I want to have fun while I'm diving. For me that includes taking pictures - and I enjoy the challenge of slowly mastering UW photo technique after shooting topside for some thirty-odd years - and being utterly comfortable under water.
To take the pictures i want, I need to have my buoyancy and finning technique down pat. Thrashing around on a silty or sandy bottom isn't a particularly good thing for avoiding backscatter. So I have a strong motivation to have good buoyancy control, good trim and good finning technique. To be comfortable under water, I need to feel that I'm in control. To be in control, I have to have decent technique.
So my skills goals are secondary, they are the means to obtain my real ambition, to have fun. I have to admit, though, that I generally like to master whatever I start doing, or at least being at least average - preferably above-average - proficient. So my skills training is sort of integrated in my regular diving, I seldom do pure training dives. I do that once in a while, if i feel that something hasn't been practiced for a long time, but generally I try to include a little training and a continuous focus on looking sharp in the water in my regular diving.
