It never fails . . .

[TSandM]

So, the theme of this trip is going to be missed pictures, I think . . . Last night it was a comedy of errors. We were doing the Mala Pier dive off a boat, at night, and I was diving in a team of three. My buddy, Koos (our local GUE instructor), found a SEAHORSE -- they are extremely rare here. I tried to get a photo of it, but the surge was defeating me, and I didn't want to put a hand or fin down in front of Koos )). And I know Peter loves seahorses, so I called him over to share the find, expecting that he would get a gorgeous picture of it. And as it turns out, HE NEVER SAW IT! He peered into the right area, but never tried to take a picture.

So a rare Hawaiian sea horse, and no photos, so it didn't happen.

 

[ScubaSteve]

My story is nothing quite as interesting as the others on here, but I was in Thailand and doing a nice simple dive (I think near Koh PhiPhi)......snapping pictures of some silly fish in front of me while, unbeknownst to me, everybody else was watching a leopard shark swim past about 25' behind me. D'oh. Damn you small boring fish . Oh well, at least I got to dive with Mantas in Thailand.......one thing off my bucket list.

 

[emoreira]

I was diving in front of Puerto Madryn here in Argentina. It was in the middle of the whale season. We were just ending a dive to the Albatros fish boat wreck. We were diving from a small fast boat, so, to climb back to the boat we had to remove weight belt and BCD+tank+reg + camera to the boat tender. Just after giving my BCD to the boat tender he told me to look back as a huge whale was swimming by the boat side. I could only submerge my face to see the dark blue side of the whale just an arm away from me.

 

[highdesert]

We were at the very end of a night dive in a quiet, current-free spot in Komodo. One of those dives where I was sure I didn't need to change any batteries beforehand, since I didn't shoot much on the previous dive. So we get to within two minutes of surfacing, when I spot a beautifully posed group of two stonefish and the first rhinopia I'd ever seen, all in the same frame. Nada. No strobe whatsoever. Might as well have left the camera on the boat. :depressed:

 

[PEDiamond]

am in process of planning very long trip to Tonga to film humpbacks underwater(snorkel only allowed)..was filming the Corsair wreck in Maunalua Bay here on Oahu at 100 feet depth, gopro3 freezes, and I head to the ascent line...my DM starts frantically pointing at me, I turn around eventually after wondering what I am doing wrong and there is a mama humpback 40 feet away, doing circles around the wreck watching us.....the irony, over and above no camera is the dive site is within sight of my house......my buddy Nate got some phenomenal pics though, humpback 3 feet off the bottom surrounded by pennant and other reef fish.......aloha...peter

 

[TSandM]

I even had my camera with me for today's spectacular, but I had it all set up for macro stuff when Peter's hooting alerted me to the dolphin about 10 feet behind me. When I turned back to him to smile, I had to scream myself about the dozen or so just behind HIM.

He got some video. I was still trying to adjust the lens to WA when they disappeared.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Live the Experience . . . (and leave the cameras at home).

The more you focus on the mechanics of exposure/strobe settings, viewfinder framing & light levels to "capture" the image --the more you lose the overall aesthetic experience & "magic" of the encounter. . .

Take pictures with your senses and your mind; Come back often and frequently to refresh the memory.

 

[mallbritton]

On an extended dive trip to Belize, on the last day, morning dive, right before having to surface we came across what looked to be about 2/3 of a meter of an almost 2 meter moray eel just poking out of a hole in a reef. My battery had died 10 minutes before...

 

[TSandM]

Kevrumbo, there's a lot of truth to that! I certainly have a different experience of a dive without a camera. I love both.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Just take turns with Peter shooting video or still photos with a particular lens --one of you two should be free to experience the "Zen" moment (as well as over-watching as the non-task loaded teammate of the buddy pair). . .