Almost on every dive I have had the chance to swim with a turtle. They are far from shy. Mrs. Hawskbill in this picture swam straight towards me. At that moment all my camera settings were in macro, of course. But I captured her anyway. I saw the shadow on the bottom and that motivated me to be fast no matter what setting. The colors didn’t come out as I had wished, so yes why not turn it into black and white?

I love her face in this photo. With her smiley hooked beak which is used to catch and eat sponges, jellyfish, algae and even fish. She likes to pose for me, like Doutzen Kroes.

Like many sea turtles, hawksbills are a critically endangered species due mostly to human impact. Hawksbill eggs are still eaten around the world despite the turtle’s international protected status. They are often killed for their flesh and their stunning shells.

I think she just got back from the surface to get some air. She was fast and on a mission! As sea turtles are air breathing reptiles, they need to surface to breathe. It is amazing that they can hold their breath for several hours, depending upon the level of activity.

A resting or sleeping turtle can remain underwater for 4-7 hours!