Photo and buddy system

[AUTiger]

This in an interesting thread. Here are my thoughts.

I almost always buddy dive, but I'm usually not happy with it. I generally want a buddy along to enhance my enjoyment of the dive. I like a buddy who points out things to me (which I can photograph, or we both photograph) and who appreciates it when I share my finds with him. I don't really keep a buddy along for safety, at least for "safe" dives in known environments under good conditions. I dive every dive with the plan that I can take care of myself. I'll also take care of my buddy too, if the need comes up, but I'm not their shadow and I'm not their guardian angel. My least favorite buddies are those that just hover above and behind me and passively follow.

I often wish I was solo so that I could watch a creature or location a little longer without feeling like I am depriving my buddy of his own enjoyment. I have been known to go out as a threesome and then wave the other two on while I stay with a subject. I also have good air consumption, so I often escort my buddy back to the boat and then wave him up while I spend another 10-15 minutes in the general area.

Now things are different if I am penetration diving or night diving. There is a higher level of risk and therefore a greater need for that buddy teamwork. Lobster diving is also a concern because people can get carried away and get sloppy with their air management, although the very nature of hunting tends to separate us a little further.

These are just my opinions, of course. My buddies know what I do before we hit the water. The first thing I teach them is the "bye bye wave" sign. If they don't like that plan, that's fine. They can buddy with somebody else and I'll go solo or I'll be a little more attentive and note our differences for the next time that we go out.

David

 

[Hammerhead]

Personally, if I dive with my camera, I do not consider myself a buddy.

I warn people that I am not a trustworthy buddy while working to get pictures. I am glad to help anyone, but it is difficult to serve two masters under water.

Well said.

Diver Dennis talks too much

 

[Papa_Bear]

Get a Solo certification! Photographers make horrible buddies! We have our attention on one thing! The shot! We wouldn't know you were gone until you came into the view finder in the mouth of the Tiger as you both swam by! So if that's the kind of buddy you want then your cheating yourself out of YOUR kind of dive for MY kind of dive and we both pay to do it! Photographer and Model or two Photographers are a better match, but the latter combo understands that they are two solo divers working in the same area!

 

[alcina]

Photographers make horrible buddies!

OK, I'm kinda over this attitude and I say that in the nicest possible way. And I say this as someone who almost never dives with a buddy by choice.

Photographers are not horrible buddies. They can be a good part of a team (2, 3, whatever) if there is a clear plan that all parties agree to. But it has to be worked out before the dive and everyone has to follow it. If I'm following the plan we set out, I'm a good buddy, I'm doing my buddy duties.

Goals of a dive are essential and must be clear. The non-camera buddy doesn't get to wander off the plan, the camera buddy doesn't get to wander off the plan - no matter what cool thing each may see.

Each photographer on each dive will be a different type of buddy and this is why every single diver must plan the freakin' dive and dive the plan. If the person you are buddying up with doesn't like your proposed plan and you can't come to an agreement that makes you happy, dive with someone else.

Many photographers choose not to really dive with a buddy - call it whatever you want. Some are totally prepared and happy to dive solo, others are same ocean, others have a cooperative buddy, some trade off with their buddy...all sorts of plans. A lot of the time this is more because it's just easier than dealing with the type of dive plan that allows a diver with a camera to be a good buddy, whether the other diver has a camera or not.

But photographers, just by being photographers, are not bad buddies. They simply have different goals than a non-photographer. They may be bad buddies because they don't stick to an agreed on plan, but that seems to describe a whole slew of divers really...

rant over - I'm having a bad day as my web site has crashed again and it's driving me freakin bonkers!!

 

[Papa_Bear]

I am not talking about a diver with a camera! I am talking about an Underwater Photographer! There is a difference! Sorry about your bad day, but if I paid good money to go diving and someone put me with a Photographer like myself I would not be very happy! I have spent an entire dive laying in the sand in front of a little hole on the plan featureless bottom! NO FUN! My buddy would deserve a refund!

 

[alcina]

Exactly. You aren't being a buddy. It's not because you are a photographer, it's because you choose to have a dive plan that doesn't suit another diver who is intended to be your buddy. An extremely big difference.

I can be a photographer and be a good buddy. I choose not to have a buddy mostly, but that doesn't mean I can't do it

 

[crab lover]

I am VERY fortunate to have a dive buddy that likes to take it SLOW in the first place which is great for me to take my pictures. Also, I guess I would kind of consider myself a "diver with a camera" rather than an "underwater photographer", since I do take a LOT of pictures, but I don't sit all day on the same spot waiting for the perfect shot. I take pictures kind of like an underwater tourist/vacationer, recording my experience to be enjoyed again and again, but not have perfect money worthy shots. We also mostly dive very shallow (20-40 ft) so on these I may let myself become a bit more distracted, but when we do deeper dives, I do make an effort to be more diligent in keeping track of her and still photo document our dive. She is also very good about finding things for me to take pictures of and does take an active role a lot of times. She has stuck her finger/hand in a shot for me for size perspective without me having to ask her to in any way! She just knew that is what I wanted her to do! How's that for knowing a buddy? I hope she knows how much I appreciate her! Thanks Becky!

 

[Zeeman]

I know for a fact that when I am taking photos, every dive, I would be a bad buddy.

I did a dive with Gio in PG last June I think we worked well as buddies because we were interested in shooting the same sort of things, we had similar setups, and had similar abilities underwater, so it worked.

I also remember the dive I did with you (the first one) where they buddied us, and I just tried to "bridge the gap", I was amazed at how fast the group were moving, when clearly there was so much to see. A camera really does open your eyes to what is down there.

I agree but the main reason I don't like to see anyone, new or not, carry a camera of they don't have good buoyancy is because it infuriates me to see divers laying on the reef to get a shot or finning up the sand so bad that no one else can take a photo. I grabbed someone's fin yesterday for doing just that and then let the group go on ahead because I wanted to be able to see what I am trying to shoot!

I have to plead guilty on this one. My buoyancy is normally fair, but with the DSLR, it is out of whack. The weight and size of the setup (I'm used to an A640) has taken a little while to get the hang of, but I'm getting there. I did silt up one pic of Larry's, I can't remember if it was surge or just the way I was holding my camera while I was waiting, but I decided that I'd back off a bit from there, and just try and get my buoyancy in check again.

Anyway, I'm totally with you, and plan to spend a lot of time practicing shooting rocks...

 

[everlasting]

Personally, I think that in some ways I became a better diver when I started bringing my camera down. I am a new diver, and was nervous about adding a camera before I felt comfortable enough in the water. I'm obviously still learning a lot, but I did decide to take my camera on a shallow dive in a site I dive frequently.

Before I took my camera on a dive for the first time, I sat down and made a list of every problem I could imagine encountering that was directly related to my camera (it was a long list!). This included various task loading scenarios, buddy problems, etc. A lot were possible ways in which I could be absentminded and negligent. I came up with solutions and then discussed my list and my solutions with my buddy.

On the actual dive, my buddy stayed very close to me. We had agreed to do practice drills during the dive. When we first descended, I focused on shooting a rock while my buddy pretended to have an emergency and practiced getting my attention. We also agreed that she'd practice getting my attention a couple other (random) times while I was taking actual shots. So I lost a couple of shots, but we both felt much more comfortable.

Maybe my preparation was a little extreme, but it helped both my buddy and I feel comfortable. After a couple dives with the camera, we've worked out a system that works well for us. We're also going to continue reviewing and adding to the list I originally made as I gain more experience and we encounter more problems. In some ways, I'm a worse buddy when I bring my camera down. But in a lot of other ways, I feel like my buddy and I work better as a team and are more prepared to deal with problems that arise as a whole.

 

[alcina]

Good job, everlasting!

Communication and planning Fabulous to see, you're a good role model for others!