as CEO of the Atlantic Shark Institute. All in the name of shark conservation.
A large hammerhead at night
Joe Romeiro
Wriggling from dangerous meetings
Needless to say, Romeiro’s career path keeps him on his toes.
“I’ve had a lot of close conversations,” he says. “All were mine as the fault of someone else, but never the shark.”
While diving on Tiger Beach in the Bahamas, for example, there was one curious female who had spun him. While he was distracted with several other tiger sharks that curious female went to climb on top of Romeiro’s head.
“Fortunately, I noticed the reactions on my colleagues’ faces, and I knew she was above me. I could gently put them away.”
On another shooting, he was sitting inside a shark cage that perished and was dragged behind him and still with him inside.
Guadalupe Island is one of the best places to see great white sharks, Romeiro said.
Joe Romeiro
That said, his job is definitely not routine. And that is exactly the profession.
Peaceful meetings, believe it or not, though, are the norm. Take, for example, the time he removed a hook from a shark’s mouth and hung it at eye level to say thank you.
Or the first time he met Emma, a famous female tiger shark who predates the Bahamas, for the first time. She’s what Romeiro calls a supermodel shark because she’s ready to take your closeups.
“If you look at them once long enough, you can tell that different people have different personalities,” he explains. “You can see someone, and it’s like seeing a friend.”
When it comes to this strange and wonderful career he has conquered, Romeiro says it’s a dream come true – and being able to educate people about his favorite marine animal is an added bonus.
The gear is serious
On any particular shark-filming excursion, Romeiro’s go-to gear includes: his RED Weapon 8K digital camera, PhantomVEO, Canon 1DXII, Mavic Pro and GoPro.
“We use the same cameras you see in Hollywood movies,” he says. “Just inside a metal, waterproof box.”
Precautions include his wife Lauren Benoit, who is also a camera operator. They keep an eye on each other. Plus, there are always three trauma kits on board with every type of safety you can think of from bandages to tournaments.
When it comes to mastering the art of filming these apex predators, Romeiro says it’s important to keep your head on a script. These are wild animals after and therefore unpredictable.
Jamin Martinelli holds a tiger shark in bay while Joe Romeiro shoots the encounter.
Michael Dornellas / Discovery Channel
Furthermore, it is essential in which you make sure that your white balance is on point. And, of course, double check to make sure your camera is turned on and rolling.
“Ten percent is there and 90 percent is ready,” he says. “There are as many shots missed by having no camera in easy range as one that is not turned on and rolling.”
No matter what role you want to play – whether it’s an underwater videographer, topside cameraman, sound tech, lighting tech, writer, producer, narrator or editor – it’s definitely a competitive field.
But for those who are persistent enough to make it a career, it can certainly be a rewarding one. Romeiro’s best advice is to never give up.
“You only fail at things that you eventually give up,” he says. “I have always believed it, and at least for me it has been a truth.”
Do you have what it takes?
The photo subjects: blue and mako sharks. The passage: emerald and blue water about 20 to 40 miles off the coast.
Do not be surprised if you also encounter dark, smooth hammerheads, tigers and barking sharks. If you are lucky, maybe even a thrush, porbeagle or great white shark. They even encountered the random whale shark.
Expeditions are $ 500 per person per day for a 12-hour day.
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