How bad was this thing I did? (2nd dive ever)

[J322Y]

Sounds like you are off to a good start. But on the side of caution, you probably did not spend your first week behind the wheel juggling hot coffee, a big Mac and a lit cigarette. Photography can be pretty immersive, and with every thing being new it can really take your attention away from where it needs to be. So just be a little cautious, make sure your checking gauges often enough.

Point taken. Thanks.

I didn't want the OP to be too long, but I can add that I regularly handle firearms, so I'm familiar with dangerous tools/situations. I also almost drowned once using a kayak/paddle board in the ocean. Didn't care for that at all and hope to avoid drowning in the future.

 

[Doby45]

Speaking more generally, I would advise that if one is planning a dive that is challenging in some new way--say, for example, deeper than you're accustomed to, or you have a new piece of gear, etc.--then leave the camera at home until you're certain you're comfortable with that dive. My general rule is to limit myself to changing one thing at a time.

Could not agree more.

 

[tdallen]

I've seen inexperienced divers (or maybe they were experienced, who knows) with cameras cause issues. It wasn't so much that they were a danger to themselves. Unfortunately they were impacting other divers by being narrowly focused on getting to the thing they wanted to shoot - cutting people off, bumping into them, etc. I think it's a lot easier to learn the etiquette of diving by... just diving.

 

[J322Y]

I've seen inexperienced divers (or maybe they were experienced, who knows) with cameras cause issues. It wasn't so much that they were a danger to themselves. Unfortunately they were impacting other divers by being narrowly focused on getting to the thing they wanted to shoot - cutting people off, bumping into them, etc. I think it's a lot easier to learn the etiquette of diving by... just diving.

I can appreciate that. I will say that I made it a point not to use the camera when others, beside my two buddies that day, where nearby. I'm not being defensive, just agreeing really. I'm ready to accept that taking the camera down was somewhat wrong...

 

[mcohen1021]

Why would you use a camera in 10 ft of water? or have a tank on if you weren’t doing some sort of u/w work?

OP: Just you saying you needed to “gain control of your buoyancy” tells me you were all over the map and had no business using a camera this early. No offense, but between talk of 10 ft dives, “gaining control of my buoyancy”, cameras, nearly drowning and firearms, you sound like a train wreck and should not be allowed on the boat.

PS: I hope a wave doesn’t knock your mask off your forehead.

 

[Topper133]

Why wouldn't you use a camera in 10ft. I had oceanic white tips in 6m last week, depth is irrelevant.

I think “gain control of your buoyancy” is fair for a newbie, just because you do it without thinking now doesn't mean you always did, and we know finning hides a multitude of buoyancy sins, at least the OP is saying he sorted in when stopping rather than just filming and piling into the bed.

 

[mcohen1021]

I've been on too many dives where newbies with cameras ruin it for the rest. One duo even buddy breathed between pics

 

[Lorenzoid]

Why would you use a camera in 10 ft of water?

Google some Youtubes of Blue Heron Bridge, Riviera Beach, FL, where the dive site is between 10 and 25 feet deep. Here's an example of the great stuff one can see there:
Photographers spend an hour during slack high tide swimming around just inches above the bottom, photographing all kinds of fascinating creatures.

 

[mcohen1021]

That's got to be some of the most beautiful under water video footage I have ever seen.

 

[Chavodel8en]

As long as the camera doesn't impact your diving negatively, you are good. And it sounds like you are now experienced using the camera in benign conditions.

Honestly, sounds like your buddy is a real sour-puss.