From October/November 1991 Newsletter © John Wall & "The" Dive Shop, all rights reserved

   Why is underwater photography so popular? What can experienced photographers get out of underwater photography courses? Should novice photographers take underwater photo courses? What is photo instructor “macho”?

   The first three are common questions. Unfortunately, the answers given usually reflect photo instructor “macho”. Let’s examine it first.

   Years ago, diving instructors “impressed” students with tales of deep dives and other sea stories. As time passed, however, instructors became more sensitive to novice divers and their questions – that it, they did in every realm except underwater photography.

   Make no mistake: Underwater photography is where “diving macho” now lives.  In the old days, diving instructors would scare the daylights out of people by talking about decompression sickness, air embolism, aggressive fish, etc. They passed out photos of large, toothsome sharks, bearing the caption, Have a nice day. These instructors acted as though they held the keys to the magic kingdom and would grant admission to only those whom they chose – no others need apply. What a crock!

   Nowadays, many underwater photo instructors do the same thing -  just in different terms. Instead of using terms such as Decompression sickness, they intimidate potential underwater photographers with terms such as aperture, apparent distance, depth of field, focal plane shutter, and total light path. The worst part is that these instructors may not even realize that they are scaring away people from underwater photography. Is this necessary?

   Like many of you, I have a stereo system. And, even though I have little understanding of electronics, I have no difficulty in using it. I know that, by turning a dial, I can change radio stations. And, by flipping a switch, I can select music from either the tape drive or compact disc player. Primitive people classify unexplained technology as “magic”. By that definition, my stereo works magically!

   At “The” Dive Shop, we take a similar approach to teaching underwater photography. We don’t bombard novices with mumbo-jumbo or technospeak.  Instead, we tell students that, “If you do this, you will get that result”. By following our simple instructions, people with little understanding of photography can soon take photos that rival those of more experienced underwater photographers.

   Speaking of experienced photographers, what can these folks gain by taking underwater photography courses? Photography can be defined as experiments in recording light. Light behaves differently under water than it does on the surface. More importantly, people behave differently underwater than they do on the surface.

   Some years ago, a person signing up for an underwater photo course stated “I don’t know why I’m signing up for this course; I’ve been teaching photography for 40 years.” When he entered the pool, however, his equipment fell off and he nearly drowned. Why? He focused all of his attention on the camera system and not on the skills of diving.

   No matter how skilled a person is as a photographer or diver, diving with a camera is a unique experience – one that radically alters your photographic and diving skills. Most experienced divers admit that their clumsiest divers were the first ones that they made with cameras. And, please remember that clumsy dives are bad for the environment. This returns us to the first question asked in this column: Why is underwater photography so popular?

   In the era before divers became environmentally aware, many of them would take coral or sea fans as souvenirs. The environmental impact of these acts was devastating. Today, souvenir taking is no longer tolerated. Most divers are aware of the fragile nature of the living reef. In response to this fragility, conscientious divers use minimal weight and avoid laying on, standing on or even touching the reef.

   No one would tolerate a backpacker who clumsily broke off branches from all the trees that he or she passed. Similarly, we can no longer ignore the effect of clumsy divers on our reefs. Environmentally aware divers take only pictures and leave only bubbles. The best souvenir of an underwater adventure is a photograph; the best result of that adventure is a highly-refined set of diving skills, gently applied to a fragile environment. This is the real treasure of diving and is why underwater photography enjoys its immense popularity. It makes underwater treasures available for everyone.

   “The” Dive Shop offers free photo/video seminars on a regular basis. Their purpose is to expand the horizons of anyone interested in underwater photo or video. Before you invest in any photo or video equipment, make plans to attend one of our seminars. They will help you save time and money, and minimize frustration.