Putting your hand into gigantic Great White Shark mouth? Don Carpenter done that!!!

Despite staring into the jaws of death, this diver still had the presence of mind to take a picture.

This amazing image from photographer Don Carpenter show him fending off a Great White shark, pushing its snout, then putting his hand in its mouth. More astonishing photos, taken from a nearby cage, show how powerful these killers are as the 15ft, one-and-a-half ton shark attacks.

The shots were taken off Guadeloupe Island, Mexico by Mr Carpenter, who spent two days diving with the female Great White.

Due to local regulations, he was not allowed to scatter fish guts, known as 'chumming', or put decoys in the water to attract the beasts - so meeting this shark really was a natural experience.

The group of divers were in the cages 30 feet down when the Great White approached, first checking out Don's cage, where he got snapped the close-up - and avoided being snapped himself.

Mr Carpenter said 'Don't kid yourself for one minute - when you're practically touching the nose of a Great White you're thinking two things: how fast can I get back into the cage and will it hurt when she rips my torso off and leaves my legs standing there.

The shark then switched its attention to the other cage. 'Without a reference point this Great White wouldn't look particularly big, but next to the cage filled with divers you can see how big she is.

'It was all very quick but you can see the diver pushing the shark away. Don even captured him with his hand in her mouth at one point. (this guy is crazy)

Amazing shot of rarely seen Beluga creature

Beluga whales live under three feet of ice in the freezing waters of northern Russia’s White Sea which is why they don’t get visitors in these parts that often.

When some underwater photographers arrived, they certainly weren’t shy - as these stunning images show. The whales are not endangered but under threat from pollution and loss of habitat.

A beluga whale, Delphinapterus leucas, eyes a diver a few feet away as it swims under ice

At this whale sanctuary, where a natural bay under the ice provides a haven from the strong currents of the wider ocean. Photographer Franco Banfi, who took these shots after his team carved through the ice with a handsaw, said: ‘When a whale comes up to us and swims by, it looks you right in the eyes'.Obviously we don't know what they think, but they are very curious creatures.

A scuba diver braves temperatures of -10C to approach the whale

But while the beluga, or white whale, is built for these harsh surroundings, the diving team face extremely tough conditions to get close to the gentle creatures.

Before each dive the team have to create holes in the three-foot-deep ice using a hand saw, just to get through to the sea below.Once they're in they have to swim around in heavy layers of clothes to keep alive in the -10C waters.

The whale tries to eat the camera, unsure of what it is

And it's definitely a case of choosing the short straw for one volunteer who gets to stay above ground in -30C winds, making sure the ice hole doesn't freeze over and trap the group.

Because of the ice-layer and snow cover, there is not sufficient light to shoot with ambient light and batteries lose their charge more quickly in cold weather. Cold itself will not hurt the equipment, but it may slow down some of its functions.

On why I sharing this post here?...it was because Franco added that he was keen to show the beauty of the undersea world to those who can't face the icy deep themselves.

'As photographer, I've always been driven to bring photographs of animals one hardly ever sees to a printed page,' he said.

'I want to see these amazing animals in a way that only a few people have seen and I want to share it with others.'