Photo taken by contributor Lisa, a licensed mental health counselor who believes that we all need a creative outlet to help clear our heads from time to time. For her, it’s photography, and diving. Though she is very proud of being a licensed counselor in both Alabama and Florida, as well as a Registered Play Therapist and Nationally Certified Counselor, she is most proud of the fact that at the age of 47 she learned to scuba dive and has been an avid diver ever since.

About this photo: “I love sharks!  Most people fear them.  Of course when I began scuba diving, like most new divers I feared them.  They have such an awful reputation thanks to movies and books.  When I learned to dive, our instructor explained that if we were to see one we should consider ourselves lucky. These wonderful creatures always know when we are around.  Their sense of smell is amazing.  If one comes by a scuba diver it’s usually because it senses dead fish (spear fishers) or it is curious.  I had been diving over a year before I saw my first “real” shark.  This photo was taken in Freeport, Grand Bahamas where there were about 7 black tip reef sharks swimming along with us.  It was amazing.  While they are to be respected and cautious around, it is an exciting experience to be able to have sharks swim around you while diving.  It does not happen often.“

Find more from Lisa at her personal/photography blog or her professional blog.

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