Best Quote of the Trip

[flstarfish44]

The vast majority of these people are not photographers ... they're underwater tourists with cameras ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

That's an excellent description. I don't understand why so many bad divers need yet another picture of an out-of-focus parrotfish.

 

[Garrobo]

Photography? I keep my photographs in my head, not a box. Everyone say: "Bring us some pictures next time." So I download a bunch of pictures off of the internet and send them as if I took them. They are so happy. I've dived with some pretty serious photogs though and it's a pain in the butt waiting for them to click the shutter. Half of the stuff they take pictures of I can't even see. I guess that after taking pictures of the big stuff for a while all that's left are the teeny-tiny, ittsy- bitsy, teeny-weeny stuff.

 

[Hank49]

That's an excellent description. I don't understand why so many bad divers need yet another picture of an out-of-focus parrotfish.

It's pretty much the same above water too. Ever see your friend's shots of his/her trip to the Rockies? Or Niagra Falls, or where ever? It ain't exactly Nat Geo material. But they had fun with it.

 

[emttim]

Sadly, it's a fact, you ain't lyin'. I've seen divers with hundreds of dives under their weight belt crash, plow or bounce their way through coral. Self-proclaimed experienced divers, but yet they seem so oblivious. You can't help but shake your head in amused disbelief.

I overheard another diver during a SI on a dive boat state he had to hold onto the coral in order to steady himself to catch a good photo.

All the more reason not to go off of number of dives or years of diving to gauge someone's experience and skill in the water.

Well I will not use names to protect the identity of the suspect. I just got back from a vacation at a nice dive resort. I won't mention the name just the initials LCBR. Met this really nice new diver who was just certified the same week. So obviously not a whole lot of experience. He was a really nice guy and fun to talk to. Sitting around the bar the first night I got to talking to him and he told me how he had just certified. And he complained about his legs being tore up. I said what happen to your legs? And I almost choked on my Rum Punch when he said "Well every time I descend I drop right into the coral and the coral is scratching the hell out my legs when I drop thru it" After regaining my composure I mentioned that its usually a good practice not to drop directly into the coral. He replied yeah I know but I just don't have the buoyancy thing down quite right yet. Well by the time he left he seemed to be a fish in the water, just thought that was a little amusing. Granted my buoyancy may not be perfect but I never would have admitted the crashing thru the coral part! If he reads this, I'm laughing with you not at you!
David

I heard someone - a supposed experienced diver - say that their bouyancy was a bit off on the first dive and that they needed to drop a few pounds from their weightbelt observing "I hit the bottom a lot harder than I usually do."

Maybe that diver thought they were a NASA astronaut and they were practicing their lunar landing....

 

[TASims]

I haven't done any crash landings. Thank goodness, I just need to be careful on how I dive or eventually use a camera so I don't become a topic on scuba board.

 

[Hank49]

I haven't done any crash landings. Thank goodness, I just need to be careful on how I dive or eventually use a camera so I don't become a topic on scuba board.

yeah, that's one thing about all the SB divers...we were all BORN good.

 

[CajunDiva]

This is a great topic, and one that I feel strongly about. We were all newbies at one point, but that didn't make us any less responsible for our environment. I am so amazed by the incredible things I observe while diving that I would NEVER intentionally do anything to harm anything down there. But it takes a little experience to learn how to me more responsible when diving.

I know I didn't receive enough instruction during my certification about preserving the reef and I suspect many others had the same experience. I think it would be awesome if all of the certification agencies put more stress on the preservation of our underwater environment. In addition, I would love to see dive operations stress the same during every dive briefing. There's nothing like a friendly reminder to keep the topic on divers' minds. :no

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

That's an excellent description. I don't understand why so many bad divers need yet another picture of an out-of-focus parrotfish.

Because it's fun ... which is why we dive.

I don't mind seeing people take bad pictures ... as long as they didn't endanger themselves or damage anything while taking them. If it keeps them diving, they'll get better with both the camera and the dive gear.

I took some pretty bad pictures when I first got my camera ... and I was a reasonably skilled diver at the time. It did, however, require me to rethink many of my skills. In the long run, I think it made me a better diver.

But I'm still just an underwater tourist with a camera ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Someone here recently quoted an instructor teaching a DM class telling his students to "Navigate so that you come back a different way than you went out. That way you won't have to swim through the silt trail."

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I can't stop laughing. Thanks Bob!

 

[GLENFWB]

To each his own...one of my favorite parts of the dive day, is the excitment my wife and kids have to see the pictures when I get home. I love taking pictures and don't dive with anyone that has a problem with it. When I can't dive, I can go through the pictures, and re-live some wonderful experiences.

Photography? I keep my photographs in my head, not a box. Everyone say: "Bring us some pictures next time." So I download a bunch of pictures off of the internet and send them as if I took them. They are so happy. I've dived with some pretty serious photogs though and it's a pain in the butt waiting for them to click the shutter. Half of the stuff they take pictures of I can't even see. I guess that after taking pictures of the big stuff for a while all that's left are the teeny-tiny, ittsy- bitsy, teeny-weeny stuff.