Observations from a non-photographer

[bsumner]

I really love to view beautiful dive photographs. My books and magazines teem with images that make me go 'ooh' and 'ah' and I am frequently impressed when I see the amazing quality of many of these images.

Sometimes, I just wish that there was some sort of 'underwater photographer' certification that divers would have to take and pass before being allowed to take a camera into the water. This would include significant portions on common courtesy to non-photographers during dives and reinforcement of basic dive skills, particularly situational awareness and buoyancy control.

I know, I know. It is silly and unreasonable and everyone should have the chance to use whatever gear they like; however, I have a couple of gripes.

1) I have been jostled and crowded, banged into and mask kicked off, by photographers who plow through and crowd in anytime there is the least hint of something worth seeing. This has happened to me on a number of occasions and I have learned to keep my distance when photographers are in the water until I get a sense of their dive skills and etiquette. There is an attitude of entitlement which is annoying and unfair. They are so concerned that they're going to miss a shot that they sometimes ruin the enjoyment for others.

2) Photographers, like all divers, should practice good buoyancy control. I have seen photographers standing or laying on coral, banging into reefs, wrecks, other divers, etc. many times. They usually seem to be unaware of the havoc they wreak as they set up for their photographs.

Sometimes, I have been pleasantly surprised by the skills and consideration of photographers, but they are almost always professionals or very experienced amateurs. The newbies or the ones who overrate their own dive skills are the worst offenders.

Anyway, this is simply a request to be considerate of others and your environment when using a dive camera.

 

[M_Bipartitus]

I can't speak much about photographer courtesy, I haven't personally ever had problems with others, nor has anyone complained to me after a dive. As for buoyancy and dive skills, I think you will find most threads responding to beginners include recommendations to improve dive skills.

Personally, I will try to mention courtesy to other divers when asked about underwater photography if it is that common a problem. Once again, I haven't experienced it as a problem specific to photographers. I get annoyed at any diver without good control of their buoyancy camera in hand or not.

 

[danclem]

I am a photographer and second your request. One of the first things we discuss with new photographers are protocols, including safety, courtesy, and environmental responsibility (www.pnwups.com).

If there are photographers on a dive, it is also pretty easy to cover do's and don'ts during the briefing. On "tourist" dives, I personally like to be one of the last in the water and hang back to take photos and avoid the crowds and material kicked up by other divers.

 

[Gilligan]

I spend a lot of time in Bohol, Philippines and get to see a lot of divers with cameras from different parts of the world. Yes, there are many inexperienced divers with cameras that are kicking the reef, laying on it, etc. I don't see so many overly aggressive camera divers who push their way past other divers to get a photo.

The problem as I see it:

1. Underwater cameras are relatively cheap so just about every diver has one. That includes the divers who have next to no buoyancy control as well as those who simply don't care about damaging the reef to get a photo.

2. The major problem here in the Philippines is the dive guides are too timid to confront divers, whether it's regarding kicking up sand like a Sahara dust storm, damaging the coral, or for any other reason.

IMHO Dive Guide's reminding/correcting divers is the key to most of the problems. Unfortunately as with most business situations, profit prevails over all else.

bsumner I see you are a DM candidate. When the time comes to lead dives be sure to do your part in correcting bad diver behavior.

 

[fppf]

My wife an I both shoot.
I understand what your saying, we see many people with cheap camera's that will never in there dreams get anything worth while. And its not because of the camera, its all about skills.

That said, we see way more really bad divers than we see half way decent divers, yet alone good divers. We have even seen "dive masters" if that's what you want to call them standing on coral.

If you end up on a boat with us you will most likely only see us on the line and getting in. After we hit the water we stay far away from groups. There will always be a few divers in every group that kick up sand/silt, scary the tiny stuff into hiding, and wave at the camera all the time.

 

[TSandM]

I think one of the big problems is that people pick up a camera too soon, before they have solidified their buoyancy, and before they have developed good situational awareness. It is quite possible to dive beautifully with a camera (modulo the fact that photographers may always want to do SOMETHING to stabilize themselves in moving water) AND be a good buddy while using a camera. I know this because some of my best dive buddies are photographers. But they all prioritized good diving over photography, until the diving was transparent and the camera could be a focus without jeopardizing it.

 

[alcina]

It's not often I have an urge to get out the dead horse icon, but this topic inspires me to almost do so.

I could take every point made and give examples of multiple divers I have been with or seen - and NONE of them had cameras. They are signs of inexperienced, unaware and/or rude divers.

Are there additional problems with adding a camera. Sometimes. Though I've seen quite a few go the opposite direction - put a camera in their hands and they back way off the reef, don't get close to the sand, stay away from other divers etc. I've also seen brand new divers grab a camera for their first dive after Open Water, realise that there's a whole other thing going on and work towards getting good. I firmly believe that for some divers, adding something like a small camera helps them improve and become more aware faster than they would without the extra task. Obviously it isn't for everyone, but I've yet to see something that is.

And I've seen divers with 100s of dives pick up a camera and become instant idiots. I've also seen divers with 100s or 1000s of dives who were simply idiots underwater all the time, no camera needed.

My point is that all divers need to work on their skills no matter if they are just sight-seeing or filming or photographing or scootering around a site. It isn't the camera that is the problem, it's the lack of understanding that one needs to be aware of one's impact while diving. I think instead of cracking out the tar & feathers, we should try to find ways to encourage all divers to take more responsibility in gaining the skills they need to become the best divers they can be.

I just don't buy that most photographers or divers with cameras are so much worse than any other sector of the diving population. It just doesn't jive with what I've seen first hand.

 

[ptyx]

Diving with a camera is hard - if you were used to maneuver with your hands before: you can't any more. And because the camera requires a lot of your attention, maintaining situational awareness is harder. It will - eventually, and if you dive often enough - improve your skills tremendously. If you're serious about your photos, you'll find yourself reinventing the backward kick, get horizontal, and do other stuff cave people are fond of. But since PADI and other mainstream agencies don't emphasize those skills very much (!), and since the average photographer is also your average 'vacation divers' with 5 dives a year - technical proficiency is generally lacking and things get ugly fast :depressed:

But that's the dead horse/easy part.

Ignoring those people who have no business in the water with a camera in their hand (and those who have no business in any water where anything fragile lives), another aspect is that when there is something worth photographing, it's usually worth seeing. The reverse is not true. And photography takes more time than sightseeing, and there aren't as many angles/positions which will give good results. Generally speaking, you need to be low, with a background clear of divers, with as little silt as you can.

You are right to blame those paparazzi who rush to the critter, kick whoever was there out of the frame, and crash on the coral because they don't know any better.

But more often than not, the regular divers are also the offenders. I don't count the number of times where I started shooting something - alone, and away from the crowd (or so I thought) - and another diver comes into the frame, look at whatever I'm shooting for 5 seconds (and get disappointed if it's macro stuff), turns around violently and leave in a cloud of sand thick enough I can't see my subject any more - when it's not sent flying around or I get a kick in the strobes.

If it is rude for photographers to disturb any diver, I find it equally rude for any diver to disturb a photographer. So the same way no photographer is entitled to rush others or claim the 'preferred spot' in a crowd just by the virtue of having a camera - if you come upon someone taking pictures, please be aware that the only polite place from which you can look at what they're shooting is behind and above them (no light or shadow on the subject as well please!), and that when you leave (and they probably won't be done at this point), you need to be extra careful as any silt or current might ruin the scene.

(...puts flame retardant suit on...)
...and if you're not sure you can leave without disturbing, then be prepared to wait a long time - and hope the subject is still there - like photographers should do when they want to shoot something others are looking at.

 

[bsumner]

I agree with nearly everything you wrote. Most divers simply need more training and experience, camera or no camera.

I will simply observe that, in my experience, complicating the situation by adding another variable (camera, speargun, wreck reel, lift bag, etc.) to the equation for an inexperienced diver usually results in loss of situational awareness and general performance degradation.

As you pointed out, there are undoubtedly divers who perform even better with an additional challenge, but I would bet they are in the minority.

 

[Mariozi]

Dive/Boat Etiquette & Environment Protection are a very important part of my courses, if you see an student of mine doing it, please tell me!!!