Weird buddy experience

[DivemasterDennis]

I think the op presents a case of inadequate pre-dive planning. One of the points to review and clarify is buddy proximity and orientation to the other diver and the group. This kind of thing is completely avoidable if people take a minute to talk and resolve the matter and get everyone on the same page. Then no one is diverging from the expectations of others because all have the same expectations and everyone (presumably) will follow the plan. As to the facts of this case, with viz at 15 feet, 10 feet of buddy separation seems to me too much. But I am not taking sides. Both were wrong for not dealing with the issue together before the dive.
DivemasterDennis

 

[ccx2]

I don't think I would ever dive with a photog buddy. Seems the dive has to be all about their objective and nothing of mine. I'll take solo over that every time.

Ive been insta buddy with some and it's no fun for me. It's just as you say, all about THIER dive like Searcaigh said before you,while they take the thousandth picture of a little Shrimp while holding up the dive for three minutes at a time while totally ignoring you. Just sayin.
Photogs remind me of the parents that go to see their child's play,graduation,ect ,and try to capture the moment on a smartphone while missing seeing the moment they came to watch. They are so intent on getting the shot they miss out on a lot of the fun . But to each his own.
To the OP, yes I think that was weird the way he acted and I probably would have discussed it with more detail since it sounds like he was up for that. More like Dr lecter said in his reply earlier.

 

[flots am]

I recently had a strange encounter with a buddy that has been bugging me quite a bit. A couple of weeks ago, I dove with three other people as a group. It was supposed to be an easy, casual photo dive, and we didn't go deeper than about 75'. Our average depth was about 40', and viz was about 15'. I was the only person who did not have a camera.

Go for a solo card and plan the next "photographer" dive as "solo with an annoyance who might be nearby".

Tell your buddy that you'll be around, but won't be needing him and won't make any special effort to stay nearby, so if he wants a buddy, he should probably pay attention to where you are.

Photographers are by definition terrible buddies, since they're looking for everything that isn't "you"

flots.

 

[DaleC]

For me, group diving is the worst way to dive (in a buddy sense). It is far too easy for everyone to feel they are watching someone while someone is not being watched.

Diving with a photog isn't always that bad. My recent involvement with dedicated ones has really opened my eyes to a new way of diving. Some in particular ares very interested in macro photography and have taught me to slow down my dives and look a lot more closely. As a result I am seeing far more interesting stuff than ever before. My sac rate has also decreased quite a bit because I am swimming slower and hovering more (which means longer dives). It's quite a shocker to switch modes and dive with someone who motors all over the place willy nilly looking for big obvious stuff.

An important part of our pre dive talk is what the goals of the dive are - that's when you decide whether you can stay on the same page or not. One might say "I'm looking to shoot nudibranch's" or "I'm shooting wide angle wreck shots" etc... and then I can say "Ok I'll look for them" or "Do you want me in the shots or to the side" or "I'm not into that, let's do a same ocean dive".

Here's a video of two of us looking for Lumpsuckers, a fish I had heard about but never actually seen. I don't know if I would have ever seen one without a photog's influence. To find one was our overall dive goal, my buddies sub goal was to shoot macro of one, and my sub goal was to video our search for one. It worked out well for both of us.

[video=youtube;IQI03T-BZZs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQI03T-BZZs[/video]

 

[Texasguy]

Well, let us look at the response:
1) Hovering above a person - passive aggression.
2) Getting to the point of passive aggression over nothing?

I'd stay away from that person. A buddy should be forgiving, not with some eye for an eye mentality. That photographer was actually punishing his buddy by explicitly annoying him. This kind of behavior is not a part of a buddy system. If it were me, I'd never trust that person again. Why, from where I stand, that photographer buddy is selfish, prone to stupid behavior, and easy to anger. You are right if you thought the experience left a bad taste in your mouth.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I don't think I would ever dive with a photog buddy. Seems the dive has to be all about their objective and nothing of mine. I'll take solo over that every time.

There's a difference? I don't mind being buddied with a photog because they could barely care less what I'm doing and often they later share the pics with me.

 

[jongles]

he sounds totally arrogant to me. Essentially his pre dive brief would be-I'm going to do my thing and you,you will be my remora for the entire dive. when I see fit to notice your not close enough to me rather then give you the standard "buddies stay together" sign I will instead submit you to my patented hide and seek test.
On the general diving with a photographer discussion I've had mixed experiences including one of my fav dives ever. A good pre-dive discussion about his photo wish list led to me taking more responsibility in relation to depth navigation etc etc which allowed him to concentrate on the macro. it was invaluable lesson not only in relation to photography but also in taking ownership of the types of dive you want to do and not to just follow the leader.

 

[scagrotto]

He basically blew it off and told us that he did solo diving all the time

started in on me about how I stayed too far away from him and how he didn't think I was paying close enough attention.

Sounds like you planned the dive and dove the plan, while he didn't. I think it's clear he's not somebody you'd want for a buddy again unless you're a glutton for punishment.

 

[T.C.]

Tell him you know he wasn't paying close enough attention every time he was busy taking a shot, and that next time he decides to play instructor games with someone who's not paying him for the experience, he may find himself on the receiving end of some gentle encouragement to BACK THE OFF.

Target.

If he wants to play Scuba Police, tell him that you'll find another buddy.

 

[Searcaigh]

For me, group diving is the worst way to dive (in a buddy sense). It is far too easy for everyone to feel they are watching someone while someone is not being watched.

Diving with a photog isn't always that bad. My recent involvement with dedicated ones has really opened my eyes to a new way of diving. Some in particular ares very interested in macro photography and have taught me to slow down my dives and look a lot more closely. As a result I am seeing far more interesting stuff than ever before. My sac rate has also decreased quite a bit because I am swimming slower and hovering more (which means longer dives). It's quite a shocker to switch modes and dive with someone who motors all over the place willy nilly looking for big obvious stuff.

An important part of our pre dive talk is what the goals of the dive are - that's when you decide whether you can stay on the same page or not. One might say "I'm looking to shoot nudibranch's" or "I'm shooting wide angle wreck shots" etc... and then I can say "Ok I'll look for them" or "Do you want me in the shots or to the side" or "I'm not into that, let's do a same ocean dive".

Here's a video of two of us looking for Lumpsuckers, a fish I had heard about but never actually seen. I don't know if I would have ever seen one without a photog's influence. To find one was our overall dive goal, my buddies sub goal was to shoot macro of one, and my sub goal was to video our search for one. It worked out well for both of us.

[video=youtube;IQI03T-BZZs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQI03T-BZZs[/video]

Excellent video, really tells a story …. hey I would buddy with you with no issues, proves somebody doing video can mix with somebody doing stills.

As I mentioned and what you do is to plan the dive with the buddy beforehand.

Diving slow and you see things, it's not all about breaking any underwater speed records.