This is the moment a brave shark attack survivor came face to face with a predator.
Mike Coots displayed his prosthetic leg he uses instead of the limb to the bemused hammerhead shark.
In 1997 the 43-year-old photographer and conservationist survived a shark attack in Kauai, Hawaii by a tiger shark, resulting in the loss of his prosthetic leg.
Despite the life-changing injuries he sustained in the attack, Mike is an avid shark activist and loves being in the presence of sharks.
One image shows the playful shark swimming up to the photographer, investigating his prosthetic leg, gained from the previous shark encounter gone wrong.
Named for the numerous spots on her underside, Patches is around 13 feet long and is a frequent resident at Tiger Beach in The Bahamas.
The images were captured by Mike at Tiger Beach, Grand Bahama in the Bahamas using a Canon 5D mark 4 camera.
He said: "I was sitting on the sandy seafloor at Tiger Beach and Patches came up to have a look at me.
"You get a sense of the shark's personality.
"Hammerheads can often look humorous and almost cartoon-like. There really isn't many species on earth so odd yet beautiful looking.
"You actually feel calm as their presence is so commanding. It forced you to be more submissive and relaxed.
"I know it's a bit of irony having my prosthetic leg in an image that is a direct result of a shark attack,"
"The reality is that it's much more dangerous on the car ride to a beach than any shark attack once in the water.
"I love looking back at images after the dive as it puts me right back to that incredible moment.
"Seeing a shark underwater is rare, and often leaves you speechless."
The Mirror reported last month how a man who survived a terrifying great white shark attack said he might buy a lottery ticket after his lucky escape.
Nat Drummond, 19, had been competing at about 700m out to sea at Seacliff Surf Lifesaving Club, near Adelaide, Australia in a surf ski kayak on Sunday, when he was suddenly thrown into the water.
A large shark had bitten through the skis of his craft, causing him to be ejected and placed immediately into harm's way.
With only moments separating him from a potentially gruesome end, Mr Drummond swam quickly away, before being rescued by a lifesaving crew in an inflatable rescue boat.
He was then taken back to the shore and checked over - and miraculously found to be uninjured.
Patrols were then launched along the beach to locate the shark, which is believed to be a great white measuring about 3m in length.
Reflecting on how he avoided death, the kayaker told 9 News: "I just ripped my leg rope (attached to the surf ski) off and I swam towards these guys here who were paddling towards me, and then just jumped onto their craft and pulled me out of the water to safety.
"It was an absolute freak accident. One of those one-in-a-million things that happened."
