Northwest Dive Club

- Take lots of photos. Then, be brutal with yourself on what worked and what didn't. Check the EXIF information to see what the camera settings were on the good photos (and the bad). If you don't like what the camera is doing in AUTO mode, shoot in manual (all my photos are shot in Manual mode). Th...

I'd like to start a thread for things you've learned by experience, i.e., that you wished someone had told you sooner. I'll start with a few: - Never let your ports dry on their own . Wipe them dry, or else the rinse water droplets will leave mineral deposits and form a haze (which you can probably ...

It's a great shot (with either caption!)! A non-diver might very well think all those tubeworms were actually part of the fish! Well done, especially considering it required some contortionist activity!

Last year I was in Rangiroa, Fr. Polynesia, and did some fabulous drift dives in the pass during incoming tides. Since there was no way to shoot still photos in that current, I used it as an opportunity to try my 5D Mark II's video capability. Here's the video: http://vimeo.com/4968980 . Obviously, ...

Jan, those are photo contest material, for sure. Not only did you catch something unusual, but the expression on the sculpin's face, with his little pectoral fins spread wide, really captures the drama of it. I totally agree!! That's the kind of thing that really gets judges' attention! Fabulous ca...

I would like to add one more way of looking at this: it's nice to have a camera that's not in a housing. I find that once I'm out diving (especially on the boat) I don't want to take the camera out of the housing if I can help it. That's when a Steller Sea Lion will pop up beside the boat with a bi...

I'd suggest opening the photo in Camera Raw (even if it's a JPG, you can still do so - just open Bridge, find the photo and right-click to choose "Open in Camera Raw"), and use the "Recovery" slider (second one down). It is designed to do exactly what you want - recover over-expo...

Although I had the same thought as Bob - too much post-processing - there are a heck of a lot of stunning images there, and it is obvious that the original shots (pre-Photoshop) really were exceptional. You gotta give credit where credit is due...and there's a lot of credit due for dozens of those s...

Tiger sharks are awesome, beautiful creatures. I've been on three Bahamas tiger shark diving trips (Shearwater out of W. Palm Beach), and have spent hours watching them up close and personal (how's this for close?): ;) http://seattleyates.com/2006-03-19-1DsII-15mm-5325.jpg In all that time, I only o...

Interesting topic. I think one thing involved in this issue is a seemingly natural tendency to think that rules are for everyone else, and that "I" am different (i.e., smarter, faster, better) than all those people for whom rules/guidelines were written. I see that blatantly in motorcycle ...

Norris wrote: Always remember the DOUBLE TAP!!

BTW, the book is available for Kindle or iPad for $8.54.

Not that I'm qualfied to jump into a PFO discussion ('cause I'm NOT), but a lot of people may have the same question I had years ago when I heard about PFO's: How do you know if you've got one? The answer I got was that regular medical insurance won't pay for the test to find out unless there's some...

...I set shutter speed, ISO and aperture manually, and let the camera handle fill-in with the strobe via TTL. Haven't tried manual strobe control, but I haven't really seen any issues with TTL. In many cases (especially macro, where the only light involved in the exposure is strobe) TTL will work j...

Very sobering, well-written article, fortunately with a "happy ending." I can attest to the importance of having DAN (or some other) insurance. I had a "minor" medical incident (not dive related) on a boat in the Bahamas a few years, and my doctor (via satelite phone) required th...

CONGRATS, Janna!!!! You did a great job of perfectly lighting the foreground with your strobe, while exposing for the background! :joshsmith: You have come far, grasshopper! Use the histogram instant review on your G9 to see if you're getting a decent exposure. Could you expand a bit on this. I see ...

...I think you can set the camera in manual mode and then just turn your strobe setting off of TTL. The settings below the TTL setting are the various manual strobe settings (full strength, less, less, less)... Agreed. I used to rely heavily on TTL, but once I started shooting full manual (camera a...

VERY nice stuff! Love the nudi's, and your gallery is chuck full of nice, colorful photos. Great work!

I completely agree with Bob's words of wisdom, but also think there's some good advice in Dusty2's comments (after you've got a LOT of dives - counted in hundreds, not tens or twenties - under your belt). However, I want to add one other perspective to this question that nobody has mentioned. IMO, t...

Well, I finally got my DSLR wet in Puget Sound for the first time today! As expected, operating controls with dry gloves was a bit of a challenge, but I'm sure that'll get easier with time. We did two dives from Deep Sea out of Anacortes - just two sites near port - nothing very special about the si...

Thanks for the tips! I'm just transporting my gear by car to the shore dive/boat dive. It looks like the soft sided cooler is the cheapest and easiest solution to the problem. If I end up going to Bonaire in the spring I'll look at my travel options. Right now I'm shooting with a DX2G, focus light ...

What kind of camera, housing and strobes? Makes a big difference what you'll need. And as dlh said, is this for flying, ground transport or both? Pelican and Storm cases are sort of the standard for protecting gear for regular transport, e.g., weekend trips by car. If for flying as well as land, how...

Thanks - that was my inclination.

But this leads me to expand this thread to a broader question: when/why is air in a tank likely to have become stale/dangerous to breathe?
Is it due mainly to the time elapsed, the condition of the tank, or solely the quality of the original fill?

I've got a tank full of 32% nitrox that has been sitting around for over a year. It was a brand new tank and this was its first fill. It occurred to me that perhaps the air might have gone "stale". Is that a valid concern, or is it likely OK to use the tank rather than empty/refill it?

VERY cool, and definitely looks like a big boy (or girl)!

Couldn't have been too stressed, because it looked like he was "hunting" (sticking his tentacles into holes looking for crabs, etc.) as he went. Congrats on a great dive!

olyvtx wrote: I would say when it comes to UW photography....Finding the critters is the hard part (for me anyways). It amazes me how guys like Jan find the critters...then capture in picture them doing some incredible things.

Amen (on both counts)!