<p>Hong Kong-based photographer Alexander Safonov shoots incredible underwater photographs showing scenes teeming with marine life.A software engineer by trade, he obtained a diving license back in 2002 and began to experiment with underwater photography starting in 2004. In 2006 he picked up his first DSLR.</p><p>While he has traveled to locations all across the world for his images (places like the Cocos Island, Fiji, Galapagos and Raja Ampat), his favorite destination is the annual sardine run off the coast of South Africa, where massive balls of sardines float around like clouds of meat, and sharks and dolphins congregate to eat. Safonov's photographs often capture wide angle views of these frenzied feedings.</p><p>He writes that any photographer looking to photograph underwater predators should seek out one of these "bait balls", since you have a good chance of having more up-close encounters during a short dive than "the average diver sees during a life time." Here's his description:</p><p>What is the sardine run all about? It is huge school of sardines, some estimate 15 km long, migrating along the Wild Coast every year at winter for the reasons not completely understood by science yet. The school usually stays pretty deep, in the 40-60m range.</p><p><a href="http://www.petapixel.com/2012/12/18/dazzling-underwater-photographs-of-fish-dolphins-birds-and-people/">Keep reading...</a></p>