EXPOSURE

The job was not supposed to be an easy one. Shipping out with the Billfish Foundation, photographer Austin Coit accompanied members of the nonprofit’s tag-and-release program—the largest or . They literally shoot fire out of the top.” Coit, who grew up in Tampa Bay, Florida, had worked as a mate on a sportfishing boat before becoming a full-time photographer. It was on a boat like , a 64-foot Spencer, where he found his calling. “I got a strange start in photography,” admits Coit. “I had no formal education in it. I did take some documentary production classes in college, but I majored in English.” (On Instagram, Coit titled this shot “The Reveal.”) That may provide a clue to how he works. “Basically with this shot, and others in particular, I don’t just fire away a million photos. I waited for it to happen, and pulled the trigger when it looked like it was about to be right.” Incidentally, the FADs proved their use; the crews ended up tagging more than 11 billfish in three days.