Rude Divers on the Boat

[Zeagle Eagle]

UW Photographers are not getting a bad rap. What are you talking about? I have never heard that before. They are some of the best most experienced divers I have ever had the pleasure to have known.

 

[Centrals]

Rude diver I can tolerate with and at worst I can return my compliment. But it is the selfish diver that I find it hard to stomach.
I found myself diving with a couple and the guide. The couple was photographer but with very seriously poor attitue regarding other divers. When they found something interesting they would take all the time they would need to make a "perfect" shot!! Both the guide and I were more than a bit irritated after a while. Since I knew the area very well I took off leaving the guide with them. And one way back on the boat, I didn't say a single word to them. When I got back to the resort afterwards I informed the dive manager that I wouldn't want to dive with the couple again.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

:lol: yes there is a difference between an underwater photographer and a diver with a camera

I just hear too many complaints about this issue. I do want to add that IMHO your shots are as valid and important as the ones the guys with the big cameras. It is about enjoyng our dives and being able to share them in whatever fashion we can. The most important thing is that we respect other divers so we all enjoy and get what we want out of our dives.

 

[Centrals]

:lol: yes there is a difference between an underwater photographer and a diver with a camera

As far as I am concern they are the same!!
I don't buddy with anyone with a camera unless I know the diver personally.

 

[darrenlowjq]

I found myself diving with a couple and the guide. The couple was photographer but with very seriously poor attitue regarding other divers. When they found something interesting they would take all the time they would need to make a "perfect" shot!! Both the guide and I were more than a bit irritated after a while. Since I knew the area very well I took off leaving the guide with them. And one way back on the boat, I didn't say a single word to them. When I got back to the resort afterwards I informed the dive manager that I wouldn't want to dive with the couple again.

As the one usually toting a camera rig in the group, I'd like to say something in defense of that demographic. I really dislike diving in a large group because guides then for the most part just keep going and going, powering through the site with nary a pause for me to frame a shot. I would understand practices like that if the majority of the group weren't shooting and would be happy with fleeting glances of critters of interest, but dives are really more enjoyable, at least for me, done at a slower pace. In the scenario you are describing, you are actually in the minority since 2 out of the 3 paying customers want to take it slow, so you might want to think about that. I feel like people tend to be hasty in calling out other people's perceived rudeness while failing to recognize when the shoe is actually on the other foot.

Having done more than a few dives where I had to follow the pace of a large group, I try to do that far less now. By far the most enjoyable dives were done in Lembeh last December when I was literally the only guest in the resort and all the dives consisted of guide finding critter, me lining up my shots while the guide moved on to find the next critter, rinse and repeat. You can be sure the guide got a good tip out of that arrangement and everyone involved was happy with the outcome. I would suggest hiring private guides or if you know the area very well just going off to do your own thing, to ensure dives are done at your own pace.

 

[Centrals]

. In the scenario you are describing, you are actually in the minority since 2 out of the 3 paying customers want to take it slow, so you might want to think about that. I feel like people tend to be hasty in calling out other people's perceived rudeness while failing to recognize when the shoe is actually on the other foot.

Divers like that should employ dedicated guide.
The guide did not dare to ditch them and I understand his predicament so I swam away.
Minority or majority is NOT the point!!! So are you saying that if there were more non photo taking divers in my group, we could just took off with the guide and left them!!!! I done that because I know the place and the operator well enough.
How long you have been diving in SE Asia to believe that operators would not mind if their clients swim away alone.
I like diving in Queensland because no guide is provided unless you pay for it. That would be a good place for you and your buddy.
If you want everyone to agree your requirement/style of diving, try solo.

 

[darrenlowjq]

Read my response again, I did not advocate for the guide abandoning any guests nor guests abandoning the guide once the dive has commenced. It is something to consider BEFORE the dive. If you notice that you have been assigned to a large group full of photographers before splashing, you should reasonably expect that the dive will be conducted at a glacial pace and to voice out objections at that point or before that.

I'm just making the point that dives are usually catered to the preference of the majority (or sometimes the most well-tipping) of the group, which is usually the non-camera toting crowd, to my dismay sometimes. In your case, oddly enough, non-camera toting is actually out-numbered by camera toting folks and I think good business sense on the part of the dive op would mean that dives should be conducted to the pace of the majority.


EDIT:
Of course that said, since the scenario you describe is one where camera-toting folks only out-number non-camera toting by 1, it should behoove the photographer to take into account that other divers don't want to sit in one spot for the whole dive and should move on promptly once a good enough shot has been obtained. I fully understand your frustration but just want to point out that its not always just about you.

---------- Post added September 11th, 2015 at 03:20 PM ----------

If you want everyone to agree your requirement/style of diving, try solo.

I'd do that but then my GUE instructor would ask me for my fundies card back.

Seriously though its nothing a pre-dive discussion won't resolve. As long as some consensus is reached as to how the dive will be conducted ahead of time, I don't see how any of this is an issue.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

IMHO some conversations about expectations prior to splashing are in order. A friendly chat on the way out to the site about goals for the dive can be as easy as asking.. "So what do you enjoy about diving?" "I am hoping for a slow dive and to get a picture of XXX what are you hoping for on this dive?" and go from there.

The thing that has actually bothered me the most on boat dives has been people talking during the dive brief so others can't hear him. DM's out there.. please feel free to tell them to shut up! You will probably get applause from the rest of the divers and a bigger tip! I have been known to Politely say... "Excuse me, I am having trouble hearing the Dive Brief" I'd rather the DM took control than having to repeat or have a customer take on the role...

 

[Searcaigh]

I have only come across two "locals" with GoPros on sticks and quite frankly surprised they did not kill themselves or get bent on the dive they did from the boat I was on.

One did run out of air and the other had less than 20 bar in his tank when we found them diving at a local site. They were swimming everywhere annoying the wildlife, apparently surfaced several times then down again to 12M+

I told them that their behaviour was going to kill them, even the Bangladeshi DM on the boat was verbal (which is unusual), end result, they did not come out for the second dive

 

[Centrals]

I'd do that but then my GUE instructor would ask me for my fundies card back.

Seriously though its nothing a pre-dive discussion won't resolve. As long as some consensus is reached as to how the dive will be conducted ahead of time, I don't see how any of this is an issue.

So the card is more important than the actual training. Have you ever dived with "stroke"? And did you ask the dive shop to remove the "stroke" from your group or asked to be transferred?

I have never came across any pre dive briefing that anyone have the nerve to say that he/she would expect every member of the group to wait for him/her to finish the shot.
The photographers always complain that the other divers swim too fast. The fact is that some of them are too slow to shoot and swim.

---------- Post added September 11th, 2015 at 04:16 PM ----------

IMHO some conversations about expectations prior to splashing are in order. A friendly chat on the way out to the site about goals for the dive can be as easy as asking.. "So what do you enjoy about diving?" "I am hoping for a slow dive and to get a picture of XXX what are you hoping for on this dive?" and go from there.
...

Unfortunately for some divers the pre dive briefing has NO meaning whatsoever. Because they already knew what they would do underwater regardness of what was being said or agreed.