Responsibility to insta-buddy

[irishsquid]

OK, plenty has been said here, and I don't want to rehash it. But as a fat American photographer, here's a tip for those of you who might get stuck with one of us someday:

The most important thing to note before agreeing to dive with one of us is the FOCAL LENGTH OF THE LENS..!

If it's a wide angle, then buddy up, you will get a bunch of cool photos of yourself diving. Everyone loves those, right? Gotta have divers in the shot, otherwise you can't see how big the whale shark was...

If it's a macro lens, just clip him or her to the anchor at the beginning of the dive, go do your sprint around the reef, and then unclip your buddy when you get back and it's time to go home. We probably won't even notice that you were gone...



Mike

That's why I don't have any problems diving with photographers. I usually find that there is a lot I can learn, as most I have been around are great divers and are passionate about their diving.

 

[doctormike]

That's why I don't have any problems diving with photographers. I usually find that there is a lot I can learn, as most I have been around are great divers and are passionate about their diving.

Thanks, Jimi..! While there is a bell curve for everything, and while there are some photographers who are just poor divers and inattentive buddies, my feeling is that the challenge of photography really builds skills. Specifically, buoyancy and observational skills.

While I understand that no one without a camera wants to hang around while I spend 30 minutes waiting for the perfect shot of a cleaning station, I never really understood the need to cover a lot of ground on a non-drift dive. Many inexperienced divers who just say "nothing to see here" and take off like a sprinting marlin, burning through their gas in an attempt to find something that interests them. When you start taking photos, you quickly realize that most of the cool wildlife underwater doesn't just parade in front of you, flagging you down for a closeup. The behaviors that let an animal survive predators also make it pretty good at hiding from casual human observers as well, so "dawdling" is often a good thing...

Of course, this all goes out the window in Coz, in which you just leave the macro lens in the hotel room, go with the current and hope that you can make a good shot out of your buddy flying over the reef!

Oh Mike ... thank you so much for putting this whole discussion into its proper perspective.

I truly needed that ...

Hehehe... any time, Bob..! Thanks to you too for your expertise and efforts to educate...

Mike

 

[TSandM]

I never really understood the need to cover a lot of ground on a non-drift dive. Many inexperienced divers who just say "nothing to see here" and take off like a sprinting marlin, burning through their gas in an attempt to find something that interests them.

This is SO true! If you just sit still for a while and things get a little used to you being there, you see so much more, and so much behavior you miss when swimming by. I love dawdling . . . (which is part of why I have to wear so blasted much insulation!)