Scuba Gear for the Photographer

[JamesBon92007]

To make things a little clearer, my BC pockets are detachable pockets that connect to the waist strap of my back wing. I can add or remove them as needed. But I've only been shooting with a little GoPro type video camera that easily fits into the pocket. If it was my old SLR housing with the strobe and all it would require something the size of a small backpack The only reason I own a jacket BC is because they (a BC) are required on most dive boats and the price of renting one was going up and I only paid $18 for the thing.

I have a new Zeagle back wing (Express) and when wearing a weight belt around my waist I tend to float face-down at the surface when it's inflated so naturally I have a snorkel. If I play around with weight distribution no doubt I could configure it so I would be able to float face up more easily. With the weight that low on my body it sure seems like I should be floating more upright. On the plus side, I am very horizontally-oriented which is good for general diving but not necessarily the best position for photography. I'm going to be giving my latest BC creation a good workout next month--it is an old plastic tank backpack with a snorkel vest attached to it which has about 15 pounds of lift, the whole thing weighs about two pounds, and it's very compact and it's like returning to the good-old-days of no BC but with the advantage of having some extra buoyancy if I need or want it. Plus I can float head-up at the surface with it. When I first started diving, single-hose regulators were becoming popular very quickly and double-hose regulators were rapidly vanishing but the general consensus at the time was that the double-hose was preferred by many photographers. I'm surprised that the double-hose became so scarce so quickly. I have never used one but it sure seems like they have many advantages over the single-hose design. The Argonaut Kraken gives me hope that more options are becoming available.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

The only reason I own a jacket BC is because they (a BC) are required on most dive boats and the price of renting one was going up and I only paid $18 for the thing.

What boats are you diving from? I've never heard of that requirement in SoCal. I always see a lot of backplate/wings and occasionally just backpacks.
Gallery of California Backpack Divers : 1999-2001

 

[JamesBon92007]

What boats are you diving from? I've never heard of that requirement in SoCal. I always see a lot of backplate/wings and occasionally just backpacks.
Gallery of California Backpack Divers : 1999-2001

Oops, I meant a BC of some kind is required, not specifically a jacket. I've been diving in Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, Costa Rica, Hawai'i, and Isla Mujeres and all the ops I dived with required a BC. It's even required for shore diving in Hawai'i. I've never been on a dive boat here--it was always from a private boat. If I can find one that doesn't have a stereo on board I would do it. I currently don't have a boat.

Now you have me wondering--if I was to shore dive in Laguna or some-such-place with no BC would some life guard try to stop me?

Edit: that was supposed to be Puerto Vallarta in the place of the second Isla Mujeres :O

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Laguna is strange. Although the snorkel law is no longer enforced it is still on the books. I'm not sure what a lifeguard too young to remember Jacques Cousteau would do if you tried to enter the water without a BC. When I was a new diver I had a backpack and went shore diving from La Jolla to Carmel as well as three trips to Hawaii and was never questioned about not having a "proper" BC.

 

[JamesBon92007]

I have not been shore diving in California (except the Dive Park at Avalon) for quite some time so I have not had to contend with many of the rules that they came up with. When they started doing those kinds of things and made some places inaccessible I bought a boat. The only time a lifeguard approached me was at Reef Point a couple years ago where I was free-diving. I entered/exited in a rocky spot on purpose (lots of life there) and he suggested I enter in the sandy cove. I told him I'd been diving there for over 45 years and he backed off. He was maybe 30.

How recent were the trips to Hawai'i? My first trip was in about 2011 and a flag/float and BC was required on Maui. Where I was diving they were watching. If I tried it without a BC at Avalon probably nobody would notice.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

It's been a few years since I was on the Big Island but most of my diving was in spots where there wouldn't be anyone to watch me anyway. I don't even know if there is a lifeguard on the entire island.

 

[JamesBon92007]

It's been a few years since I was on the Big Island but most of my diving was in spots where there wouldn't be anyone to watch me anyway. I don't even know if there is a lifeguard on the entire island.

I'll be finding that out in about four weeks

 

[MaxBottomtime]

My favorite beach is Alua Beach, just outside the harbor north of Kailua-Kona. It's off the beaten path, a short walk over lava from the end of the road. In the video, the best diving is where the boat is. At 130 feet are thousands of garden eels. In the shallower depths are turtles being cleaned. I've seen mantas and a swordfish there as well. One thing I never saw was so many people.

Scuba Shore Diving Site Page for: Alua Beach of The Big Island, Hawaiian Islands

 

[Fibonacci]

~snip~
There is little difference between regs as far as a photographer is concerned unless you chose a double hose or rebreather. The rebreather is a lot more complicated and def not for the new diver, a double hose moves the bubbles away from the divers face reducing the possibility of getting them into the shot and they tend to be less intrusive to fish. Double hoses and rebreathers have a big advantage for videographers because they keep bubbles out of the frame.

Another thumbs up for double hose regs in general and the Argonaut Kraken in particular for UW photography.

I've noticed schooling fish seem less perturbed but where a DH rig really shines is macro... tiny critters are not scared off by the exhaust 'pulse' and its certainly safer for the diver not having to hold a breath till you are blue in the face waiting for the suddenly camera-shy subject to move back into frame!

Personally I think (with current technology) a rebreather + high end UW photography is a recipe for disaster... both need a great deal of concentration and monitoring, which seems to me to be mutually exclusive.
Until rebreathers have accurate fully-integrated CO2 sensors I think a modern DH reg gives an UW photographer most of the benefits with little of the risks.

 

[JamesBon92007]

My favorite beach is Alua Beach, just outside the harbor north of Kailua-Kona. It's off the beaten path, a short walk over lava from the end of the road. In the video, the best diving is where the boat is. At 130 feet are thousands of garden eels. In the shallower depths are turtles being cleaned. I've seen mantas and a swordfish there as well. One thing I never saw was so many people.

Scuba Shore Diving Site Page for: Alua Beach of The Big Island, Hawaiian Islands

Thanks for the tip! At least all those people probably won't be underwater I dove at Ulua Beach on Maui, but never made it any deeper than about 35 feet. Lots of turtles and coral and morays and other interesting critters. Alua should be easy for me to remember, being so similar. Did you ever dive Kahalu'u? It's very popular for snorkeling and I think it's a dive spot too (a little ways South of Kona). I managed to get some pretty good videos just snorkeling. I can remember that name because it's so similar to Kahalui, the airport on Maui. I would probably start doing some shore diving again here in California if only I could convince my girlfriend that she could get past the surf. She was never a body surfer or whatever and probably never ventured in further than knee-deep in the Pacific before she met me. She somehow managed to lose a fin at the Dive Park, on the steps. My son-in-law definitely wants to dive so I may be asking you about the local dive spots Like I said before, in my old dive log I have many dive sites that I've been to and can't even remember where they are. At least I'm not too old to remember to look at my SPG and bottom time.