In this April 20, 2018, file aerial photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, advection fog drifts across skyscrapers on the waterfront in Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong Province. Chinese leaders have long been sensitive about their communist country’s international image. Now, they are battling back, investing in diplomacy and a courtship of hearts and minds, just as the United States digs in on the Trump administration’s “America First” mindset. (Photo by Lu Hui/Xinhua via AP Photo/File)

Senegalese wrestlers cover themselves in sand as they prepare to start their training program in Petit Mbao on March 29, 2021. As Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted, wrestlers now start prepare themselves for the start of wrestling tournaments. Senegalese wrestling, which has its roots in the ceremonies celebrating the end of harvests in Serer and Diola ethnic groups and remains surrounded by a thick cloud of mystical practice, is still extremely popular in this West African country. (Photo by John Wessels/AFP Photo)

Actress with the Donbass Opera Theatre prepares to perform Eugene Onegin in Donetsk, Ukraine, Saturday, February 7, 2015. For the few dozen spectators that turn up, the weekly performances at the city's opera house serve as a respite from the war raging outside between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian government forces. (Photo by Petr David Josek/AP Photo)

Elvish writing is seen on “Anduril”, a prop sword belonging to Aragorn, hero of “The Lord of the Rings” movie trilogy on July 31, 2014 in London, England. The sword, belonging to actor Sir Christopher Lee and estimated at $150,000-250,000, forms part of Bonhams “There's No Place Like Hollywood” movie memorabilia auction taking place in New York on November 24, 2014. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

The anthropomorphic robot named hitchBOT sits on the shoulder of Highway 102 to begin its 6000 kilometer cross country journey outside of Halifax, Nova Scotia, July 27, 2014. The hitch hiking robot is part of a social experiment to see if drivers will pick up and drop off the robot in one piece to an art gallery in Victoria, British Columbia. (Photo by Paul Darrow/Reuters)

In this handout image provided by Parks Australia, thousands of red crabs are seen walking in a drain on November 23, 2021 in Christmas Island. The annual migration of red crabs begins with first rains of the wet season on Christmas Island, usually around October or November. Millions of the red crabs make their way across the island to the ocean to mate and spawn. (Photo by Parks Australia via Getty Images)

Todd Bretl specializes in underwater photography, and is able to capture striking photos of aquatic life big and small. His photos of sharks are particularly striking; though he rarely faces hostility from the animals, he tries not to spend too much time looking through his viewfinder and many shots are framed by educated guesses and impeccable timing. What follows are photographs taken over the past several years on trips to the Bahamas and Isla Guadalupe, an island off the coast of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. (Photo by Todd Bretl)