Buoyancy Control

[RickHeil]

I'd reinforce the idea of pool time... that is a great way to practice, practice, practice with few distractions. Key is weighting. With a near empty tank to test if your properly weighted float in the pool and if your properly weighted when you inhale you should have water at the bottom or just below the rim of your mask. With a normal breath you should have the water line at about your noseor eye level. When you completely exhale you should begin to sink.
Get your bouyancy riight and your 3/4ths the way to getting your bouyancy right.

Its a challenge because proper weighting changes with any change in gear configuration.

 

[Thalassamania]

If the instructor (for your O/W, A/O/W, P/P/B, whatever) can not demonstrate buoyancy control on a par with that in the video ... find an instructor who can, otherwise you're wasting your time.

 

[spectrum]

Mitchell Hamm,

The first big trick is realizing that gaining control will be a process and you are already on top of that. Just hanging that out there as a goal puts you way ahead of the game.

Think neutral, view the videos and other divers and dive with a spirit of continuous improvement. Get your weight correct in amount and placement and what remains should be lots of fun diving.

You are very correct in realizing that the camera should stay behind until you are able to maintain control with little or no hand swimming.

Pete

 

[DevonDiver]

You forgot to mention that PADI and other dive agencies want you to spend the extra $$$ to take their Peak Performance Buoyancy Course. IMHO, buoyancy control and proper weighing lessons should be part of the basic course and peak performance buoyancy must be part of the AOW course. In my PADI basic course, they overweighed me and made me do fin pivots but never dealt with adjusting your weighing to fine-tune buoyancy.

Then you were taught incorrectly. Every open-water dive should include a weight check....

The basic performance requirements for the OW course are to complete a hover for 1 minute, to be able to control ascent and descent at the prescribed rates and to perform a safety stop (another hover) in a vertical position.

Given that OW is an entry-level course, - of limited duration - those requirements are, IMHO, satisfactory.

Techniques like horizontal ascents/decents, frog kick, back kick and helicopter turns are more advanced skills - that an entry level diver does not immediately need and would be likely to overly task-load a trainee diver.

Now....some divers are capable of learning these skills at an early stage - and it is up to the instructor to get the maximum out of every student. However, if those skills were introduced as a standard in an entry level course, then it would substantially increase the duration and cost of training.

As Thalassamania http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/../members/thalassamania.htmlstates.... it is important to source a sufficiently capable instructor to help you with any development of your buoyancy skills. Not all instructors have the skills or motivation to teach bouyancy skills beyond the basic, entry level agency standards.....

It is useful to remember that the PADI system is modular....and enable students to progress from the entry-level at a pace that is correct for them...and appropriate with their evolving needs and requirements. To set the initial 'bar' to high would only serve to make scuba diving unobtainable for the majority.

If the OP is interested in developing more advanced buoyancy skills for the purposes of photography (or wreck, or cave, or tech etc etc), then there are a myriad of follow-on courses available for that purpose. Whether you opt for the PADI PPB or GUE Fundies or a private class with a pro-photographer.... the choice is yours... and you will address your bouyancy concerns.

 

[Thalassamania]

... perform a safety stop (another hover) in a vertical position.

I happen to agree with the vertical position, but I'm curious ... does PADI require vertical?

It is useful to remember that the PADI system is modular....and enable students to progress from the entry-level at a pace that is correct for them...and appropriate with their evolving needs and requirements. To set the initial 'bar' to high would only serve to make scuba diving unobtainable for the majority.

I think that BoulderJohn's experiments within the PADI framework has put the lie to that idea.

 

[ZzzKing]

Get your bouyancy riight and your 3/4ths the way to getting your bouyancy right.

 

[DevonDiver]

I happen to agree with the vertical position, but I'm curious ... does PADI require vertical?

I can't remember where there may be a reference for it in the OW course, but it is referenced in the AOW course (Deep Dive).....

6. Describe how to make a safety stop at 5 metres/15 feet with a usual reference (line or sloping bottom).

Grasp line (or bottom) so that depth is at midchest level – body vertical. Maintain neutral or slight negative buoyancy – watch depth and time. Review dive time and depth limits.

I think that BoulderJohn's experiments within the PADI framework has put the lie to that idea.

Can you elborate?

 

[DevonDiver]

Thanks for all the advice guys, and yeah, i heard that even if you have a cert, your not really certified... Know what I mean? Itll jus come with experience and effor

Think of it like driving a car....

Taking lessons and passing a test to get your license does not equate to becoming an experienced and safe driver.

Once you get your license to drive a car, your development as a driver is dictated by how you apply the basic training that you recieved, your attitude and what experience you gain (and learn from).

Having a driving license does not ensure you will be 'accident-proof' and nor does it make you expert. It is just an entry-point, where you are assessed to have the basic competencies required.

Likewise, holding a basic driving license does not prepare you for more advanced pursuits, such as off-roading or track racing.

So it is with scuba diving. The Open Water course provides the correct training and assessment that you have the basic competencies to be underwater - within limitations of depth, time and environment.

Having gained a scuba diving certification, it is up to the individual to adhere to the limitations, to apply what they were taught...and to develop themselves. Accidents tend to happen when individual divers exceed their capabilities, become 'sloppy', and/or fail to apply the training that was provided to them..... just like automobile drivers do.

 

[Mitchell Hamm]

Perfect analogy for me with the car Devon. Im in that process now, Just started witching over to my 6-speed. I love cars so what you just said really connects to me. Again, thank you all

 

[herman]

Here is an exercise for you to determine if you are ready to pick up a camera. During a dive, pick a spot on something as your target to "photograph". A spot on the wall of a pool, nail on a pier support...basically anything that will require you to hover in mid water. Hold both of your hands at arms lengthy out in frount of you forming a square with your hands, this is your camera viewfinder/ screen. Swim slowly up to your target and stop withing 6 inches of the target keeping it aligned in your "viewfinder", now hold that position with the target centered for at least 10 seconds - time enough for the camera to focus and/or for that fish to come into position. If you rise, drop or crash into the wall, start over. Got the "photo"? Now BACK out at least 3 ft and turn using your fins, remember you have a "camera" in both of your hands. Have someone watch your fins, they need to be above your butt, not down like many divers I see, if they are down you are silting up the bottom and likely kicking coral in the process. Practice hovering any chance you get in any position you can think of, not just horizonal. Head up, head down and even upsidedown vertical....that one is hard but I use it on occacion to get the shot I want.
If you have access to a pool or other confined water where you can practice, make yourself an artificial reef and spend some time shooting photos of it. This might be a bit much for just you but it may give you an idea of what I mean.

EDIT: One more thing, don't think this kind of bouyancy control is going to come in a few dives, it's not. Some get it quicker than others (and some never will) but it's going to take a good bit of UW time and practice. A good mentor also helps a lot.