My GoPro Movies - Sharks, Sea Turtles, Goliath Grouper, Stingrays, It's all here!

[Murfdizzle21]

While I loved most of your videos, I have to admit to getting pretty angry watching the night dive with the turtle video. I have a real problem with divers waking sleeping turtles up and then chasing them around. Turtles don't have night vision and will bump into reef structures, possibly injuring themselves. They also search out safe ledges and places to sleep. They are unlikely to find these in the dark. They slow their metabolism so that they can sleep without breathing for long periods. Waking them up changes all of that.

I love finding them, watching them sleep, then quietly fin away without waking them. I am really upset with myself if I unwittingly cause them to wake and flee.

OK, end of my rant.

I definitely hear you on this. We didn't touch any of the turtles, or purposefully cause them to wake up. Trust me there were plenty of turtles whom we did not disturb and we left sleeping. Half the turtles filmed were found already awake and swimming like the hawksbills and the green turtles. I assume the reason they woke up was because we were with a dive charter boat, so there was eight or so divers out there flashing lights in their face and what not. As you can see if they did wake up and start to move around, nobody blocked their path and made them feel threatened or anything like that.

 

[Interceptor121]

I think there is only one rule with sharks, turtles and so on and it is do not chase them, and this is what I see in those videos.
The bit where you push the turtle in the corner is particularly concerning, if you shoot like this you will need 240 fps

 

[Murfdizzle21]

I think there is only one rule with sharks, turtles and so on and it is do not chase them, and this is what I see in those videos.
The bit where you push the turtle in the corner is particularly concerning, if you shoot like this you will need 240 fps

I don't really understand your last comment, if you shoot like this you will need 240 fps? What rule is there not to chase sharks? The sharks your seeing, nurse and reef, aren't endangered so I'm not sure why I can't follow them around and film them. I see other videos of people touching and riding endangered whale sharks, so give me a break. Where I live we drift dive so I'm just following them down the reef, half the time they stay with the group of divers. I'm not touching them, I'm not feeding them, I'm doing no harm, so I'll continue to film this way. As for the turtles, yes if they are under a ledge and I'm filming them and they move to come out they will look cornered. I didn't scare any into a corner just to film them and I certainly try to give them space to move around freely. Sorry if you don't like how I film my footage but don't try to tell me I'm causing harm to the animals.

 

[Interceptor121]

In your footage there is someone grabbing a fin of a nurse shark
Am not sure what they told you where you got your open water but chasing, riding, and molesting wild life is not an accepted practice by any agency.
Turtles have weak hearts and it is not worth a person or 1000 like yourself to give them a heart attack or get harassed, and do not even get me started with regards to the quality of your footage
If there was a professional dive guide with you and your lot they should be ashamed of themselves

Human beings are not endangered but if you go chasing someone usually you get in prison as a stalker

 

[Murfdizzle21]

I'm filming, I'm not touching any animals, I'm not riding any animals. I'm simply swimming with them and what not. Your going to tell me that in your videos your not swimming up to critters to get closer? Please.. I believe your being a hypocrite. Whats wrong with the quality of my footage? ya the camera is shaky quite a bit, but it's a GoPro and I didn't have a tray, just a little pole. My video quality is pretty good compared to most GoPro videos I see from the same reefs I'm diving. Plenty of dive masters / instructors have seen my videos and I just won a contest voted on by scuba divers. Obviously if everyone thought I was molesting all the critters like you do, they would not have voted for my video. Like I said, I haven't harmed any animals, I'm just a by standard in their world.

 

[Interceptor121]

The way you approach the creatures makes a hell of a difference, check the turtles I film they don't even bother moving. This is because I know the animals and I respect them so I try not to stress them or harrass them. You seem to have very little idea of what is ethical underwater and if you show other people doing bad practices means you share their view that they are allowed.
I really would like to have a word with the dive shop you went diving and with the instructor who certified you to see what is their position on this

 

[Murfdizzle21]

Would you like me to put together a bunch of raw clips of me just sitting there with turtles and them not moving and then myself swimming away? I could do that for you. And yes I put the diver toughing the shark in my film, it's not something I see people doing when I dive so I included it. It doesn't mean I would do it myself or that I condone it.

 

[GROBIOG]

Mikey, if you like your videos, be proud of them, I'm staying out of the debate of weather they're good or not.


Now, I live and dive where you are making your videos and can't help but make some comments in regards to the protection of that environment. There IS a LOT of marine life HARASSMENT and REEF DESTRUCTION shown in your videos, both by you and your buddy, I wouldn't doubt your buddy could get in trouble with that footage evidence and a positive identification (heard of the Boca Dive shop with speared nurse picture?), laying on top of and crawling on the reef is not acceptable, a trained eye can see YOU do it as well, bumping into a reef is not acceptable either.

You provided the evidence yourself, and you can't argue against facts, and weather the law is in your side or not, the reef is being harmed and the animals are still being stressed out by you, and there is nothing cool about that.

 

[Interceptor121]

Well GROBIOG has summed it up you are a terrible diver and an equally skilled videographer

Do yourself a favour learn to dive and respect the aquatic life and once you have an idea of what buoyancy is and have also some concepts of animal life behaviour that seem pretty alien to you and your mates right now try to get a camera again

I can't even believe that you keep going on about it. Have you actually watched any video done by a professional videographer or you just take your inspiration from the people around you?

 

[Murfdizzle21]

No where do I claim to be a professional videographer or diver. I make my videos because I enjoy it. I'm sure if I was doing as much harm as you two are saying, I would have been scolded as soon as we hit the surface by my dive masters. The GoPro was on a pole so I'm about 2-3 feet away holding it with my hand. Have I bumped into the reef a few times, yes, accidents happen I've been certified since February. I'm not going to keep arguing with you about my skills or my videos. To be honest, if you don't like them, don't watch them and stay out of the thread. I'm not going to stop making them so I'm not sure what to tell you.