Waiting to Exhale

MagnaRyder2 · Aug 19, 2004

I'm having trouble managing my breathing while waiting for that
skittish critter to come back out of its hole. My problem is
my exhaled bubbles. I can limit the explosive respirations by
allowing the air to exit around my mouthpiece instead of through
the exaust valve, but it still seems to scare the critters.

Aside from rebreathers, What is the secret to limiting exaust bubbles?

lukeROB · Aug 19, 2004

MagnaRyder2:
I'm having trouble managing my breathing while waiting for that
skittish critter to come back out of its hole. My problem is
my exhaled bubbles. I can limit the explosive respirations by
allowing the air to exit around my mouthpiece instead of through
the exaust valve, but it still seems to scare the critters.

Aside from rebreathers, What is the secret to limiting exaust bubbles?

Um patience

From what I see I don't think the critters are really scared of the bubbles or the noise that much (I think I read somewhere that even rebreather divers agree) they are however scared of a giant waiting nearby - back off a little maybe, fish are generally curious, once they decide you are not a threat they will be more co-oprative.

alcina · Aug 19, 2004

Yup, patience. Also establish steady breaths with small bubbles (no explosive exhales)...once you have a pattern going, fish & critters seem to be more willing to accept it as a normal part of the environment. Change is scary, but luckily for us, fish & most sea creatures have a real short sense of time so it doesn't take long to become part of the landscape.

Dee · Aug 19, 2004

yeah....what they said. Back off a little bit and most fish and critters curiosity will get the best of them. They'll come check you out.

justleesa · Aug 20, 2004

I'll fourth that...

MagnaRyder2 · Aug 20, 2004

A minute or two (or more) hovering near that special
critter hole is difficult, especially when my boat assigned
dive partner is impatiently waiting in the wings. I'd wait for
"a while" and assume that my bubbles were the culprit.

OK, I've got a new challenge. "Learn Patience, Grasshopper".
Thanks, Guys.

alcina · Aug 20, 2004

MagnaRyder2:
A minute or two (or more) hovering near that special
critter hole is difficult, especially when my boat assigned
dive partner is impatiently waiting in the wings. I'd wait for
"a while" and assume that my bubbles were the culprit.

OK, I've got a new challenge. "Learn Patience, Grasshopper".
Thanks, Guys.

Better yet, find a buddy on the boat who likes to go slow...start up a conversation with someone and talk about the very cool stuff you saw on your last dive that everyone else missed coz they were going too fast. Talk to them and explain how slow you want to go...maybe compromise and do one dive on and one dive off, if you know what I mean.

I find that I often have ppl ask if they can buddy with me on the second dive after they see/hear what I did on the first dive (it is unusual for me to get from the decent line at the back to the anchor at the front!)...most haven't been taught to slow down...think of it as doing the divers out there a great service!

Good luck!

Wolverine · Aug 20, 2004

I second that! Most of the time, the people in the group tends to rush through the dive site, with me tagging behind by a long way. "Taking it slow" is good advice for any divers, not just photographers. Sometimes, staying still in a single area can reap immense rewards, esp when the marine life gets used to your presence. They revert back to their natural behaviour and you can really see what the reef has to offer.

To further that thought, most divers rush through their dives because their bouyancy control is not practiced. They need to keep swimming to stay level. Thats another good reason for divers to practice bouyancy whenever they can.

mavjax · Aug 20, 2004

Wolverine:
I second that! Most of the time, the people in the group tends to rush through the dive site, with me tagging behind by a long way. "Taking it slow" is good advice for any divers, not just photographers.

We learned this recently from two of dive instructors. A group of us were in the Bahamas on trip, and on most of the dives we followed the local guides who took us for great tours of the reef. However, the instructors who had been there many times before told us that we were also welcome to hang back with them. Wish I had... they got more shots of cool critters within 100 years of the anchor line than we did covering acres of reef. Not only that, they had enough air to stay for days since they were not moving very far.

Next trip I'm going to be spending a lot more time really focussed on the life close to where the boat is.

Waiting to Exhale

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MagnaRyder2

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lukeROB

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alcina

Missing Diva.

Dee

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justleesa

Neither here nor there

MagnaRyder2

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alcina

Missing Diva.

Wolverine

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mavjax

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