I keep standing on muck while muck diving. Does this kill the animals?

[Lorenzoid]

Waah. This post makes me yearn to return to Lembeh. I was only there once, and while my buoyancy skills were good enough that I did not touch the bottom, I want to return now that I have improved my skills considerably. If the current made it difficult to maintain position, I just didn't get that close to the subject. Touching the bottom was not an option I would have considered. I do not touch anything that is not clearly devoid of life. "Because it is muck diving"/strong current/whatever is no excuse for intentionally touching the bottom, in my opinion. I would advocate putting in the time to practice not touching the bottom before diving in such a jewel as Lembeh.

 

[TSandM]

After I posted earlier on this thread, I remembered a video that Dan Volker made about the use of the back kick for photographers. It was done at the Blue Heron Bridge, I believe, which has a silty bottom not all that different from muck diving sites elsewhere. It shows precisely how possible it is to work close to the bottom, and with a camera, in delicate environments and without disturbing anything. I hope the OP takes a look at it, and finds some help developing such skills.

 

[wKkaY]

How about tripods? I have trouble holding a Gopro steady for critter videos and I was thinking of getting this to help.