Weird buddy experience

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.

In order to avoid stirring things up and ruining other peoples' shots, I tried to stay out of the way. However, I remained close enough that could still see everyone (~ 10-15' away). About 10 minutes into the dive, one of the other divers started getting very close, about a foot away just above me. He would ease off when he saw something he wanted to photograph, but would be back on top of me as soon as he got the chance.

When we got out, he cornered me near my car and 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. He claimed that his swimming above me was his way of testing me to see if I knew where he was.

Am I correct in thinking that this guy was a weirdo, or is it better to stay closer to your buddy during a photo dive?

As long as you were close enough to your buddy to react in the event of an emergency you should be fine. Sounds like you and your buddy should have had some common understanding and discussion prior to the dive to set some expectations.

Histrix:

When we got out, he cornered me near my car and 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. He claimed that his swimming above me was his way of testing me to see if I knew where he was.

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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.

Buddy positioning and distance are something that should be talked about in the pre-dive plan. People vary in their degree of diligence -- I like my buddies to stay where I can see them, and not more than ten feet from me in the best of conditions. My husband is much more tolerant of both positioning and spacing. I am sometimes more tolerant, if I am quite sure that the person I'm diving with is absolutely reliable -- then it's okay if they are briefly where I cannot see them, especially if we are both taking pictures, because I'm not worried they have taken off anywhere.

Sounds like whatever you thought was fine didn't seem fine to your buddy, and unfortunately, you guys didn't get to talk about it until afterwards.

Yep. That's what buddy checks and briefings are for. It sucks to be an instabuddy to a photographer though. That requires MUCH more communication beforehand.

I also try to be ahead of the photog, especially if they are shooting a lot. That way they can just look up and see me watching them while they are futzing with the camera. It works best if you view your role as creating a shared experience, and not two separate ones. That can be a good thing though. I often look for the next subject and signal so the shooter doesn't have to look as much. That way we are both engaged in the same dive.

undrwater:

Yep. That's what buddy checks and briefings are for. It sucks to be an instabuddy to a photographer though. That requires MUCH more communication beforehand.

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This is true - better communication probably would have been helpful, especially regarding the photography. We actually did do a buddy check, at least the rest of us did. He basically blew it off and told us that he did solo diving all the time, and that he could stay down for three hours because he was on a rebreather, so we shouldn't worry about him :-/ Probably should have insisted that he give us a basic tutorial for his gear as well.

Also, we probably should have paired off as opposed to diving as a group of four. In which case, I wouldn't have been a good buddy for him anyway, as he was on a rebreather and I was using a low pressure 72.

The whole situation was weird, but at least some good "teachable moments" came out of it.

---------- Post added May 15th, 2014 at 11:17 PM ----------

This is a good idea. My husband and I seem to do this by default when we dive together, and it works out pretty well. Would require some prior communication with other people, though.

TSand M has it covered off perfectly. This should have been covered off in full during the pre dive discussion.
Clearly his expectations were different from yours.
to be honest i would have been taken aback by the guys reaction and pointed out where you were and why you were there whilst he was head in a hole.

If I am buddying with a non-photographer I try to involve them in finding things for me to photograph.

Pre-dive briefing includes the critters I am interested in and what I am not interested in. I usually shoot macro / super macro so any help for critters such as nudibranchs, shrimps etc is welcome. I also explain that they should be down current from me in order to avoid stirring up silt etc. As far as distance is concerned I am usually self reliant diving locally with a pony or twins and can deal personally with my gas situation, however I do need to explain to some people about long hose and the procedure involved for sharing gas.

When shooting wide angle I prefer to have a buddy that I know and can understand my signals for positioning in the shots.

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.