The man behind the lens who captured a surfer's close encounter with a shark

BOSTON - Photographers are patient artists, observing the world around them and waiting for the exact moment in time where they can snap the perfect picture.

On Nauset Beach, the day a white shark was spotted in the waters close to swimmers and surfers, it was no different.

There was Joe Mault, holding his camera and waiting for the right moment to eternalize an encounter that, while brief, was still too close for comfort.

The long-time landscape photographer, who often sees the world through the lens of his camera, says he tries to capture the moment.

On Friday morning, he did just that.

Standing on the shore of Nauset Beach, the photographer and owner of Orleans Camera, saw something he had never photographed before.

"lt became very evident when the fin popped up that it was a shark," said Mault.

As Mault watched on, before he could shout out to the surfer that there was a shark in the water, the man quickly looked over his shoulder and panic began to set in.

"He looked over his shoulder and noticed the shark, so I didn't need to alert him and I could continue to concentrate on capturing the image," said Mault.

The shocking moment quickly went viral, but didn't dissuade others from going into the water.

One surfer took the plunge Friday night at Nauset Beach, even after seeing the picture.

"It's sketchy," said Brandon DeSouza. "I wish there were more people out honestly. I don't like surfing alone."

Others just set back in the sand, theorizing about the close call and how differently things could've turned out.

"It could've gone horribly worse than that," said one onlooker.

The surfer, thankfully, got out of the water unscathed.

>> MORE: Sunday marks one-year anniversary since fatal shark attack on Cape

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