Man uses camera to deflect shark bite

NASSAU, Bahamas, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- A 42-year-old British diver photographing sharks in the Bahamas got an unplanned close-up of inside a shark's mouth when the shark tried to bite him.

Russell Easton, of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, was taking pictures of a tiger shark off the coast of Cat Island in the Bahamas when it suddenly snapped at him, the Sunday Mirror reported.

"I was looking through the viewfinder of the camera when I suddenly saw this huge mouth and teeth," Easton said.

"Sharks bite because that is how they find out what something is," he said. "It had its mouth wide open and was about to bite me, but bit the camera instead. That gave me a few vital seconds to swim away."

Despite his fortunate escape, Easton said he plans to photograph sharks in the future.