March 26, 2009
Memories of Wreck Diving - Past and Present
My experience Wreck Diving began in September of 1994 during a vacation to Grand Cayman when we dove the Oro Verde and the Balboa. Then again in the Bahamas in May of 1995 with the Sugar Wreck and the Theo. All of these dives were basically just exploring the outside of these wrecks and I did experience some desire to go inside, to explore, to see more ... But I knew I wasn’t prepared for that.
It really wasn't until a group of ten of us set out from Tennessee on a journey to Truk Lagoon, Palau, and Yap in February of 1996 that my interest in more advanced wreck diving became a reality. I decided that I didn't want to travel halfway around the world to simply see the outside of these wrecks, so my preparation for penetrating wrecks actually started in October of 1995 with the enrollment in an NACD & NSS-CDS Full Cave Diver class. I spent a week learning about penetrating overhead environments, decompression, safety issues, hazards, procedures, planning, teamwork, and a whole lot more. There's a huge difference in penetrating caves vs. wrecks, but our instructor taught us the skills to do both.
During the week at Truk Lagoon we penetrated over a dozen wrecks that had been on the ocean floor for 52 years. Our group leader was David Rhea, who had also been my overhead environment instructor. Our Captain and Dive Master were the grandsons of Kimiuo, the gentleman who discovered many of the wrecks, and these two young men had spent their lives diving on and leading other divers to these sites. On a few occasions we went to wrecks that were below recreational training limits, hence the second reason for further diving education. To simply hover 40 feet above the San Francisco Maru because it was out of range just wasn't an option. I HAD to see that wreck first hand, up close and personally -- an experience that will stay with me forever.
Most divers start out exploring wrecks on the outside only, while some venture into prepared areas, such as the wheel house, without ever losing site of daylight and the way out. Anyone who ventures deep inside any shipwreck without proper equipment and training is dancing with catastrophe and too often, death.
Shipwrecks have intrigued divers for decades, with many wrecks making it onto lots of 'bucket lists'. The Andrea Dorea is one of them. I, myself, have only had a mild fascination with that wreck as it's very expensive to get there, the conditions are often treacherous and many divers have lost their lives there.
I've enjoyed wreck diving off the coast of North Carolina -- the German Submarine U-352, the Papoose, the Proteus, and the Spar. Florida wreck dives include the 452 foot long Empire Mica, the Chippewa, the Grey Ghost, and the SS Tarpon. I have even made a dive or two on a schooner in the cold waters of Lake Huron, plus numerous dives on shipwrecks in the Caribbean over the years.
In August 1998 I journeyed to Vancouver Island to dive the Saskatchewan, the Chaudiere at Porpoise Bay, and a couple more wrecks, along with kelp dives. The Chaudiere is a beautiful dive in an out-of-the-way location. The Saskatchewan was sunk a year prior to my trip and my dive buddy had been there to watch the ship disappear from the horizon. He was on a live aboard and they were among the first to dive the wreck. He had since made numerous dives on that wreck, so he would be my guide. We made several dives there, despite the surface conditions and the cold water. Here's another secret: Along with getting properly trained to dive in overhead and deep environments, a drysuit certification comes in handy in these conditions, too! I was MORE than happy to don my White's neoprene drysuit! Marc and I were wearing double tanks, had powerful lights, had adequate decompression gas, and were ready to spend ample time exploring the wreck!
In December, 1999 I made it back to the cold waters of the Pacific, this time to dive the great kelp forests and sites around the Channel Islands. The color, temperature, huge starfish, harbor seals, and surroundings were constant reminders of my adventures off the coast of Vancouver Island, but without the wrecks, the wolf eels, and the giant snow-white anemones.
The following summer would bring the sinking of the Saskatchewan's sister ship, the Yukon. This ship would also be in the Pacific Ocean, but this time the sinking would be off the coast of San Diego, California. On July 14, 2000, the Yukon went to her final resting place, but it wasn't until last week that I finally made it over there to dive! This time Conrad would be my dive buddy. And since he's not drysuit certified ... yet ... I decided to dive in my trusty 7mm Scubapro Form wetsuit, hood, and gloves. Probably not my smartest move ever, but I just couldn't let him suffer the 50 degree water alone!
It's always amazing to see what happens to shipwrecks once they've been underwater for a while. Fish find new homes, corals, sponges, and anemones take root, divers come and go, conditions change, and decay happens. The one thing that a diver must remember is that a shipwreck is a man-made object of steel and iron. These materials rust, weaken, and eventually disintegrate. Edges can be rough or even jagged, so care must be taken when entering and exiting a wreck. Ships almost never land on the bottom the way the coordinators plan, and all too many were never intended to be on the bottom. Ships tear apart, they shift, they slide down sandy slopes, or hurricanes move them around. Wreck diving can be disorienting, too. It's often hard to distinguish one room from the next inside a ship. They can also be disorienting by their positioning on the ocean floor. The Chaudiere is just a few degrees off from being perfectly upright. It's certainly disorienting to be swimming along at what looks like upright then see your bubbles going up at an angle. Could that be? Nope! You're swimming at a slight angle to align with the walls and passageways while your exhaled bubbles are going straight up!
Conrad and I did not penetrate the Yukon on these dives. With so much going on, with trying to get used to the cold water and the limited visibility, and with testing a new video mask and a new camera, we decided to save going inside for another trip. Besides, at 70 - 90+ feet deep, bottom time is limited, and we felt like we should learn the outside of the wreck before we ventured inside. Our group made six dives over three days time. We went to the Yukon and the Ruby E the first day, the Ruby E and a kelp forest the second day, and the Yukon and a kelp forest the third day. It was great fun. A great mix of dive locations. We both left wanting more.
Posted by Carol at 09:24 PM | Comments (0)
July 21, 2008
Sharkwater Movie is WELL worth watching!!
Hello everyone!
We watched a movie today that I HIGHLY recommend. It will blow your mind! I've seen hundreds of sharks during my diving career, and one of the reasons I don't like to repeat trips is because oftentimes I'm disappointed in the decline of the oceanlife. Galapagos is an example. After watching this movie, I was very upset. I LOVE that place, but I'm scared to go back and see for myself the decline in the shark population. While we were there in 1996, we witnessed an illegal fishing boat filled with shark fins. That was one boat in one location in one hour of one day. Those criminals are devastating our oceans, our planet! That was something I will never forget, and I know it goes on all the time, but I'd prefer it didn't! So ... PLEASE take a few moments and check out the website: www.sharkwater.com. Please rent it if you see it in stores. Netflix has it. It's worth every dime and every second it takes to watch it. It will change how you feel about sharks and our oceans. As scuba divers, water is the one thing that bonds us all together. Let's join together and save our oceans!
Thank you,
Carol
Posted by Carol at 06:06 AM | Comments (0)
April 11, 2008
Weight: Fresh Water versus Salt Water
Recently, a site visitor emailed me and asked about the difference between weight in salt water and weight in fresh water. Weighing 175 pounds and usually carrying 12 pounds of weight, he wondered how much he should be using for fresh water diving.
Well, there are a lot of variables in determining the amount of weight you need in fresh water versus saltwater. Generally, people need approximately five pounds less in freshwater than they'd use in saltwater IF they are using the same gear configuration. Major considerations are exposure wear (type, thickness, and age) and the type of tank.
As an Instructor, I usually tell people wearing 7mm rental wetsuits and an 80 cubic foot aluminum tank to begin with 10% of their body weight. For a person weighing 175 pounds, I'd suggest starting with 18 pounds, to keep it even. If you're too negatively buoyant or wearing less neoprene, obviously you'd drop weights until you can sink with an empty BC after exhaling, but float at eye level with a full breath of air in your lungs.
If you will be using a steel tank, depending on the size and brand, you will wear less weights. As an example, a low pressure (2400psi) 80 cf tank is approximately six pounds negative, so a diver can automatically make an adjustment of six pounds of lead from his/her weightbelt.
When I dive in the ocean wearing a skin 2mm wetsuit, I generally wear 6 - 8 pounds of lead. However, when I am wearing a 2mm wetsuit in fresh water with a steel 80cf tank, I don't wear any weights at all. Last August when Conrad and I dived Lake Tahoe I wore a 4/3 wetsuit. On the first day I used a low pressure (2400 psi) 95 cubic foot tank with no weights, hood or gloves and I was just about perfect. On the second day I added a hood and gloves and switched to a high pressure 130 cubic foot tank and was extremely negatively buoyant. I had no choice in that situation other than to switch tanks, but none were available. So, I made the best of the situation, went on the dive, added air to my BC, and had a wonderful dive! :-)
Bottom line is that you need about five pounds less in fresh water than in salt water. The exact gear configuration (wetsuit, tank, BC, etc.) also makes a difference. All too often, divers are over-weighted in most diving conditions. In turn, this affects their buoyancy and can greatly increase their air consumption.
Posted by Carol at 04:39 PM | Comments (0)
January 02, 2008
New Year's Resolutions
Well, here it is ... 2008 already. Let me begin by wishing everyone a wonderful, healthy, happy new year filled with lots of excellent diving possibilities!
My, how time flies! It seems like only last weekend I was diving at Loch Low-Minn doing the Haunted Night Dive. Ok, I must have been stuck in a time warp or something because it's been since then that I've posted anything! My bad!
I'm not a fan of New Year's Resolutions because all too often they are broken within days of making them. But, if we make reasonable resolutions then maybe ... just maybe we can actually keep them!
I chose today to add to my blog for a number of reasons ... it's 2008 ... I'm home sick with a horrible cold today ... and I've been slacking on writing!
2008 will be a great year ... I can feel it. A new year represents new birth and new beginnings. Events happen, lives change, jobs change, relationships change. These things can change within a blink of an eye and often we can do nothing to alter the event, leaving us to adapt to the consequences. Being more positive and upbeat will help. Looking at the good always helps.
2008 will be a great year ... For diving, as well. Take some time and look at a map and research areas of interest. Talk to dive shops and dive travel specialists and local dive experts. Those are the very best sources of information about dive locations. I love to travel and I love to dive. That combination makes dive travel a natural interest for me. I will make an effort to add to our "Places" page as often as I can. 2007 was not a good year for dive travel for me, as I didn't go out of the country even once. I did, however, go dive Lake Tahoe with Conrad to do reviews of dive cameras and that was a lot of fun! If you ever get the opportunity to dive there, we both recommend going ... but take a thick wetsuit or get trained in drysuit and get plenty of practice in before you go!
I'm home sick with a horrible cold today. I almost NEVER get sick, but here I am with a cold. I don't know where I got it, but I'm sure I got it because of lack of sleep and the added stress of the Holidays. Making a resolution to maintain good health is an excellent idea. Maintaining good health is optimum for diving as well. Eat foods that are good for you and low in the bad stuff that can cause health issues later on down the road. Get plenty of rest. We all need a certain amount of sleep each day, and I am going to do better at getting more sleep. Taking time for quiet time during the day is good for our health as well. I plan on taking time during my lunch hours at work each day to get a few moments of "Carol" time. Lower your stress level however you can, including simplifying your life and surroundings. Getting rid of clutter helps! Exercising more to keep in good cardio condition, swimming, and diving frequently will help each and every one of us be better divers. The only way to be a great diver and maintain a high comfort level is to dive frequently. Oftentimes my past students tell me they'd like a little time in the pool to refresh their skills. I have no problem with them returning to the pool during my pool sessions and refreshing their skills a little. If fact, I urge them to do so! Besides them getting more comfortable, coming back as a certified diver and watching students might just get them fired up about furtherung their diving career.
And, finally, I have been rather slack on making contributions to this blog. I vow to do better in 2008. Do me a favor, gang, and send me emails on what you'd like to see added to our site, ok? We want to know what YOU all want to learn about!
Ok, it's time for me to go rest again. I'm dringing orange juice and eating chicken noodle soup ... Any other remedies I'm forgetting? :-)
Posted by Carol at 07:52 PM | Comments (0)
November 10, 2007
Another advanced class and the Haunted Night Dive 2007
The weekend of October 27th and 28th was all a blur for me! We had done our annual Haunted Night Dive Halloween underwater decorations at Loch Low Minn quarry, and at the same time I was teaching an Advanced class there. So Saturday morning we loaded the truck with our dive gear and set off to get some bagels, a few groceries, fuel, and then drive on down there to the quarry.
We got a dozen of my favorite Cinnamon Crunch bagels at Panera's bakery, then headed for the highway. As we turned onto it, I heard a WSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHH sound coming from the bed of the truck. Bummer! One of the tanks' valve had opened up in the turn!
Fortunately, the dive shop was only less than half a mile away, so going back there was no big deal. The tank, however had completely drained by the time we got there. Of course, it was one of mine! Brad was there at the shop, so we left it for him to fill with 38% Nitrox. My students would be at the shop in a few hours, so he'd ask Dean to bring the filled tank to me. We stopped at the grocery store for beer and dry ice, filled up the truck, and then finally began the 45-minute drive down to Loch Low Minn.
We got to the quarry around 11:30am. My helpers were already there, so there was no time to waste. We unloaded and assembled gear, organized and sorted underwater decorations, then donned our gear began a frenzy of underwater prop preparations and installations.
As for the class, one of my more challenging students, Buck, showed up two hours early, cigarette in hand and looking non-too-fresh. He wanted to know what he could do to help and did his best to entertain each of us with his stories, but we finally managed to get underwater and start our work, while Buck remained at the shore.
I scurried around underwater placing props, repositioning props, and tying cylumes in pumpkins, etc., until it was time for my students to get there. I got out long enough to brief them on what we were going to be doing for the NAUI Advanced class.
They all geared up, got in the water, and we began with the skills they were required to master for the class. First we worked on buoyancy, then did the surface air consumption calculation (SAC) dive. It's good to do the SAC dive second because it allows students to fine-tunes potential buoyancy issues. This time, the SAC dive was a 20 minute stay at 35 feet, followed by a safety stop.
Buck apparently heard the beat of a different drummer and did the majority of his SAC dive well below 40 feet, possibly assuming the dive plan didn't apply to him and deeper was better. Good thing I didn't take them over "the pit" -- the deepest part of the quarry! I reminded them all that the depth of a dive is agreed on, and not where the bottom is. I asked Buck what he'd do if he was diving the South Wall at Grand Cayman where the Cayman Trench was SIX THOUSAND feet deep!!!? I am not sure he understood. Go figure. I don't think it's too much to ask of a student to follow basic instructions. I will never compromise safety, and those who do not understand that will not dive.
My friend Rhonda then arrived to do the night dive with us. That will finish up the requirements for her own NAUI Advanced Diver certification. So, my dive master Dewey, five students, and I all prepare for the night dive. By now, 25 or 30 people are all planning on entering the water within five minutes or so of each other, some for their night dive training, others to see the underwater Halloween decorations, and others both.
So off we go, Dewey leading my flock with Rhonda as his dive buddy, then Carol and Buck, then Aric and Dean, followed up by me. I count divers and come up one short. It's Buck.
"I can't get down!" he yells, wearing a 7mm wetsuit, a steel-95 tank, and 20 pounds of weight. I go get him and tell him to calm down, relax, cross his feet, let the air out of his BC, and he starts going down like an anchor -- not a rock -- an ANCHOR. Except there's one thing keeping him. He's now all tangled up in the line that's attached to the 15-foot hang bar under the dock. He looks like a dolphin in a tuna net. He's screaming "I'm tangled up in a line!!!" So I tell him to chill out and stay still! One tug and he's free, but by this time I have no clue as to where all my other students and Dewey are. I make Buck follow me. I swim towards the shine of the flashlights below, and lo and behold, there they are. Somehow, surprise, I lose Buck in the group, but gain Carol.
So now Dewey has Rhonda, Buck, Aric, and Dean, and I have Carol. We were not all meant to stay together, but I knew they were all in good hands with Dewey and Rhonda. So Carol and I take off over the pit where we had heard the paddlefish were hanging out. No such luck, but we still had fun!
Everyone loved the Halloween decorations. The skeleton wearing a tank, BC, and mask was great. Beside it was a severed leg wearing a dive boot and fin ... Nessie had been busy eating divers! Unfortunately, I totally forgot the camera and its underwater housing! Nothing underwater would have looked good at all anyway. The visibility was HORRIBLE.
Back on land, we shot some funny videos though. Dewey had my skeleton mask and hands on, along with his dive gear. Rhonda came up and took off her mask, Carol asked her how her dive was, Rhonda got really excited about it and started telling about the fish and all. Dewey came up behind her and Carol began screaming. Dewey grabbed Rhonda and pulled her backwards into the water.
I told them I wouldn't be doing the Haunted Dive project next year as it is just too much work. But I will be donating all the props and will offer my services as a consultant for next year's event.
After all the students got out, I asked Dewey if he wanted to go back for a while with me and he said it would be his pleasure. So away we went! Half an hour later we still hadn't seen any paddlefish, at 50 feet deep and, believe me, we TRIED to find them!! I felt fine afterwards, and was probably the most energetic of our group at the end of the night.
To give you an idea of what it's like for an instructor with some extra project duty, here's my dive profile for the day:
#1 - 40 feet for 75 minutes
45 minute surface interval
#2 - 40 feet for 45 minutes
30 minute surface interval
#3 - 50 feet for 30 minutes
15 minute surface interval
#4 - 40 feet for 45 minutes
60 minute surface interval
#5 - 40 feet for 60 minutes
15 minute surface interval
#6 - 50 feet for 30 minutes
Now do you understand why my body is so tired, even with 38% Nitrox? I'm finding out I'm not a spring chicken anymore!
After the dive, Ted started a fire, lit the grill, and it was time to cook dinner and relax. Rhonda had brought the most incredible steaks, twice baked potatoes and salad. I brought okra, at her request. There were lots of people hanging out and visiting all four campfires, but after all the diving, soon everyone in our group wanted to go to sleep. Rhonda and I shared a cabin, as did Ted and Dewey.
I had a gut feeling none of us would be fit for diving the next day, so I planned the second part of the certification dives for the following Saturday. So after we all got up, had bagels for breakfast, loaded up our gear, talked to Quarry owners Rick and Stacy for a few minutes, we drove back home. I unloaded the dive gear, took a long hot bath, slept in the tub, did laundry, slept for three hours, and then watched two of my favorite shows on TV. A long weekend of diving was over.
Posted by Carol at 07:20 PM | Comments (0)
July 15, 2007
What the heck is that??!?
That's probably the most commonly heard question when asking someone if they've ever seen a Paddlefish. And, it's also the most common question one asks when they see a Paddlefish!
Let me begin by answering a few commonly asked questions.
What is a Paddlefish?
One of the oldest fishes, Paddlefish fossils date back to 300 to 400 million years ago. The first dinosaurs didn't appear for 50 million years later! There are two types of Paddlefish. The ones we have here in North America and the ones that are found in China. Living half a planet apart, they have quite different characteristics. Their snout, often called a rostrum, is the biggest difference between them. The North American Paddlefish have a long paddle-shaped rostrum, where the Chinese paddlefish have cone-shaped snouts.
Where might I see a Paddlefish?
Most frequently in rivers that are tributaries of the Mississippi River, and in the Mississippi River, itself. There are a few quarries where Paddlefish have been successfully transplanted.
Paddlefish seem to like deep, slow moving waters, as opposed to rapid currents. Paddlefish are quick to travel, as they have been seen in locations as much as 2000 miles apart!
How big does a Paddlefish get? And, how long do they live?
Paddlefish can grow in excess of 5 feet in length and can easily weigh up to 80 pounds and more. It has been my observation that they grow quickly. The Paddlefish that I am familiar with were anywhere for 7 - 12 inches in length last September, and are well over 24 inches in length now. I'm looking forward to watching them grow to adulthood! I read somewhere that the record Paddlefish was 198 pounds!
It's not unheard of for Paddlefish to live 50 years and longer.
What do Paddlefish eat?
They live off of a diet of zooplankton. They open their mouths wide as they swim through the water, collecting zooplankton as everything else is filtered out through their gills arches. Their gills filter the water with "gill rakers." It's an awesome sight to see these creatures swim quickly through the water gathering food!
Are Paddlefish related to sharks?
Even though there are similarities between sharks and Paddlefish, they are not closely related, if at all. Both have a skeleton made up primarily of cartilage. They both have forked tails with one half of their tail being larger than the other.
I have the good fortune of living within an hours drive of a quarry that stocks Paddlefish. As I mentioned earlier, these fish were acclimated to the quarry last September. Much research had to be done before the fish were released, and divers had to be made aware of their fragile state.
Paddlefish are shy fish. They avoid people and tend to hang out in the quarry where most divers don't go. Everything I've read has indicated they are deepwater fish and prefer dark, cold, still water, but I have been seeing them in the shallower part of the water table. We've even seen them while snorkeling! I must admit, we were snorkeling over the deepest part of the quarry, so don't go looking in shallow water for them!
I have asked the owners of the quarry if I can donate a book with the intent of having other divers help to identify each fish. I have noticed that some have distinctive markings, or scars, or nicks in their fins, and some even have different colorations. At least one even has a stubby rostrum! I'm not sure if each one is as individualized as some of the big critters we identify by their markings, like giant manta rays, but if they are, we will all learn from this experience.
I also wonder if they have any sort of long or short term memory. I have definitely seen the same one on more than one occasion over the past few weeks, and this past weekend it stayed close enough to me that I could have reached out and touched it at any given moment for more than a few minutes! I have three sections of video totalling over five minutes at VERY close range! I'm told this is rare, but I suppose I've always been called Dr. Doolittle, Jr. for a reason. ;-)
Posted by Carol at 04:15 PM | Comments (0)
June 14, 2007
Underwater Photography Explored
More years ago than I'd like to admit, I took my first real photography class while in college. I learned a lot, took a lot of pictures, even did my own darkroom work using black and white! It was quite an exciting experience, and now that excitement has transferred over to digital photography.
My old airbrush is covered in dust, now. The icon for Adobe Photoshop has a shortcut on my desktop. Film has been replaced with memory cards of different shapes, sizes and storage space. Digital cameras are priced well within reason, and new ones come out daily, making digital photography easier, better, quicker and more convenient than a film photographer could ever dream of!
Many people say that George Eastmann invented the camera back in 1888, but photographic images date back even centuries before then. Alexander Wolcott applied for and received the first American patent in photography in 1840 for his camera. But no matter who actually invented the camera, I'm sure they would totally flip if they could see what their creation has evolved into!
Cameras, film, patents, memory ... This isn't what I intend to write about, but it brings up many thoughts to ponder.
I LOVE photography. It's challenging to me. My depth perception is off, due to the difference in focal length of my eyes, so it's almost like I have an advantage in this two dimensional medium.
What truly presents a challenge is handling and successfully using a camera underwater. For years, the likes of waterproof Nikonos cameras have been in the hands of professional and amateur photographers alike. And, for years photographers have been baffled with the differences a photographer faces by shooting pictures underwater.
As a diver you know objects appear 25% larger and 25% closer, colors are absorbed by order of energy the deeper we dive. "ROY G BIV" is how many remember the order in which colors are absorbed. By 25 feet red is all but gone, at 35 orange goes, at 45 feet yellow is gone, and eventually everything looks inky purple. Indigo, actually. Indigo and gray. Blah. We've always been told lights help, and our eyes do compensate somewhat, but not enough to bring all the colors back.
Digital cameras come in all shapes and sizes, different megapixel capacity, different zoom lengths, different colors, different features, different memory cards, different batteries, different warranties; they are all different. It can be confusing which camera to purchase, but please take a few minutes and read what we have to say about the cameras we have been fortunate enough to review. Keep checking back, as we are constantly receiving new underwater camera equipment to try out and present our opinion about!
Now ... A word about actual underwater photography ... What you've been waiting for!
For all the reasons I listed above, taking photographs underwater is more challenging than on land. In addition to color absorption, refraction, distortion, and polarization, we also have to deal with depths, times, currents, surge, temperature, sunlight penetration, and most of all, our subjects ... critters! It takes a huge bucket of patience to photograph fish underwater.
Many fish have never seen the likes of humans, and they are often scared back into the safety of their homes. Take your time and be extraordinarily patient. Hover motionless whenever possible, slow your breathing down, concentrate on your subject, have your camera as ready as possible before you find something you want to photograph.
Many digital cameras automatically shut down to save battery life after a few minutes on inactivity, so be aware you might have to turn your camera back on before you take a photograph. Looking through a viewfinder, if your digital camera still has one, is more difficult because you're wearing your mask, so your eye will be farther away from the viewfinder than normal.
Look into the viewfinder and see what all will be in the frame. Know the boundaries, and try to imagine in your mind what you want to fill the frame. Wait patiently for the critter to move into place. Relax, hover, breathe slowly, concentrate. Now, take the picture. Take another. And another. Remember, the worst thing that will happen is you might need to delete a frame or two. It's not like the days of film when you had 24 or 36 exposures and you were done! And, who knows ... You might happen to take a fabulous picture you might otherwise have missed!
Practice is important. Don't be discouraged if you don't get great results the first time you use your camera underwater. Don't get upset and delete them all right away. Take time to look at them and learn from them. Keep a journal and write down what the conditions were like, where you were, what depth you were at, and anything else that you might think is important. Everything you keep a record of will help you in the future. We write in a logbook, don't we? We refer back to it on occasion, don't we? You should for photography as well!
Adobe Photoshop, or another competent photo editing software program, is a must. Invest in a good photo editing program and use it to enhance your photos. Use editing software to crop your photos, straighten your photos, and adjust the color in your photos. Don't go overboard with the "auto" features as they often make underwater photographs look fake. Sometimes it's fun to take an out-of-focus photo and do crazy things with it like adjusting the color saturation to where it's drastically altered from its original state. Crop it. Blur it. Manipulate it. This can be fun when creating abstract art.
Lighting is important. Digital cameras come equipped with a small built-in flash. These flashes can prove handy, especially when used with a diffuser. Diffusers help eliminate backscatter. Backscatter is the small particulate or sediment that's suspended in the water. We don't always see it with the naked eye, but the flash sees it and makes spots on the image. A diffuser will soften the backscatter and often eliminate it completely, as the light from the flash won't reflect off of it.
Okay, so those were some basics about underwater photography. PLEASE feel free to contact me if you have questions I've not covered. As with most things, I'm sure I will think of more to say, and Part II will be born.
My best advice to you about underwater photography?
Do it! Take the plunge and buy as good of a camera as you can afford. Most of us travel long distances to dive in beautiful, tropical locations, so why not have memories we can keep forever!
Practice! As with any aspect of diving, the more we practice, the more comfortable we become. Underwater photography is no different! One benefit that most people discover when they take up underwater photography is their buoyancy drastically improves, their air consumption improves, and their comfort level improves!
Be patient! Good things come to those who wait, and that doesn't exclude underwater photographers, believe me! Hovering, relaxing, and being patient will bring you incredible photographic rewards!
***Note***
Please visit our gallery to see examples of my underwater photography, as well as several of my friends.
Posted by Carol at 04:14 PM | Comments (0)
May 14, 2007
Refreshing!
Okay, so you've not been diving in a while. The weather's getting warm, the days are getting longer, and your dive gear is getting dusty ... AND ... You are getting rusty!!!
It's time to get wet, folks! For those of us who are not fortunate to live in a place where it's warm all year, diving locally can be a bit limited. Oh, don't get me wrong, there are pieces of equipment that will help extend your scuba diving season. A drysuit being one of them. Hood and gloves are a must this time of year in Tennessee and well as California. As Conrad mentioned in his latest blog entry, it's no fun putting on a wetsuit, but it is a necessity in a lot of cases. So go shake the critters our of your wetsuit, call your local dive shop and set up a time for a refresher, or see if you and a certified buddy can rent the pool for an hour or so of much needed bubble blowing time!
Once you have your pool time scheduled, don't get in a hurry. Remember you're dealing with Life Support Equipment and it needs to be properly hooked up. Oh, and before you do that giant stride into the deep end, be sure to check your buddy's gear and make sure they have checked yours. BEFORE you enter the water is the best time to discover malfunctions, improper assembly, or even differences in equipment and how everything functions.
Once you both are ready, and you've entered the pool, be sure to spend some time in the shallow end just getting used to blowing bubble again. Close your eyes and imagine faraway tropical places ... OK, wake up! It's time to see if you remember all the basic skills. Does your regulator purge properly? Can you recover it if it gets knocked out of your mouth? Can you find it if it's hiding from you? Don't forget, scuba divers don't have immunity from Murphy's Law ... "If is can go wrong, it will." Well, in diving that law should read, "If it can go wrong, it might, and usually at the farthest away point from the entry!"
So your regulator and you are friends once again. Good! And your mask? Flood and clear it a few times ... Remove it and replace it. Don't forget: any hair under the skirt will cause your mask to leak. Oh, and that wetsuit hood? Make sure the skirt of your mask is under the edge of your hood all the way around!
How about sharing air? Do you and your buddy both remember how to do that? Were you trained to do it the same way? Now's the time to find out ... Not 80 feet deep in the ocean when one of you has a catastrophic air failure or just plain gets excited and forgets to check your gauges. Should that ever happen? NOOOooooo!! Check your gauges often! Make sure your buddy checks his, too.
Buoyancy. There's a good one. Practice staying just off the bottom while in the shallow end. We will do more of this once we get to the deep end in a bit. For now, re-familiarize yourself with all the many ways to dump air from your buoyancy compensator. You should have checked all of these when you assembled your equipment before getting in the pool, so everything should function properly.
And now for the deep end. Yep, that 15 foot deep area seems shallow, but remember that buoyancy is the hardest in that range. Spend a lot of time practicing buoyancy control, then try to do all of your basic skills with your buddy while remaining neutrally buoyant ... not so easy, eh? It can be done!
Feeling better about your skills now? Good! You see? It is worth the time and effort to refresh your skills in a confined environment. Now that you are comfortable, even your first dive during your trip will be easy and relaxed.
All too often people who dive infrequently go on dive trips and spend the first day or two getting comfortable in the water again. Why not do that BEFORE you go on that expensive dive vacation where bottom time is limited ... It simply makes perfect sense!
Now, go call your dive shop and get that pool time reserved ... Don't wait!
><)))'> <'(((><
Posted by Carol at 04:14 PM | Comments (0)
May 12, 2007
AAAHHHH CHOOOO!!!
Are you one of the lucky people who suffer from allergies? I sure am! And here I am, living in the allergy capital of the world! Maybe not, but it sure seems that way!
Please remember that I am NOT a doctor, and I'm not offering advice, just telling you little tricks that I do to help me prepare for a dive during allergy season.
For starters, I try not to plan too many dives during the time I know I am going to have problems with allergies. I've never been officially tested for pollen allergies, but many different varieties seem to bother me. So for me, it's safe to assume if it's pollen, it's going to irritate my system. Dogwood tree pollen is awful, as is pine tree pollen. Both look incredibly mean when viewed through a microscope, so I can see why they are such harsh irritants!
If I do want or need to dive during allergy season, I use mild medications that Diver's Alert Network have deemed safe for diving. I also try them out on land, well in advance of the day of my dive. If I suffer from side effects above water, it's better to know well in advance so I can look for alternative methods. Many people don't realize the effects you experience from medicines on land will be amplified when underwater, as well as their effectiveness wears off sooner underwater.
Don't overstay your welcome. What I mean by that is make sure you don't stay down longer than your medication will last. When underwater, we generally don't breathe through our noses very much, except for a little to equalize the pressure inside your mask as you descend. So it's not always easy to tell when your sinuses are blocked ... Well, until you start to ascend, that is!
Believe me, if you've never had a reverse block while ascending, consider yourself lucky! I was in the Bahamas a few years ago and during one of our last dives, my sinuses became clogged up. While ascending, I thought my head was going to explode! Ok, that's a slight exaggeration, but it sure did feel like it might! In all honesty, sinuses can be damaged by having a reverse block, so please remember to ascend very slowly and exhale through your nose more freguently to clear your air passages and help any mucus expel on its own.
I will be conducting two weekends of checkout dives beginning this coming weekend. For over a week now I've had problems with my allergies. Please keep your fingers crossed that I will get better before Saturday!
Posted by Carol at 04:13 PM | Comments (0)
