Muck Stick?

[jwillh9181]

"As a photographer, there are times when you are looking through the viewfinder really concentrating on your subject. I do most of my shooting while hovering, but I see many photogs who lose track of what their fins are doing while working. To be able to either place the tiny tip on a piece of dead coral to balance on or to gently push it into the sand can save a lot of damage."

This is what I hate about most photographers. The answer is to not take those pictures if you can't do while not touching the reefs.

My last trip to Indonesia in November everybody had these "idiot poles", the only ones that needed them were the DM's that were pointing to small stuff while not touching the reef.

Wake up people and quit touching/killing their world!!!!

 

[Zippsy]

This is what I hate about most photographers. The answer is to not take those pictures if you can't do while not touching the reefs. ...

Wake up people and quit touching/killing their world!!!!

This is what I hate about people who post two comments in 7 years. They are either using a second account to hide their usual identity or they constantly just come here to take information without adding anything of value. I guess I have just seen a bit much of this lately.

 

[Darnold9999]

LOL!!!

Bet you have real trouble in the real world. Can't walk on the grass even a trip on pavement would be a trial trying to avoid ants and the like. Wonder where you live because you surely wouldn't want to disturb anything to put in a house - maybe a cave.

I think we have a winner for extreme POV so far.

 

[jwillh9181]

Zippsy,

You figured it out, I was hiding from you.

I add things when I think I have something to say that hasn't already been said, unlike some of the people here. I have a life outside of Scubaboard.

I stumbled on this thread while looking at information on solo diving certification. I want this to get far away from 90% of the photographers that continually rough up the reefs.

I looked into taking pictures while scuba diving after watching somebody at Cocoview do it well.

I asked this person for some advice and he told me that if you get into this "you will have to give up 25% of shots/pictures because you will mess up the reefs if you can't say no". I bet most of the photographers don't give up 1% of their potential shots/pictures.

Bottom line stay off the reef and that includes your "idiot poles" and we will not have a problem.

I am at 3 now!!!!

This is what I hate about people who post two comments in 7 years. They are either using a second account to hide their usual identity or they constantly just come here to take information without adding anything of value. I guess I have just seen a bit much of this lately.

 

[ElGaucho]

I completely agree with jwillh9181, if you can´t get the shot without touching anything, just don´t get the shot, or improve your diving tehnique able to achieve it without touching anyrthing. PERIOD. Who made you SO IMPORTANT that getting "the shot" is a priority? This is the kind of self importance that has our planet in the current state it is. The whole don´t walk over ants idiocy is just that, plain idiocy. Yeah, WE SHOULDN´T kill ants if that´s what you are implying. And we shouldn´t do a lot of things we do. That doesn´t justify doing BAD things in any other context. Really, with that mentality, no wonder we barely have any planet left. We are GUESTS in the underwater world. It doesn´t BELONG to you, nor do you have RIGHTS. You ONLY have obligations. Get your self centered heads out of your rears.

 

[Darnold9999]

I completely agree with jwillh9181

Good for you

 

[MA]

What is so wrong with placing a 5mm diameter point on the sand? Op wants a muck stick for muck diving. That is very different from coral/reef sites.

most open water classes I've seen kneel in the sand to do their skills.

 

[Magrone]

I completely agree with jwillh9181, if you can´t get the shot without touching anything, just don´t get the shot, or improve your diving tehnique able to achieve it without touching anyrthing. PERIOD. Who made you SO IMPORTANT that getting "the shot" is a priority? This is the kind of self importance that has our planet in the current state it is. The whole don´t walk over ants idiocy is just that, plain idiocy. Yeah, WE SHOULDN´T kill ants if that´s what you are implying. And we shouldn´t do a lot of things we do. That doesn´t justify doing BAD things in any other context. Really, with that mentality, no wonder we barely have any planet left. We are GUESTS in the underwater world. It doesn´t BELONG to you, nor do you have RIGHTS. You ONLY have obligations. Get your self centered heads out of your rears.

"Plain idiocy" is commenting supremely on a topic you know nothing about. ElGaucho, jwillh9181, you both are not photographers. Neither of you have any idea about what type of shots a muck stick is useful for and when it is useless. Myself (a photographer) and others on this thread have clearly outlined safe ways to use a muck stick, when needed, by not damaging coral or marine life. If you can't get a shot because the critter is inaccessible, uncooperative or the setup may potentially damage other marine life, then you don't get the shot. A muck stick doesn't give anyone the right to damage marine life. No one on this thread has said that it does.

It is likely that you have witnessed the bad apples, and so you are dismissing photographers as "self important" individuals who don't care about marine life, when in actuality most photographers love marine life to the point of obsession.

Maybe you missed my earlier post but: NO AMOUNT OF DIVE TECHNIQUE WILL ALLOW ANYONE TO SHOOT SUPER MACRO PHOTOGRAPHS WITHOUT STABILIZING THEMSELVES ENOUGH TO GET THE SHOT. PERIOD.

Many of the images and critters in Marine Life Identification books would not exist without Super Macro Photography. I guess you would rather have a very incomplete, or half assed ID book than one that allowed the use of a muck stick for its compilation.

Please stop this extreme nonsense. There are plenty of good photographers who do not damage marine life and use muck sticks without a negative impact on the environment.

 

[jwillh9181]

Magrone,

If you are one of the few and I mean very few that give up shots on a regular basis because of the possibility of doing damage then good for you. You are in a clear minority of photographers from what I have seen.

My experience has been that there are a few "Good Apples" scattered in with many idiot bad apples that man handle the reefs on a consistent basis. And after my last trip to Indonesia more and more Idiot bad apples are using those "idiot poles" to justify getting the shot. Out of the 30 or so divers I encountered only 4 divers did not have those IP's and because of that I saw more poking/stabilizing/what ever you want to call it on the coral then ever before. There was moderate current on most dives which should mean leave the "super macro" camera on the boat especially if you are going to have to stabilize yourself on the coral/walls for each and every shot. You want to poke it in the sand, go for it. Leave them off THIER home/structures.

One last point how many "super macro" shots of pygmy seahorses do we need and at what cost? There are many great shots already taken, download them and enjoy them with out messing up the reefs bad apples.(photographers).

I don't see how anybody can argue with not touching the reefs/coral systems?

"Plain idiocy" is commenting supremely on a topic you know nothing about. ElGaucho, jwillh9181, you both are not photographers. Neither of you have any idea about what type of shots a muck stick is useful for and when it is useless. Myself (a photographer) and others on this thread have clearly outlined safe ways to use a muck stick, when needed, by not damaging coral or marine life. If you can't get a shot because the critter is inaccessible, uncooperative or the setup may potentially damage other marine life, then you don't get the shot. A muck stick doesn't give anyone the right to damage marine life. No one on this thread has said that it does.

It is likely that you have witnessed the bad apples, and so you are dismissing photographers as "self important" individuals who don't care about marine life, when in actuality most photographers love marine life to the point of obsession.

Maybe you missed my earlier post but: NO AMOUNT OF DIVE TECHNIQUE WILL ALLOW ANYONE TO SHOOT SUPER MACRO PHOTOGRAPHS WITHOUT STABILIZING THEMSELVES ENOUGH TO GET THE SHOT. PERIOD.

Many of the images and critters in Marine Life Identification books would not exist without Super Macro Photography. I guess you would rather have a very incomplete, or half assed ID book than one that allowed the use of a muck stick for its compilation.

Please stop this extreme nonsense. There are plenty of good photographers who do not damage marine life and use muck sticks without a negative impact on the environment.

 

[Magrone]

Out of the 30 or so divers I encountered only 4 divers did not have those IP's and because of that I saw more poking/stabilizing/what ever you want to call it on the coral then ever before. There was moderate current on most dives which should mean leave the "super macro" camera on the boat especially if you are going to have to stabilize yourself on the coral/walls for each and every shot. You want to poke it in the sand, go for it. Leave them off THIER home/structures.

This is sad and I totally agree. Super Macro and current do not mix and I can see how this is a recipe for destruction when trying to force the situation. Most likely all the shots will be crap anyway, so why bother?

One last point how many "super macro" shots of pygmy seahorses do we need and at what cost? There are many great shots already taken, download them and enjoy them with out messing up the reefs bad apples.(photographers).

This is a valid point and a concern of mine as well. I have witnessed A LOT of poor diving behavior when it comes to Pygmy Seahorses. On my last trip to Papua New Guinea I had to repeatedly wave off a dive guide to stop picking through and bending back a sea fan with his hands so that a diver could get a better picture of the Pygmy Seahorse. This is very frustrating to witness and it sets a terrible example for a new photographer.