Cayman Photos

[ddaquaria]

This is my first time ever taking underwater photos, and what a blast it is. To be literally in their environment and saying "say cheese" without getting water in you mask

Today we go see the stingrays and visit a reef, and I hope to have more to post. But in the meantime, here is one from discover scuba diving, and another from snorkeling (respectively).




BTW, I'm not very good around water and have overcome many fears. Doing this so exhilarating.

[srwatters]

My first open water dive after certification was on the Bloody Bay Wall over on Little Cayman. I'm so jealous you're there! It's an ice day here in Dallas. Brrrr....

Have fun!

[Torrey]

Nice pictures. Cayman is/was one of the next places I was really wanting to dive. With the new baby and the economy, I can only dream at this point. Someday, hehe. Just be careful, catching the underwater photography bug can get expensive quick. Lucky for me, I'm just a hobbyist, so I never got into double strobes, trays, etc.

[ddaquaria]

My best metaphor for scuba diving would be like riding a roller coaster and that feeling you get of descending the first drop. I was so anxious, and almost to the point that I didn't want to take pictures. I felt very fortunate to have DiveTech guiding me and my friends. Here is another from both diving and snorkeling. This was my first time doing this and I had to overcome my fear of water (I don't swim) to accomplish my goals.

[srwatters]

Originally Posted by ddaquaria

This was my first time doing this and I had to overcome my fear of water (I don't swim) to accomplish my goals.

I applaud you overcoming your fears, but don't you feel like you're pushing your luck? Perhaps you don't swim well, but I can't imagine diving and not being at least a confident swimmer. Sort of like skydiving without a reserve parachute. Do keep it up and improve your swimming if you can. Diving can be one of the most relaxing pastimes ever. It can also be a deadly endeavor if something goes wrong and you aren't completely prepared and skilled.

[ddaquaria]

Scott - as much as I agree with you, you also sound like my parents...

One thing I have learned about opportunity is that you're either going to missing it or utilize it to it's full extent. For Discover Scuba, you spend about 2 hours training via video (20 minutes) and pool work. After the pool, I felt much better about what I was about to do. As far as snorkeling, when I felt uncomfortable, I would just head back to shore. It also helped to have a partner that was very comfortable in the water.

After this experience, I am considering getting certified.

I can't wait to do this again.

[srwatters]

I may sound like your parents, but I'm also a certified NAUI Master Diver and have been on several hundred SCUBA dives all over the world. Diving is a wonderful experience, but don't fool yourself into thinking it is safe. You must be 100% confident that you and your equipment are ready to handle what happens, even if only at a depth of 10 feet. Any panic at depth can result in serious injury or death.

I was just surprised that you wrote that you don't swim. To become a certified open water diver for PADI, NAUI, YMCA, or SSI you should have to show that you are a competent swimmer. BC failures can and do happen. The result for a non-swimmer could be tragic.

If you work on your swimming at the local pool, I'll bet you'll be even more confident in the water and ready to get out there again. Keep it up!

[ddaquaria]

Let me be specific about the "Don't swim" part. I've had to explain this to a lot of people that looked at me like I was crazy. I know how to swim through the water. I don't swim well on top of the water. In a pool (traditional neighborhood pool), I hold my breathe to swim the total length of the pool then come up for air at the end. Due to what I consider to be limitations, I prefer to say that I don't swim.

And I never fooled myself in think I was safe. After going to the rope, if I could talk I may have told the instructor that I was just fine hanging on to it versus moving around.

Scott, I appreciate you looking out.

[Torrey]

Just be careful with the photography. I would say it's okay to take the occasional snapshot, but don't spend a lot of time trying to get that perfect shot until you've got a few dives under your belt. I've seen a lot of diving veterans complaining about new divers with a camera who are so focused on capturing a shot, that they aren't paying attention to the fact that they're about to crash into the reef or another diver. Just always remember to check your surroundings frequently. Nobody wants to dive with "that guy", especially your dive buddy who may be out of air and you're 100ft back with your back turned.

[ddaquaria]

I was so anxious about the diving, I would just snap what i thought was in the frame without looking. At one point, I put down the camera, then the instructor came over to assist and guide me more.

Most of my pictures were from the snorkeling. The anxiety levels were lower for me then.

[Torrey]

They look good for quick shots. Isn't it amazing how much color is down there when the sunlight/flash can reach it?

[ddaquaria]

In the set of 2 pictures, the yellow reef is from diving whereas the fish and its refuge is snorkeling.

From the 3 set of pictures, the eel and fish colony are from snorkeling. The coral is from scuba diving.

My scuba set was not very good since I was not comfortable concentrating on the camera. I would just point, hope it focused, and took the shot. Here are the rest of the scuba shots. Quality was not high on the rank of importance.

http://homepage.mac.com/donalddavis/...uba/index.html

[jamesw]

Hi Don,

I think I saw these on Wetpixel too! You know what that means right? You're hooked! :-)

I like the first shot best - mainly because I like to see healthy staghorn coral. Where is that?

Cheers
James

[ddaquaria]

Hooked - definitely... I'm already looking up information for both swim lessons and diver certification.

I did the discover scuba with DiveTech. I'm not exactly sure where it was but I do know where it was not. It was not on the side where Stingray City is. The water was too choppy over there.