Bad photographers at SCUBA Club
- Thread starter hogster
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
tedgarner
Contributor
Which is why his last five days were "bad."
FM1520
Contributor
I agree with your action of reducing the tip and including the note about why. Calling someone out during the SI can be hard and not everyone is comfortable doing so. Sometimes divers with cameras (call them photographers or whatever) can take up some room both in and out of the water.
However, I wouldn't generalize this to older folks - stupidity and lack of consideration are equal opportunity character flaws.
However, I wouldn't generalize this to older folks - stupidity and lack of consideration are equal opportunity character flaws.
I have seen this type of thing a few times. Once I took photos of the person and showed him and just asked "do you think this is OK?" It was a humbling experience to be shown the photos according to the diver in question.
I have no problem calling people out that are slobs. I like to take my little point and shoot and find a patch of reef where there is nothing on it. Then I will start shooting nothing from all kinds of angles. Soon the "experts" come over to see what I am shooting and invariably some moron muscles their way in. I was once pushed out of the way. Back on the boat said diver asked me what I was taking a shot of as he "did not see it". I replied not quietly that what I was doing was seeing how many a$$holes would try to rudely muscle in on something I found, which was nothing. By my count I got four. And then I stood up and walked away. No one came near me the rest of the time and I got some shots of stuff that I thought was cool and the animals were not molested in any way as I was the guy who was shooting nothing. So no reason to come over and see.
As for the grabbing coral and wildlife, point out an nice rock for her to steady herself that's covered in fire coral.
As for the grabbing coral and wildlife, point out an nice rock for her to steady herself that's covered in fire coral.
Foxtrot16
Contributor
I agree - just because they had cameras they aren't necessarily photographers - but what they are scuba divers who are vey rude and arrogant with poor skills in both diving and social interaction, regardless of their age. In fact even when they weren't diving you would probably find that they behave the same way at a restaurant, in a bar, shopping etc.
You should have taken up the matter with the manager and got moved to a different boat.
Karl
Brules
Contributor
You should have just put in a standing request to be moved to any boat that has no photographers on it. I do and it works wonders. 
Mike
Contributor
I'm calling some BS on this story.
Sorry, the whole thing that repeats itself over and over again is "and nobody got to see it after them.." let me call the wampulance for ya. I'm sorry, it's one thing to stand on the reef, break off coral and sponges, ride wild life... it's quite another to bump a turtle with a go pro and the repetition of "and nobody got to see it after them...." kind of smells weird to me. No doubt they were pushy photographers, but let me tell you, all it might take to break somebody of the habit of "pushing there way into a macro shot with the camera in the sand" is for me to stand my ground and stick my hands in the sand and blow up a giant cloud of silt and muck all over their expensive camera, housing and flashes and make sure they want to discuss it with me back on the boat for my 'careless' actions that jacked up their rig and cost them a precious shot. I'll be happy to have a conversation about it with them.
Anyways, I'm sure they were too aggressive for you, but the whole nobody else gets to see it thing, and the notion of SCC dive masters remaining mum for a whole week while this group terrorized every fish in the vicinity kind of smells funny to me.
I just want to reiterate, that every fish in the ocean isn't there on the dive for everyone in a daisy chain to come over and take a number and get their fair time with. Go find another fish to look at if some aggressive photographer is 'hogging' it, nobody owns the rights to see everything available on every dive. It's nice and polite if somebody allows everyone to come get their snuggle time with the creature discovered, but it's not a requirement. And this goes both ways, not just for a photographer that gets to a fish first and doesn't 'pass it on', but to a non-photographer with a photographer trying to muscle in for a shot, they can go away too. Nobody has 'rights' to the fishy, I might just sit there and hog the thing all to myself. I'm not a diver who if I see a lobster on the dive is going to bang my tank and bring every single person over to have a life changing experience with a viewing. I keep most of everything I see to myself on a dive and don't bother finning all over the place seeing every discovery and demanding my view. What I see, I see and what you see may be a completly different cast of characters on a dive. There is something about the way you worded your outrage that just seems kind of over demanding and maybe real newbieish and maybe there is some over-reaction as part of the problem. I'm just not buying it at face value that these were the photo-terrorists you make them out to be.
Sorry, the whole thing that repeats itself over and over again is "and nobody got to see it after them.." let me call the wampulance for ya. I'm sorry, it's one thing to stand on the reef, break off coral and sponges, ride wild life... it's quite another to bump a turtle with a go pro and the repetition of "and nobody got to see it after them...." kind of smells weird to me. No doubt they were pushy photographers, but let me tell you, all it might take to break somebody of the habit of "pushing there way into a macro shot with the camera in the sand" is for me to stand my ground and stick my hands in the sand and blow up a giant cloud of silt and muck all over their expensive camera, housing and flashes and make sure they want to discuss it with me back on the boat for my 'careless' actions that jacked up their rig and cost them a precious shot. I'll be happy to have a conversation about it with them.
Anyways, I'm sure they were too aggressive for you, but the whole nobody else gets to see it thing, and the notion of SCC dive masters remaining mum for a whole week while this group terrorized every fish in the vicinity kind of smells funny to me.
I just want to reiterate, that every fish in the ocean isn't there on the dive for everyone in a daisy chain to come over and take a number and get their fair time with. Go find another fish to look at if some aggressive photographer is 'hogging' it, nobody owns the rights to see everything available on every dive. It's nice and polite if somebody allows everyone to come get their snuggle time with the creature discovered, but it's not a requirement. And this goes both ways, not just for a photographer that gets to a fish first and doesn't 'pass it on', but to a non-photographer with a photographer trying to muscle in for a shot, they can go away too. Nobody has 'rights' to the fishy, I might just sit there and hog the thing all to myself. I'm not a diver who if I see a lobster on the dive is going to bang my tank and bring every single person over to have a life changing experience with a viewing. I keep most of everything I see to myself on a dive and don't bother finning all over the place seeing every discovery and demanding my view. What I see, I see and what you see may be a completly different cast of characters on a dive. There is something about the way you worded your outrage that just seems kind of over demanding and maybe real newbieish and maybe there is some over-reaction as part of the problem. I'm just not buying it at face value that these were the photo-terrorists you make them out to be.
Mike has a point as well. I don't need or want some DM or Guide to find stuff for me. Unless I pay them to take me out privately to do so. I can find my own stuff and if some goober comes up and starts getting pushy I can push right back in my own way. And not have to physically touch them. But silting, photobombing his shot, all are fair tactics with butt heads. No need to run and tattle.
Similar threads
