Safety while shooting video and photos...

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gcdivingadventures

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# of dives
500 - 999
I shoot a lot of video and photos while diving and wanted to get some safety tips to practice and to include in the videos. Many of my videos involve sharks and other potentially hazardous critters. Any tips would be helpful.
 
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I don't see much in the way of especially hazardous wildlife, at least not many that you need safety tips for. If you check where you place your hands on the reef (not that you should be touching the reef to begin with), scorpionfish aren't an issue. If you don't molest them, stingrays are easy. The "sharks in caves" are probably whitetips, which are harmless, as are the nurse sharks. The Ocean Center tank has a tiger shark, gray reef sharks, sandbars, and hammerheads, but I believe you are already in the water with safety divers at the time. In an open ocean environment, there are a few tips that are best learned from experience (for example, I wouldn't want to swim away from a large, hungry, aggressive tiger-the animals at Maui Ocean Center are small and rather well fed). Work your way up before filming tiger shark evasive maneuvering. Otherwise, I'd worry more about harming the seahorses, salmon, manatees, and manta rays.
 
Strange question for a guy with 500-1000 dives with "lots of video and photos while diving".
 
I think safety concerns are the same when doing photos or video as they are on other dives. However, because of the distraction and focus you have on the subject of your photo/video and your equipment, you need someone to take up the slack. That means a very understanding dive buddy who will be sure to stay near you, watch your depth and time if you get so distracted as to not monitor them, and also to let you know if you are touching or about to touch something you shouldn't- which is anything alive in the sea. I think another important safety tip is to not feed anything. Feeding will change animals' natural reaction to you, and your buddy. Also, don't chase anything. It makes for bad pictures, and can also raise a defensive attitude in an animal. Move slowly, control all body movements, and obey your buddy. Let them be the boss of the dive. You be the boss of the photo/video equipment.
DivemasterDennis
 
Strange question for a guy with 500-1000 dives with "lots of video and photos while diving".

You beat me to it.

My recommendations:
1. Don't stick your head in a shark's open mouth
2. Don't lie down on top of a stingray
3. Don't grap a hold of a sea urchin
4. Don't wiggle your finger in front of moray eel
5. Don't carry a string of dead fish
6. Don't rub yourself all over fire coral
7. Don't handle sea snakes
8. Don't wrap yourself in jellyfish tentacles

Help me out folks, am I missing anything?
 
I dive with my wife, which reduces the probability of me being attacked by 50 percent.
 
Don't tickle the Humboldt squid ...
 
It is a very odd question if you already do this stuff all the time.

If I'm filming sharks, my wife's laughter usually warns me I've got too focussed on what's happening in front of the lens and forgotten to check what's behind me... :)
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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