Photographers please work on your buoyancy

[mjh]

It’s a redundant thread but after a recent trip one I think needs to be revisited every now and then. In the last two years I have become addicted to photography. I enjoy trying to capture that picture that conveys the beauty of the incredible things we see diving.

That said I will not touch, move or prod ANYTHING to get a shot. If I cannot hold position with one finger I forego the shot. I am even uncomfortable with the occasional “knelling in the sand”. I have sinned; kicking coral, brushing up against fans while my face is stuck in the viewfinder. But it is something I am very conscience of while diving.

As more people get into diving, more seem to add a camera to their gear early on. After 20yrs of diving I found a camera really forced me to work on my buoyancy. My air consumption increased about 25% due to drag and using my lungs even more to adjust buoyancy. For all divers and especially those new to diving, please make sure you have excellent buoyancy skills before adding a camera to gear.

No picture is worth harassing any creature for, or banging, lying on, wedging into the reef for.

 

[JamesD]

Unfortunately while those who take photos can be a bit more prone to this (due to lack of awareness of surroundings rather than negligence) I find a great many divers are also prone to this without the camera.

I actually found the camera was very helpful to my buoyancy skills, but more because I didn't want to bang into the reef, so started with shots from WAY TOO FAR away, and then as my buoyancy improved, my shots got closer and closer to where I wanted them to be.

I don't see the harm in kneeling in the sand personally, although I normally just to "fin tips" in the sand (as per whatever that skill was for Buoyany in OW).

 

[JamesD]

Actually on this note, I'm curious, are there any statistics for amount of damage done by say divers, as opposed to say fishermen or military or...

Just curious, someone said to me the other day they think divers should be stopped because they are destroying the coral reef, and while that is true to some extent (I'm sure in general divers aren't HELPING the situation) I think the amount of damage done by divers in general is trival when compared to other segments of the population.

Thoughts?

 

[jepuskar]

Pay attention to the natural species down there and what they do to their own home...parrot fish, turtles, etc all damage the reef. Yes you could say it is their home and they give back to it and they are feeding on it.....but they are still damaging it.

It is because of divers that coral reef awareness is where it's at today...while divers are responsible for damage to the reef, I would like to think we are also responsible for protecting it.

J

 

[HowardE]

Pay attention to the natural species down there and what they do to their own home...parrot fish, turtles, etc all damage the reef. Yes you could say it is their home and they give back to it and they are feeding on it.....but they are still damaging it.

It is because of divers that coral reef awareness is where it's at today...while divers are responsible for damage to the reef, I would like to think we are also responsible for protecting it.

J

This is an excellent point.

I would also say, as a photographer and videographer, that I am quite concious of my bouyancy, and I do NOT crash the reef, or hold on to the reef. I have seen more NON-Photographers doing this (lobster hunters?) in my experiences, than photographers.

 

[dlndavid]

Some of the best buoyancy skills I have seen have been those of photographers.
It is amazing how they can hover right in on their subject with perfect buoyancy
and then leave the scene without even a flicker of sand or coral.

 

[Ron Brandt]

Pay attention to the natural species down there

J

Especially the Dive Master !
We lost a guy in a swim threw on Punta Sur(Coz)last month. If this guy did not carry a camera he would probably be decient diver.

Ron

 

[jepuskar]

I do admit that since taking photos, especially macro my instances of brushes with coral have increased. What I don't do is purposely steady myself on anything but sand.

My brushes are few, but I do take notice of them and I never put myself in an akward position where I know I cant get out of without contacting coral. There are plenty of shots I passed up because of this very reason.

It happens, anyone with any significant number of dives has brushed/damaged coral at one point or another.

One of the best techniques to learn is the backward kick. Once you learn that you dont rely on pushing off or coral or sculling with your hands which could lead to contact.

J

 

[LavaSurfer]

Actually on this note, I'm curious, are there any statistics for amount of damage done by say divers, as opposed to say fishermen or military or...

Just curious, someone said to me the other day they think divers should be stopped because they are destroying the coral reef, and while that is true to some extent (I'm sure in general divers aren't HELPING the situation) I think the amount of damage done by divers in general is trival when compared to other segments of the population.

Thoughts?

Good point!

How many anchors, fishing Nets, Fishing Lines, Traps, etc... Laid on the bottom or dragged across a Coral reef. Sure Divers need to be aware, I would never argue that, but I have seen boat operators drop anchor on a reef causing more damage in one second than I could in a lifetime. Then they justify the damage by diving down and moving the anchor to a sandy area and say it will re-grow.

Then there are hurricanes that can wipe out an entire reef system in a day but that’s another topic.

 

[KidK9]

My buoyancy is (usually) spot on. When I photograph, I make sure it's on.

However...more DIVERS in general need help with buoyancy. I was just in Turks and Caicos and aboard Fifi's boat there was an older couple that "knew everything"..I guess since they were older. I saw the wife on the reef dragging her reg thru the coral, using her wonderful split fins to bang into the reef. I swam over to her, tucked her reg in, and asked her via slate to monitor her bouyancy for the sake of the reef.

She had some words with me on the boat and I told her I stood by what I did...and I do.

Again, DIVERS in general need to get a grasp on streamlining and bouyancy.