At the beginning of a new year, many of us challenge ourselves with improvements of some kind, and for many of us, those are underwater.
There was a recent post on our Facebook page where many divers mentioned improving their skills, moving up in the ranks to become an Instructor or to earn some specialty certifications.
Many of us simply want to do more diving in one way or another, be it deeper, colder, darker, or just more dives per year.
My goal is to hone my underwater photography skills (gee… that sounds like a specialty that we teach here!) so that when I can carry a camera with me, I’m ready to pounce when the moment strikes.
One such magical moment occurred when I was out at Molokini towards Reef’s End and one of my students pointed out two White Tip Reef Sharks that were heading towards me! I was so excited and in the heat of the moment didn’t have any time to adjust my camera’s settings, so the only photo I got was a crummy one that can’t be saved even with the help of good Photoshop skills. MAN that was a good shot that I missed!
On the other end of the spectrum, I had a magical moment when I noticed a tiny little nudibranch that had landed on my Sola 1200. How special! Since those guys don’t move so fast, I had time to adjust some settings and get a cute macro shot of the little guy.
I have the advantage of owning my own underwater camera, and I certainly know how to use it, but there are some features like one-touch white balance and macro settings that I can become more familiar with just by practicing while I’m diving.
If you’re renting a camera, be sure to get good instructions on how to use it from the dive shop and if you own your own, spend some time being a pokey diver and playing with the settings (and yeah, read the manual). Being familiar with your camera and having it already set up and ready to go for the environment you’re diving in can make all the difference when it comes to getting that perfect shot. Need help with some of your camera skills? We have Digital Underwater Photography and Peak Performance Buoyancy classes that might be just right for you, come on in and ask us about them today!
In the meantime, best fishes with your diving resolutions for 2014!
Aloha,
Sara
