Without the use of any type of scuba equipment, divers descend to great depths armed with underwater guns, harpoons and strong line to stalk and hunt prey. Some of the best free-divers in the world can hold their breath for up to 5 minutes under water and go to depths greater than 100 feet.

(All photography © Eyeconic Images.)

A diver dressed in a Santa Claus costume performs with sardines at the Coex Aquarium in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, December 9, 2015. (Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)

Human Connection Award: People and Planet Ocean – Winner – Steve Woods. A free diver interacts with a sperm whale among a cloud of sargassum weed, Dominica. (Photo by Steve Woods/Ocean Photographer of the Year 2022)

Divers perform underwater “Flying Apsaras” dance at Nanjing Underwater World on September 20, 2023 in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province of China. (Photo by Yang Bo/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

U.S. Marine Lt. Ben Reid from 1/2 Charlie Company of Task Force Tarawa waits to be medivaced after being hit with shrapnel and a machine gun round, in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, on March 23, 2003. The Marines suffered a number of deaths and casualties during gun battles throughout the city. (Photo by Joe Raedle via The Atlantic)

People dressed in period costumes take part in the “Fetes Galantes” fancy dress evening at the “galerie des glaces” in the Chateau de Versailles, France on May 27, 2019. (Photo by Ludovic Marin/AFP Photo)

Coast and marine winner: Storm Gull (Lesser black-backed gull), New Haven, East Sussex. (Photo by Craig Denford/British Wildlife Photography Awards)

A US Marine feeds an orphan kitten found after a heavy mortar barrage near “Bunker Hill” during the Korean War. (Photo by Sgt Martin Riley/Getty Images). 1953