Right hand release?

Last night, I had to buddy up with one of the candidate dive masters so that she could do her skills for evaluation. The first skill that the dive masters were being evaluated on is the buddy check. The course director (CD) wanted me to get my gear setup so that there were a number of things wrong with the gear. The idea is that the dive masters must become accustomed to what new divers can do to mess up their gear (and hopefully they will catch those things before the divers enter the water).

What CD wanted me to do was cross over the shoulder harnesses, and reverse my weight belt so that I had a left hand release on the buckle.

Unfortunately my candidate dive master buddy did not follow the slate and tried to do the buddy check from memory using the method I described in a previous post. If she had used the slate she probably would have caught the weight belt problem.

The problem with divers (myself included) is that we become complacent and do things almost automatically - especially when we set up our gear. The issue that we try to get across to the candidate dive masters is that the divers that they will be working with might be new divers who can and will do things to their gear that an experienced diver will not do. For example in just about every class that I teach to new divers, one student will set up the first stage backwards on the tank valve and when they open the tank valve the escaping air makes an impressive hissing sound that often intimidates the new diver.

No matter how carefully you brief the new divers beforehand they can and do forget details. Sometimes it is information overload, sometimes it is anxiety, sometimes it might even be some physical challenge like being hard of hearing. Whatever the reason, we have to prepare the candidate dive masters to be ready to catch these kind of problems.

What exactly is BWRAF?

Firstly, I think I should start with an admission. When I created this blog, I was hard pressed to come up with a suitable name. I wanted to use something that I could easily remember and that was SCUBA related. Eventually I decided to use the term "BWRAF". I guess I did not think about it too much since I assumed that BWRAF is only a user name and no one would really care too much about what user name I selected.

However, I have noticed a pattern in my blog tracking statistics that a fair percentage of the searches that find my blog are related to what "BWRAF" is. So I think it might be a good idea to define what BWRAF stands for and how to use BWRAF to do a good buddy check.

There are many ways to remember what the order of letters etc. The one that we use where I teach is "Begin With Review And Friend". Whatever method you use is fine as long as you don't forget one of the steps. Below, is a method of training students to use BWRAF to do a buddy check (source: PADI divemaster slate).

B (BCD)

BCD secure and functioning properly?
Low pressure inflator attached?
Appropriately filled for entry?
Buddy familiar with operation?
Tank secure?

W (Weights)

Amount of weight appropriate?
System free and clear for emergency release?

R (Releases)

All buckles and releases functional?
Locate releases without looking?
Buddy familiar with operation?

A (Air)

Sufficient for dive?
Valve turned on all the way? (remember to turn a quarter turn back from all open)
Alternate air source properly located?
Familiar with buddy's alternate air source?
Air pressure on which to turn dive? (when to return back)

F (Final check - OK)

General check of buddy - nothing odd or out of place?
Prepare to enter water

Disclaimer: The information above is for educational purposes only. Please do not undertake any SCUBA related activities without the proper training and certification.

Cameras

Its been about eight months since I acquired my first underwater camera. The camera that I purchased is the Sealife DC500. For my experience level (novice) I think that the camera was a good choice. The camera does everything I need it to do and is fairly easy to use. I have had some problems with the camera, but the company that sells the camera in the USA was very responsive and helpful with my camera trouble.

The problem is that now I am starting to look at more advanced cameras with more features. On the one hand I like the simplicity and easy of use of my DC500. On the other hand, I found that my DC500 tends to take pictures that seem to be a little on the cold side (more blue than necessary). So far I have not had problems with pictures since I use photo editing software and can correct most of the blue problems. I don't really like doing too much editing on the photos. As long as I can bring out the colors and brightness of the scene as naturally as possible, then I am quite content. I don't like going to the extreme of making the scene something it never was (for example introducing subjects that were not there etc.). If I can correct for some of the camera and lens issue with the software, then I think it is worth the effort.

My diving buddy, the Navigating Phenom who is a very good photographer (mostly video), but he had a very nice digital still camera as well. His camera is a little older than mine, but it seems that his camera takes more lifelike pictures than mine does. Of course NP would say that it is all in the hands of the operator, and I think that might be partly true, but I do think that his camera captures more colors.

So now I have started looking at other cameras. A while ago I created a blogroll link to Kona Hawaii Scuba Diver's Blog. The pics on his blog are gorgeous. Steve uses an Olympus SP-350. I know that the photographer's skill makes a huge difference and I fully acknowledge that he has a great eye for composition etc. But I do think that the colors and clarity of the shots are just great. The price of the camera is also quite reasonable compared to other cameras that I have looked at.

Another example of excellent pictures is Dany Weiberg's gallery on Pbase. His images are breathtaking. On his personal website he mentions that he uses a Fuji S2 pro camera.

The choices are overwhelming. I guess one should not chase features, but work on developing technique etc. It still is nice to look at what other people are doing and try to get better at photography.

I think I have been bitten by the photography bug!

Diving with the candidate divemasters

Last week, the instructor who really taught me most of what I know about diving and instructing called me and asked if I would be interested in helping with the pool sessions for the divemaster class. Of course, I jumped at the chance.

It is an interesting experience working with my instructor (who is also our course director) as a colleague and not as a student. For the sake of simplicity, I will refer to my instructor as CD for the rest of this entry. I still feel like a student when I am around CD and I guess that will be so for some time to come. The great thing about working with CD is that he is so good at what he does and I find myself always learning when I dive with him.

The one area that CD excels in is paying attention to detail. I tend to be a big picture kind of person and find that I don't always drill down to the nitty-gritty detail of things. However in working with CD, I have learned to pay very close attention to every skill and subskill that the students perform. It is part of the training to have the students flub on a specific skill to see if the candidates pick up on the mistake, but he is a stickler for detail which makes his students stickler for detail too.

Previously I wrote about how I felt that my training was more intense when I did my divemaster class. Having worked with the new batch of divemaster candidates, I guess I still feel that way. I remember how picky CD was about the most minute aspect of every skill. I am glad that he set such a high standard for us. The current class is much smaller than the class I attended so I am sure that the smaller class size allows for a more informal class situation.

Did you check your air pressure?

Recently, I had the occasion to be diving with a very professional dive shop in Grand Cayman. The dive masters were first class and the diving was superb. The dive that I was almost ecstatic about was Trinity Caves. I guess it was just one of the those days where everything coincides and you have a wonderful dive. Trinity caves was just one of those places that I fell in love with. The fish were large and plentiful, the views were phenomenal, the viz was great etc., etc.

It was interesting to be diving with no responsibilities and under the guidance of the dive master. The dive masters, as I wrote previously were top notch. However, the problem for me was that I had a hard time switching gears from the usual instructor mode that I am in to the happy holiday maker mode. At one point the dive masters went around check people's gear, and asking if we had checked our air pressures etc. It was an interesting experience being on the other side of the table so to speak.

The dive masters impressed me with their attention to detail. The dive briefings were thorough and the dive plans were followed to the letter. The emphasis is on safety and I was impressed that they insisted that everyone do a 5 minute safety stop after every dive, since some of our dives were a little on the deep side (nothing over 100 though),

Good on you folks at Divetech.

Supersized

One day this week I received a phone call from my friend the Navigating Phenom (NP) with news that he received a coupon for discount at a local sporting goods store that is now selling SCUBA gear. So today NP , Mrs NP and I duly paid a visit to the sporting goods super store.

I was very surprised by the large selection of high quality SCUBA gear on display. The staff were very knowledgeable and most helpful. I realize that today was their "launch party", but I think they are doing everything right.

In the metro area that I live in there are at least twelve SCUBA stores. So far the SCUBA stores were spread out throughout the metro area with each store basically servicing a region of the metro. With the advent of the superstore selling a large range of SCUBA gear I think there is bound to be a shakeup in the status quo. One could probably compare it to the way Walmart, Target etc. changed the retail landscape from mom and pop stores to superstores.

I am all for supporting the local dive stores (LDS), since I derive some income from instructing from the one of the local dive stores in my area. At the same time I think that competition is good for the local SCUBA scene. In the SCUBA business relationships are very important. The superstores are good at selling on price, but I think that the LDS can handily beat the superstores on building relationships with customers.

For us to survive and thrive we will have to adapt to change and get better at what we do.

It's back

About a month ago, my new camera started acting up. Apparently this specific model has had some teething problems and after a few emails, the manufacturer suggested that I send back the camera for repairs. So I duly sent the camera back the manufacturer via Fedex. After about four weeks a UPS note appeared on my door that I had a parcel from the manufacturer. I was very pleased, except that I missed the UPS guy. I tried rescheduling and after much going back and forth I was able to schedule the delivery for a day when I knew I would be at home.

So today, the camera was delivered by UPS (I remain in awe of UPS and Fedex in terms of efficiency, but will leave that for another post). I realized once again (not that I needed confirmation) that I am a complete gadget geek. I could not wait to open the parcel and get the camera out and start playing with it. Obviously I had to see whether the problem that I had was resolved. Fortunately it was, but strangely I could find no note from the manufacturer about the resolution to the problem. Too bad - I would have liked to know what happened.

I can't wait to go diving to try out the camera again. It is almost as much fun as when I first bought the camera.

Apparently, there is a medical term for what afflicts me and so many of my friends. It is called neophilla. I first learned of this term in an excellent podcast that I regularly watch called Geek Brief. According to an article that Cali from GeekBrief referenced "Neophiliacs are people who love everything new or novel". The article goes on to say

And now a team of researchers have provided these consumers with just about the greatest excuse ever for justifying their expensive compulsion to buy the newest and coolest. They can't help themselves. It turns out some people may, in fact, be more genetically predisposed than others to wanting the newest toys, gadgets and fashions.

In scientific mumbo jumbo, it seems that genetic differences mean that people produce different variations of a mitochondrial enzyme called monoamine oxidase A. That’s according to research from the Yamagata University School of Medicine in Japan, which was recently published in the scientific journal Psychiatric Genetics and mentioned in the New Scientist magazine. (source: http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_5439.asp)

This is all a little tongue in cheek, but I must admit that I do enjoy new technology. I don't think that I am a total first adoptor or pursue technology for the sake of technology, but I sure am grateful to be alive in a time of great technological developments.

Reflection

A few months ago I wrote about a staff instructor class that I was taking. The class eventually ended a few weeks ago and I thought that I would like to write some of my reflections and thoughts on the class. Just to fill in those who might not be familiar with what a staff instructor is, please click on this link to a description.

The first thought that springs to mind about the class is how different it was to be an evaluator of presentations. When I completed my instructor training, I remember the presentations to have been judged very strictly. I suppose most will have the same feeling of things being more difficult in "their day".

The second reflection is how much I enjoyed watching the instructor candidates develop and grow in their confidence and ability.

The third reflection is how my own instruction has improved. Every time you teach something you learn it again. It is commonly believed that to really learn something you should teach it.

If one wants to be good at anything one should keep growing and developing. To be a good instructor takes more than just great personality and people skills. I think it takes work, preparation and dedication. In my opinion, a good instructor makes the material come alive and makes the difficult material look easy. A good instructor will find a way of unpacking the theory so that the students not only learn it, but understand why it is important and are able to apply it. I am not a trained educator, but I believe that the better prepared and trained I am, the easier it is for me to present the class and the more the students enjoy the class.

Even though I am glad that the course is over, I feel a little empty at the same time. My dive buddy (the Navigating Phenom) completed the staff instructor class with me. NP suggested that we staff the next IDC (Instructor Development Course) so that we can apply what we learned and keep developing our skills. Perhaps focusing only on the students success and not being concerned about passing the SI course will make the IDC a lot of fun. I dove with the dive master candidates a few weeks ago (they are the ones who will be doing the next IDC) and found them to be a great bunch of people. I will write more on my adventures with the next IDC as things get started in few month's time.

Thanks to our course directors for a good class.

Go free little fishy

Its been a while since I did open water certification dives. Last weekend I was able to work with another instructor and we had two groups of eight students to run through the certification dives.

We had a great time at the lake, except that the visibility was really poor this year. The visibility has been going down every year for a number of years. I think there are a number of factors that influence the visibility in our lake, but two of the contenders are - fertilizer and apparently the stocking of trout in the lake. The trout, I am told, eat the organisms that keep the algae in check. Who know what the actual cause is of the algae - I just know that at this rate we will not be able to use that particular lake for certification dives much longer.

One of the students in the morning class had an interesting surprise for us. He is a marine biology expert and decided that he wanted to release a sunfish that he had raised from a tiny newborn. He received the tiny sunfish from the local Department of Natural Resources in 1999 and kept the fish as an experiment. I am not sure what the experiment entailed, but he told us that he did not want to name the fish since he did not want to become too attached to the fish.

The marine biology expert brought the fish to the lake in a large plastic bucket and when it was time to release the fish we all gathered around the expert in the water (all of us in our full scuba gear). He tilted the bucket so that some of the lake water entered the bucket and held the bucket at an angle so that the fish could swim out if it wanted to. However the fish seemed confused and did not rush out. In fact it backed up a little and it seemed like he just wanted to stay with what was familiar. Eventually he swam a little forward and then back again. He did this a number of times (all the divers were loudly cheering the fish on by this time). Eventually the little fish swam off lazily to the loud cheers of all the students.

The release of the little sun fish was a unique experience for all of us. What a nice way to end a class.

You want me to do what?

As many know, SCUBA divers have their own unique way of communicating while submerged. We use various hand signals to communicate with one another. In every open water class that I teach we review the various hand signals that I will be using in the pool to make sure that everyone knows what I am trying to convey. Usually everyone is very well prepared by the time they attend class from watching the video or DVD and reading the course work.

Recently, I noticed that the WRSTC (World Recreational Scuba Training Council) has issued guidelines on standardized hand signals. Most major training organizations are represented on the council which means that the hand signal standard will probably become the “gold standard”. Having a united council deciding on common hand signals is a very positive step in my opinion.

The council has put together a very good document in a PDF format that describes the signal and includes pictures of the various signals.

Descending into Greatness

One of the most memorable dives so far for me was yesterday. The dive started at around 30 feet or so and within 5 minutes we were at edge of a wall. I was following directly behind the dive master and like two fighter jets we sailed effortlessly over the edge of the wall and descended head first for another 20 or 30 feet just drinking in the beauty and serene surroundings. I was positively awestruck with the beauty and magnificence of the reef and the wall, as we descended into the great beauty of the reef. I do not think I can adequately describe in words how spectacular the dive was. It was just one of those moments where you feel like time stands still and the moment is just too marvelous for words to describe. Oh, how I love to be in the water!    

The sound of music

Some people like SCUBA diving because they can escape to a world where there are no phones, emails, televisions and countless interruptions. I have heard people say that when they are diving they feel so free from the world and all of its craziness. One diver I know says that SCUBA diving is her “zen”.

On the other hand, there are people, like my daughter who cannot stand a single second of silence. Every second of the day is filled with some kind of sound. There is a certain comfort in listening to music when working out, running or doing some kind of physical work. The music tends to elevate your mood and help you “forget” about the “pain” of the workout.

Recently, I noticed that a H2O Audio from San Diego has brought out a MP3 player housing that has a depth rating of 200 feet. I guess it was only a matter of time until a waterproof MP3 player housing became available for SCUBA divers. I do not know what the sound quality will be like, but I am guessing it will be fairly good.

There are some interesting possibilities that could come as offshoots having a waterproof MP3 player available on dives. For example one could design a guided tour of an interesting dive site with all kinds of information on the MP3 player.

There are the cynical amongst us who will treat the new device with scorn. Then there are the technophiles among us who will love the new device just because it is cool and new. To each his own I guess. If the MP3 player will help you have a more enjoyable, relaxing dive then I say party on.

Back in the classroom again

A while ago I wrote about continuing education and how important it is to keep learning, especially when it comes to SCUBA diving. Last weekend, I found myself in class again, this time learning to be an instructor to student instructors. As I wrote previously, I like learning new things and part of the reason why I signed up for the staff instructor course was to learn more and to refine my skills. It has often been said that to really learn something you need to teach it.

There is a great deal of material that is covered in the instructor development course and we are expected to have mastered the material way beyond what is necessary for the student instructors. This of course is obvious since we will have to teach the material sometime in the future. The last time I studied the material it was all new and exciting, yet overwhelming. This time the material is not quite so overwhelming, yet there is a great deal to cover. Believe it or not, we actually enjoy the physics, physiology and theory parts. The part that is least fun is doing presentations to a group of your peers who find great joy and pleasure in pulling apart your presentations. It is all in good fun though. The pressure makes us work harder and makes us better instructors.

An observation that one of my fellow students made was how different it is "to be on the other side of the table". By this he meant how different it felt to sit in on presentations and skill demonstrations and do the evaluating. On the one hand one tends to be very lenient because you know how stressful it is to do the skill demonstrations to a group of evaluators, but on the other hand I remember how tough my instructors were on me when I was doing the same thing (at least that is how it felt). The term "splitting hair" comes to mind when thinking back on some of the comments I heard about my presentations. However, the tough learning environment more than prepared me for the actual classroom environment where I had to deliver the material to a group of eager student divers.

Diver Comfort

Being comfortable while diving is a relative term. For some, being comfortable means diving in warm water with great visibility and no current. For others it might mean having equipment that functions well and that fits well. Sometimes it is hard to control the environmental factors. However you can do a lot to make your dive more comfortable by making your equipment as comfortable as possible.

One of my students had all kinds of problems with the mouthpiece of the regulator she was using during the certification dives. The equipment problem almost prevented her from completing the certification. Eventually we were able to get a better fitting mouthpiece and she had no further equipment problems.

Recently I got an email from her letting me know that she is going to purchase a mouthpiece that she knows is comfortable and will be taking the mouthpiece on her upcoming dive vacation. She will use her own mouthpiece on the rental gear at the resort. I like the idea of being proactive in dealing with gear issues.

There are many things that one can do to make your gear more comfortable. For example, making sure that you have adequate exposure protection (to prevent sunburn, abrasions and stings). Another example is making sure that you can operate all the various releases, inflators etc. on your BCD. This is especially important when you are using a rental BCD. On your checkout dive at the resort, it is good idea to practice inflating, deflating, etc. without looking. You should be able to locate the low pressure hose, find the correct button and inflate/deflate without looking. You should be able to find and use any air releases on the lower back of the BCD (if so equipped).

Being familiar with your gear, and making sure that everything fits and feels good on you will go a long way to making you more comfortable in the water.

Equalize early and often

As most divers know, equalizing early and often will prevent problems and "squeezes". If you wait to equalize until you experience discomfort, then you have waited too long. You should be equalizing - gently - as often as possible on your descent. Some agencies teach that one should equalize every meter / 3 feet or so. Personally I think that one should equalize a lot more often than that.

The key issue is that the pressure change is huge in the first 10 meters / 33 feet of the dive (I will not delve into the theory now, but will do so in a later post). Therefore the pressure difference in the inner and outer can be substantial, even at relatively shallow depths. It is critical that you equalize the pressures before injury occurs to the delicate structures in your ear.

Please see this excellent tutorial by Edmond Kay, M.D. for more indepth information on equalization techniques and theory.

Keep sharpening the saw

A few years ago I read a great book by author Stephen Covey called The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Many people are probably familiar with Covey and this book. The habit of “Sharpening the Saw” is particularly applicable to SCUBA diving. In terms of sharpening the Saw the author makes the case that to be effective in your field you should keep your skills current and keep developing your knowledge base and abilities. In other words, never rest on your laurels.

Unlike many other hobbies and pastime activities, SCUBA diving requires one to keep up with new developments and equipment. As an instructor, you might have guessed that I would be beating the drum of continuing education. At the end of every open water class that we teach we always mention continuing education and encourage the students to sign up for more classes. We do this for a number of reasons (no, it is not just a money making ploy). The reason I do it is because I want people to become passionate about diving and derive as much pleasure from diving as I do.

There is research that indicates that people who complete continuing education classes and own their own equipment keep diving longer and are safer divers - a very obvious but important conclusion.

In my case, I continued to take classes after my open water class because that kept me diving and because I actually enjoy learning new things. Sometimes, taking a class was the only way I was able to dive in winter (ok, so it was only in a pool, but I still got wet).

From my observation, it would seem to me that less than twenty percent of the divers that I encounter end up taking the advanced open water classes. Even a smaller percentage goes on to take the rescue class. From my personal experience, I would say that every diver should complete at least the advanced and rescue classes. The rescue class was one of those classes that proved pivotal in my dive training. Once I completed the rescue class I felt much more comfortable in the water and knew that I could help myself and others if I got into trouble. The great thing about the rescue class is that you practice various scenarios for rescuing others.

In some of my previous posts I wrote about safety stops and that I like to practice various skills on the safety stop, like mask clears, hovering, regulator recovery etc. A responsible diver will always keep sharpening the saw of their skills and knowledge.

Is that a shark in the water?

One of the blogs that I like to read on a regular basis is DiveSouthAfrica. For the last few days there have been many posts in the Dive South Africa blog that mentioned shark attacks of various types. It might just be co-incidence, but it seems that there is an up tick in the number of attacks. As many might know, South Africa has a long coastline with a very rich diversity of marine life.

A while ago I wrote about how I dislike the practice of chumming to lure sharks to dive cages for the purposes of photography. Cage diving is very popular in South Africa and generates a good income for the various operators who gear their dives to tourists and thrill seekers. These operators cater to divers and non-divers alike since many of them will not require SCUBA certification for the cage dives. One of the shark attacks mentioned in the Dive South Africa blog happened close to where cage diving and chumming occur.

As I wrote previously, I do not think that chumming can have a good outcome. Personally, I believe that if we are to enjoy marine life we should interfere as little as possible with the way the animals behave naturally. If that means that we have to wait a little longer for a shark to appear then so be it.

Recently, there was an interesting documentary on television about Shark Mountain in the Cocos Islands. This particular site has rich diversity of marine life with an abundance of various shark species. It was fascinating to see the documentary makers prepare for their dives, and how they dove amongst literally hundreds of hammerheads.

One very interesting scene in the documentary showed the mating behavior of white tipped sharks. According to the narrator, it was the first time in twenty years of diving that he was able to see the mating ritual from start to finish. It was very violent and the female was left bleeding and exhausted. For a while, I was concerned that the males would kill the female in the mating ritual. Apparently, these sharks have the most violent mating behavior of the shark family. It is surprising that the species manages to survive such violent social behavior. Most interesting though was the documentary maker was not in a cage and was probably within 20 yards/meters or so from the sharks.

I guess the point of this post is to contrast various ways in which we can interact with the top predator in the sea. It might mean that we have to travel further, spend more time researching and waiting, but in my opinion it is safer to observe the sharks in their natural environment without introducing any external influences like chumming. However, having said all that, I would not like to encounter a great white face to face without the security of a cage. I guess most other species I would not have too much trouble with, but the great whites still get my adrenaline pumping!

PS: 10/26/05 noticed an interesting link on Divester about a shark video in South Africa. Worth watching. Thanks Bill.

There must be a better way

It is hard to understand why it is still necessary and permissible to pump vast quantities of sewage (raw and treated) into the world's oceans. Yes, I know that the amount of sewage pumped into the sea is very small compared to the total volume of sea water, that there have been studies that claim that it is a safe practice, that it is economically necessary, blah, blah, blah. Yes, I know and understand the arguments in favor of dumping sewage into our oceans.

However, I must say I find the thought of diving in sewage (no matter how diluted or treated) to be repulsive. Yes, I know that the fish do their thing in the sea. I am ok with that. I am not ok, however, with introducing our waste into the oceans, when there are better ways of treating and processing sewage.

The following appeared in an article on CDNN (http://www.cdnn.info/news/eco/e051017.html) - originally from the Bradenton Herald.

BOYNTON BEACH, Florida (17 Oct 2005) -- State environmental regulators are investigating a pump that's dumping treated sewage into the Atlantic Ocean after recreational scuba divers said it was killing a coral reef.
The group, Palm Beach County Reef Rescue, says a pipe from the South Central Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant is spewing nitrogen-rich sewage that's fueling algae blooms. The algae are fouling the Gulf Stream Reef, a popular diving spot off Boynton Beach a mile and a half away from the pipe, the divers say.

"It's clear-cut," said Reef Rescue Director Ed Tichenor, a former New Jersey environmental consultant for private industry. "There are areas of (the reef) that look like a parking lot now."

I am not a scientist, marine biologist or an activist. I am just an average guy who loves to dive and help other people dive. It bothers me that we still need to dump sewage into the oceans when there are so many other options available. Why must we harm the oceans just because it is cheaper to do it that way?

As a society, we should display the moral integrity and courage to make the difficult decisions necessary to be good stewards of the natural resources that have been entrusted to us.

Equipment - lights, camera, action

A while ago I wrote about my friend the Navigating Phenom (NP) who is an avid underwater videographer. NP has gathered quite the impressive collection of video equipment. Not only has he become a good photographer, he has also learned a great deal about marine life. What NP does is produce very nice looking short movies of the various dives that he does. When he is editing the footage he will make annotations about what the various species of marine animals are that he happens to be filming.

NP says that the key to capturing great footage and pictures is to be very patient and to know and understand the species that you are filming. If you know their behavior you will know where to look and what to expect. Many divers invest in fish identification books/slates that will help identify the various species you might encounter.

To get started in underwater photography, it might be a good idea to take an underwater photography class. You will learn many skills that will be useful in capturing excellent shots. The other class that might be useful is to take a buoyancy control class. This will help you develop pinpoint buoyancy control.

A good camera, housing, good lights and patience will make a huge difference to your enjoyment of the marine world.

After reading Willy's post in Divester.com I was reminded that a good site that you might find interesting for indepth camera information and reviews is Wetpixel.

Equipment - Fins

There are many different types of fins on the market. The choice that you make will be influenced by a number of factors including, the type of diving that you will be doing, how much you want to spend and whether you have any physical limitations.

Type of diving: if you will be diving in warm tropical waters then you would probably want to select a full foot fin. Cold water divers prefer to wear booties to keep their feet warm and generally use open heeled fins with the booties. If you are going to be doing both cold and warm water diving, then a good compromise would be to select an open heeled pair of fins since you use can them in both cold and warm water.

Cost: generally there is a relationship between the cost of the fins and how well they perform. The newer technology fins have undergone some very interesting changes. For example Scubapro markets split fins that look like they should not work, but work very well. Most manufacturers have a line of fins that include some kind of split fin/channel technology. The idea is that the split in the fins (or channels) help reduce the water pressure and resistance, yet allow you to kick efficiently. I do not want to delve too much into the theory of how they work, suffice to say that split fins have my hearty recommendation.

Physical limitations: If your knees have been injured due to a sports injury or some kind of accident etc. you certainly want to be careful in selecting the type of fins that you dive with. Fins make a huge difference to your comfort in the water. The newer, more efficient fins put less stress on your knees and allow you to kick more efficiently.

Consult your local dive store (LDS) about your specific fin choice, especially if you have some kind of physical limitation. Finding a good fit is important so that you can prevent or reduce cramping and excessive fatigue. Your LDS will be able to help you find a well fitting pair of fins.

Willy Volk from http://www.divester.com/ wrote an interesting post on open heeled fins versus full foot fins that include many links to excellent articles for more indepth research. See Willie's article here. Thanks Willie.