Photographers can be detrimental to the environment/aimals they are taking photos in/of .Guides looking to please their guests sometimes will go to no ends to get that critter positioned for the perfect shot. Every once and a while I will tell my guide to back off if they are going to far. I'll even tell another diver they are crushing coral or going to far. Mostly they take offense and that can lead to hurt feeling and uncomfortable situations. Hell my last time in Lembeh I 'm shooting video of a flamboyant cuttlefish hunting and another diver comes up with his video lights blaring scaring the flamboyant causing him to stop hunting. Needless to say I lost my cool, gave him some terse words turned around a made sure I kicked up lots of sand to give him a taste of his own medicine. Not my finest moment, but I was tired of people barreling in while I was shooting something,bringing waves of silt because they can't keep their fins off the sand. Needless to say that diver didn't talk to me for the rest of the time they were there.
Sometimes us amateur photographers have been led to high expectations from seeing professional photos of say a emporer shrimp perfectly posed between that nudis rhinospheres, or the worst case Ive seen was a ladybug shrimp sitting on top of a pygmy seahorse. How pray tell did that get there?
DanT I'm not smacking you down but the pointer is going to far. Shutter delay is one reason I'm upgrading my camera. These days if that pygmy seahorse has been blasted in the face by the strobes of other divers I'll look to see if it's positioned for a good shot and I'll try a a few, but I won't ask my guide to move him, or shoot 20 shots hoping for a lucky one. I wish we all could have more respect for the creatures we love so much, we just need to not love them to death.
That said danT please don't hate me or stop posting here, I enjoy your posts.