2007: First Year Of Diving - Summary

[Kydonia]

Hello.
I joined this board last winter when I was doing the classroom part of my PADI certification. I introduced myself, but forgot about this site until just recently.
So I thought I would share my experiences as a new diver.
I've always wanted to get into Scuba Diving, but never did until later in life. A friend of mine (an assistant instructor) gave me the little push I needed to dive into it finally.
I took the classroom part of the certification, then in late February, went down to Curacao to take my OW.
We went to Habitat in Curacao and had an amazing experience. I got certified right away (one full day and an easy second day) and Viola! Then I had 3 more days of diving with my friend. We did maybe 3-4 boat dives, and some shore dives, and my first night dive.
I bought a camera, and took some photos, I knew I would get hooked on UW photography (being a photographer as a profession) so I wanted to get right into it. My friends told me to concentrate on learning to dive and work on my buoyancy, which I did, so I left the camera behind on a lot of the dives.

I also splurged on all new gear (before the Curacao trip), again, knowing I would be obsessed with this great new hobby, probably for life. Here's what I bought:

BCD: Seaquest Balance
Reg: Mares Proton
Guage/Computer: Suunto Cobra w/ compass

Wetsuit: I already had a 3/2 from surfing.
Fins, mask and snorkel: I already had.

I must say, I am delighted with the gear I bought, everything is perfect for me, and will last for years.

When I got back, I took the Nitrox course here locally.

Later in March, I went with a small group to Bonaire for 8 days. Stayed at Buddy Dive. Wonderful experience, The diving was stellar and I really enjoyed the accomodations, the staff and the island.

Bonaire was amazing, and I logged in around 15-18 dives. I learned a lot from the pros I was with, and again was blessed to be the "newbie" in the group. Was diving with an assistant instructor, a dive master and 2 other AOW divers with 100+ dives.
Took some more great photos on this trip, both below and above the surface.
Experienced some rough-entry shore dives, boat dives, some deep stuff, night dive, and a drift dive.

Was a great trip until the second to last day when my camera flooded :_(
(more about this an another thread here, tk)

I salvaged 99% of my photos because i was uploading every night, and will post some here.

I only did 2 quick dives up here, which were ok, but fun to at least be in the water.
in November, I ended up in South Florida for work, and made my way down to Key Largo, and did 6 dives down there which were great as well. Sadly though, I didn't have a camera, and as great as the diving was, I felt incomplete not taking photos.

All in all, a GREAT first year.
Not cheap though, haha.


here are some photos from my Curacao trip:

 

[Wasabi1264]

Holy smokes! Awesome pix, and it's obvious you are a photographer as a profession. I'd like to someday get into UW photography, too, but like the advice you got, I just want to become a diver who can control buoyancy first.

 

[Kydonia]

Thanks.
Agree, its extremely important to control buoyancy so you don't knock into the reef, coral and plant life...
The guys I was with scolded me for even touching the sandy bottom with my fin tip.
Here's one from Bonaire:

 

[TSandM]

Sounds like a wonderful first year of diving.

Have you thought about shrugging into cold water gear and trying out your local waters? The freedom and weightlessness of diving is present in cold water, too, and the more you dive, the better you get at it. I don't know about New York State, but I know the cold waters I live on have a lot of life that repays the attentions of a creative photographer, too

 

[Blackwood]

Thanks.
Agree, its extremely important to control buoyancy so you don't knock into the reef, coral and plant life...
The guys I was with scolded me for even touching the sandy bottom with my fin tip.

Yep. And yep.

Welcome to diving. Great pictures. I checked out your website. Beautiful composition. I look forward to more underwater photography from you.

I'm no pro (just a passionate amateur), but until you get a nice light for your UW camera rig, I suggest spiking the red channel in your photos. That alone goes a long way towards filling in some of the color stolen by the water.

I've only shot underwater once, and I was extremely disappointed with my take (monotone blue almost across the board) until I played a little bit in post.

This was taken at 50' on a canon P&S with no external light: