I wanted to share with scubaboard an idea that I floated to my blog followers to understand interest especially in US see email below. Send me an email at interceptor121@aol.com if interested
If you want to take some picture essentially you either have to go on a normal trip and fight with the rest of the divers and the divemaster to get your images or go on an expensive UW workshop where you pay a premium and let's be frank not always get the value from what you paid for.
In my view there are few things that are key when it comes to imaging and dive trips:
1. Dive the same site multiple times - you just learnt how the light goes what the features are you really do not want to move to another site but this is what happens on a normal trip
2. Have flexibility if a certain site does not give opportunities at that time of the day or in that season skip it
3. Dive the sites at the right time where ambient light helps not hinder your creativity
4. Have a loose buddy team concept let's be frank who wants to be a buddy of someone spending 15 minutes on a single shot at times
5. There needs to be a certain balance between nature and opportunity I personally do not like forced compositions where the dive guide is picking up stuff and making a scene for you
6. You need to be able to have comfort with the challenge at hand and have a great time not go back home like you were doing more work than you are at work
7. You need to be able to learn from others
The list could be longer but I rather stop here.
So I thought of chartering my own boat and running a trip at the terms above and wanted to know if there is interest. I am not planning to become rich or make this my profession but rather egoistically I would like to do a trip with the characteristics I mentioned.
I have worked as dive instructor and I am still practicing and I have been to certain places multiple times so I know the operators the diving conditions the wrecks and some of the fish by name as well so I think I am well placed to run a trip as I have already been a boat leader on the same spots.
I wanted to know if this is something that you would be interested in as in the first instance I am planning to run a 10 spaces only liveaboard in the Northern Red Sea in July 2020. The price would be $1395 for seven days cruising from Sharm El Sheikh with 32% nitrox included and all transfers included you need to find your way to Sharm at your cost and cover VISA etc. For those that think ok but there are some issues flying into Sharm why do the boat leave mostly from Hurghada I would say yes it is true that there are restrictions but the reality is that we will be on a boat so we don't really care and Sharm has had less issues than any other place, besides travelling from Hurghada ruins the trip.
Itinerary Saturday to Saturday will include
Abu Nuhas Wrecks
Thistlegorm
Shark Reef and other selected sites in Ras Mohammed
Maybe some other sites if they are promising at the time
The idea is that you come back home with pictures like those here
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmESSsBK
https://flic.kr/s/aHskfB8gc6
https://flic.kr/s/aHsjZczii3
I can also help out with video in fact I am planning to use the trip to actually get some footage this is a small example I shot just over a single dive to give an idea
Places will go on a first come first serve basis deposit will be 25% non refundable I will generate a wait list and start taking confirmed bookings by end of August. In case not all places are sold I will decide what to do. If I reach a certain minimum I may just keep it like that and you might enjoy an even less busy trip or may use other channels to sell the spaces I have already interest from several parties but I rather go direct with my followers first
If you want to take some picture essentially you either have to go on a normal trip and fight with the rest of the divers and the divemaster to get your images or go on an expensive UW workshop where you pay a premium and let's be frank not always get the value from what you paid for.
In my view there are few things that are key when it comes to imaging and dive trips:
1. Dive the same site multiple times - you just learnt how the light goes what the features are you really do not want to move to another site but this is what happens on a normal trip
2. Have flexibility if a certain site does not give opportunities at that time of the day or in that season skip it
3. Dive the sites at the right time where ambient light helps not hinder your creativity
4. Have a loose buddy team concept let's be frank who wants to be a buddy of someone spending 15 minutes on a single shot at times
5. There needs to be a certain balance between nature and opportunity I personally do not like forced compositions where the dive guide is picking up stuff and making a scene for you
6. You need to be able to have comfort with the challenge at hand and have a great time not go back home like you were doing more work than you are at work
7. You need to be able to learn from others
The list could be longer but I rather stop here.
So I thought of chartering my own boat and running a trip at the terms above and wanted to know if there is interest. I am not planning to become rich or make this my profession but rather egoistically I would like to do a trip with the characteristics I mentioned.
I have worked as dive instructor and I am still practicing and I have been to certain places multiple times so I know the operators the diving conditions the wrecks and some of the fish by name as well so I think I am well placed to run a trip as I have already been a boat leader on the same spots.
I wanted to know if this is something that you would be interested in as in the first instance I am planning to run a 10 spaces only liveaboard in the Northern Red Sea in July 2020. The price would be $1395 for seven days cruising from Sharm El Sheikh with 32% nitrox included and all transfers included you need to find your way to Sharm at your cost and cover VISA etc. For those that think ok but there are some issues flying into Sharm why do the boat leave mostly from Hurghada I would say yes it is true that there are restrictions but the reality is that we will be on a boat so we don't really care and Sharm has had less issues than any other place, besides travelling from Hurghada ruins the trip.
Itinerary Saturday to Saturday will include
Abu Nuhas Wrecks
Thistlegorm
Shark Reef and other selected sites in Ras Mohammed
Maybe some other sites if they are promising at the time
The idea is that you come back home with pictures like those here
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmESSsBK
https://flic.kr/s/aHskfB8gc6
https://flic.kr/s/aHsjZczii3
I can also help out with video in fact I am planning to use the trip to actually get some footage this is a small example I shot just over a single dive to give an idea
Places will go on a first come first serve basis deposit will be 25% non refundable I will generate a wait list and start taking confirmed bookings by end of August. In case not all places are sold I will decide what to do. If I reach a certain minimum I may just keep it like that and you might enjoy an even less busy trip or may use other channels to sell the spaces I have already interest from several parties but I rather go direct with my followers first
