Listen Now! Renowned wildlife cinematographer Andy Casagrande talks Shark Week, career, more

It’s one of the most anticipated weeks of the year — Shark Week — and its almost here.

Beginning July 7, Discovery Channel will begin airing shows for its annual tradition that dates back to 1988. FLORIDA TODAY will be celebrating Shark Week as well that week with in-depth coverage of sharks in our area all that week, so make sure you return to floridatoday.com to check it all out.

For 36 years, Shark Week has produced hundreds of shows that teach people about the ocean’s most misunderstood and feared species.

I’d posit that prior to Shark Week, most people’s knowledge of sharks came from the 1975 thriller “Jaws,” and let’s face it, after the original, the ensuing movies had plenty to be desired. And they were certainly never intended to be documentaries.

For the past two decades, one man has been a constant staple across many Shark Week shows, providing some of the most amazing footage you’ll ever see.

His name is Andy Casagrande, and he’s an Emmy Award-winning cinematographer, producer, television host and wildlife filmmaker who has more than 100 films and documentaries to his credit, airing on stations like National Geographic, BBC, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel and many more.

Casagrande has found himself face-to-face with some of the ocean’s most intimidating predators like bull sharks, tiger sharks, great hammerheads, and, of course, great white sharks.

While he admits he’s had his camera equipment and fins bitten by sharks, he thankfully says a shark has never drawn blood.

Casagrande is the latest guest on “The *State* of Florida Sports Podcast,” powered by the USA Today Network.

Casagrande, 46, has strong ties to the state of Florida. He currently resides in Naples, a place he knows well.

He started going there when he was about 7 because his grandparents migrated there in the 1970s.

He later attended Florida Tech in 1996-97 while studying to be a marine biologist. There, he found his chosen career to be more lab and research based and not enough in the water.

So he left and set off to find his path.

That led him to South Africa, germinating a career that has seen him become one of the most accomplished underwater cinematographers that there’s ever been.

If you’d like to learn about his journey, his first face-to-face encounter with a great white, what to expect from him during 2024 Shark Week and more, then you have to listen to this podcast.

Find out why so many fans have checked us out and why our guests and journalists give you the best information in the state.

And hear why feedspot.com ranked us the No. 1 sports podcast in the state of Florida.

We can be downloaded wherever you listen to podcasts, or simply type in “The *State* of Florida Sports Podcast” into your favorite search engine. We also can be found on any of the 17 USA TODAY-Network Florida websites.

If you like it, you can check out previous shows, which feature current and former professional athletes and coaches, as well as our stable of journalists who cover beats and write columns, all of whom have a tie to the Sunshine State.

Walters can be reached at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Podcast features renowned Shark Week cinematographer Andy Casagrande