Thailand has banned entry-level divers from utilizing cameras close to reefs – former full-time teacher Mark ‘Crowley’ Russell explains why the transfer has been so warmly welcomed by skilled divers
The arrival of digital cameras and the rise of underwater images reworked the scuba diving world. It started as a trickle within the late Nineteen Nineties, gained momentum with the arrival of Fb in 2005, and have become a veritable flood following the launch of Instagram in 2010.
I used to be a full-time dive skilled throughout these years, and a few of us would jokingly seek advice from underwater photographers because the ‘bane of our existence’. Divers who had been extra targeted on their viewscreens than their environment grew to become a severe headache on the planet of leisure vacation diving.
It’s necessary to notice that there’s a clear distinction between a correct ‘underwater photographer’ and a ‘diver utilizing a digicam underwater’. The previous is often an skilled diver with professional buoyancy management, who prefers to dive in teams with different photographers; the latter is somebody who has simply picked up a digicam and become – how shall I say this politely? – a complete nightmare.
Some are simply point-and-shoot joyful snappers; others have all of the costly gear and completely no thought methods to use it. The worst, nonetheless, are those that have so little consciousness past their digicam that they’re a real hazard to marine life, the surroundings, themselves and, probably, their complete dive crew.
I’ve seen a diver utilizing desk coral as a digicam stand; one other who propped himself up towards a block of fireside coral. I’ve needed to pull individuals off the reef by their tank valves.
Some camera-wielding divers will attempt to provoke a response from wildlife by poking it – a observe that’s not simply vastly disrespectful and probably damaging, but in addition genuinely harmful. There are many species – blue-ringed octopuses, for instance – that you simply actually don’t wish to annoy.
I’ve handled photographers who’ve burned via their air 20 minutes right into a 60-minute dive. One girl shot down 20 metres from a security cease to snap a passing turtle. A chap I used to be diving with within the Crimson Sea disappeared contained in the Thistlegorm wreck, then swam round it the incorrect method earlier than rising, to my aid, on the opposite aspect of the ship.
I’ve had divers linger so lengthy over a clownfish that they’ve mistakenly joined a following dive crew. As soon as, I even needed to abort a dive at Shark and Jolanda reef in Sharm El Sheikh as a result of a photographer went lacking. I spent 5 frantic minutes blazing round these two big pinnacles searching for him, solely to search out him handing his digicam as much as a bemused crewman on a distinct dive centre’s boat.
Generally, the one choice for stopping hurt was to ban individuals from diving with their cameras.
What I’m much less obsessed with telling individuals is that I, too, was as soon as a type of drawback divers. My very own first expertise with a digicam was in 2002, after I rented a Sea & Sea Motormarine 1 – the basic yellow field digicam – throughout a vacation to Sharm El Sheikh.
I captured rolls and rolls of movie of largely blue-tinted fish swimming away from me towards the background of a blue-tinted reef. Flushed with my success, I repeated my endeavours on a subsequent vacation to El Gouna.
On one dive, I noticed a crocodile fish within the sand beneath me, wanting prefer it needed to be photographed. I swam down and was nearly to take that good shot… when my information tapped me on the shoulder and relatively furiously advised me to ascend.
He checked my gauge. He gave me his octopus. I sat via the ignominy of slowly ascending from 15m again to safety-stop depth and spending one other three minutes there on a spare air provide, attempting to fake I wasn’t an ass.
I believe it’s necessary to inform that sorry story as a result of it’s completely consultant of the type of stupidity that usually overtakes divers with cameras. Like lots of those that would later turn into the bane of my existence, I used to be an Superior Open Water (AOW) diver with round 50 dives. I thought of myself to be fairly educated. I learn DIVE Journal.
In that second, nonetheless, I deserted my coaching to take an image of a quite common fish. I don’t actually know why. I used to be by no means an fanatic on the floor and there was no social media again then, so it wasn’t about exhibiting off, however I put myself in a probably very harmful place nonetheless.
For some motive the need to take an image of an alien creature in a novel surroundings turns even competent and thoughtful divers into idiots.
This is the reason many divers and dive professionals have very warmly welcomed the choice by Thai authorities to ban entry-level divers from utilizing cameras, and ban instructors from utilizing cameras throughout entry-level coaching.
Throughout entry-level coaching, it’s a no brainer. Any consideration an teacher pays to their digicam is consideration not being paid to their college students, and any affordable teacher would discover such a factor unacceptable, as a result of it’s harmful.
Skilled underwater photographers will at all times say {that a} mastery of dive abilities is important previous to getting began with a digicam.
That is largely as a result of the chief drawback for novice underwater photographers is – like many issues – poor buoyancy management, resulting in environmental injury as they thrash their fins round attempting to remain in place.
Past injury to the reef, most cameras require the usage of two fingers whereas taking an image, leaving none for dump valves and inflators. This leaves inexperienced divers with cameras susceptible to crashing into no matter’s beneath them or fast, uncontrolled ascents.
Not having each fingers free impacts a diver’s capacity to help themselves or change place, so having the ability to handle your orientation within the water utilizing simply your fins is important. Studying to fin backwards, for instance, takes a good quantity of observe however is taken into account an necessary ability by the professionals.
A photographer’s body of reference shrinks to the dimensions of their viewscreen, so it’s necessary to make observations earlier than transferring in for a shot. Additionally required is an effective consciousness of your place to stop injury to the surroundings, or by accident grabbing on to the coral (or scorpionfish, true story!) if you have to attain out and regular your self.
Most dangerously of all, digicam screens turn into a distraction from gauges and dive computer systems. Inattention to both can result in low-on-air conditions and no decompression restrict violations, probably leading to fast ascents, decompression sickness, and even boat strikes.
Some will argue that Thailand’s minimal requirement of AOW for photographers shouldn’t be sufficient. Certification stage and dive expertise usually are not an ideal match, nonetheless, so I believe it’s an appropriate place to attract the road.
Having mentioned that, I might advocate that dive professionals be allowed to have a say during which divers are competent sufficient to be allowed to make use of a digicam, and ask those that aren’t to get some extra coaching earlier than they do.
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Crowley (identified to his mum as Mark), packed in his IT job in 2005 and spent the subsequent 9 years working as a full-time scuba diving skilled. He began writing for DIVE in 2010 and hasn’t stopped since.
