Local photographer's shark 'high five' goes viral

THE WOODLANDS, Texas –– High five anyone?

A Woodlands resident who took a photo of a shark seemingly high-fiving a diver in 2010 has found that his image went viral on the Internet this past weekend.

Paul Spielvogel, a shark photographer for Shark Diver Magazine and an attorney with Spielvogel and Spielvogel, shot a photo in December 2010 of a lemon shark with Eli Martinez, Shark Magazine editor, in about 20 feet of water off the Bahamas. Upon closer inspection it seems like the shark was giving a high five, maybe even a faint smile.

Flash forward to this past weekend and all of a sudden the image started going viral online, appearing on People.com and Inside Edition.

“At first we were wondering what was going on, but then we figured it out,” Spielvogel said Wednesday.

The British publication The Sun had found the image and wanted to do a feature on it so editors there reached out to Shark Diving Magazine. Before long the image was out there, complete with its own demotivational poster that reminds readers nothing they will ever do will be as “awesome as” high-fiving a shark.

Spielvogel, who has had his work published on The Discovery Channel and various publications, shot the image with a Canon 7D camera, a Tokina 10-17mm lens and Aquatica housing.