To weight, or not to weight

I often just dive down when I don't have a camera but with a camera and a wetsuit its very difficult to get yourself down far enough to actually take close up photos. I know there are some solutions to this problem but I'm wondering what the more experienced free divers do to overcome the shooting down phenomenon. I know in order to get my largess on the bottom of a 10ft pool, steady myself and snap a photo requires me to exhale completely. Needless to say a snorkel isn't an option (No air to clear it at the surface .

Do the more experienced of you weight yourself and then use a snorkel vest or BCD to get yourself back up? Or, do you just fight your way down ... snap a picture and get back to the top? I can see this last one being a problem with my 3 mil full wetsuit.

Lambis might be able to offer more help, but I dont think he ever hits bottom where he free dives.

Experiment with your weight in the pool or where ever you are going to be diving. I can find a weight that leaves me boyant at the surface and practically neutral at depth. Make meticulous notes on gear and weight.

A rubber spearfishing style weight belt is nice, the weights stay where you put them, or a weight vest. This keeps you stable while your diving.

Certain finning patters can keep you positioned for a shot. Imagine a fishes pectoral fin patters when it swimming in place.

Take your snorkel out of your mouth when you dive, it can make it easier to hold your breath.

Maintaining the volume of air in your lungs throughout the dive will stabilize your boyancy.

Buy a book on freediving or take some advanced classes

Never wear to much weight when snorkeling, Ive heard to many horror stories, they all end in death.

I spent a summer in Aurora, whenever I went to the mountains I always wanted to bring my wetsuit and chase those mountain trout. Fond memories.

I don't freedive much, but I've gone a few times with my father in law, who's been abalone diving for about 50 years. Typically, you want to weight yourself enough to be neutral (breathe out and bob under water, and take a dive float or a board for long kicks and to hang your catch if you're hunting.

freediving and photography is not a easy think... freediving alone is a art to master...

weighting, good style, holding the rig in a position untill you come to the actual dept so the drag is minimla and just untill you take the photo forget that you have a camera.

When i try to go deep or just laying in the bottom i use to dive as a spearfisher.. ( i was one in my early years)

Try to have a rig that is negativ and just put it in from of you and dive slowly.

Or doit as I do sometimes .. I hold the rig with both hands beind my back...

About wiegting... you need much weight to be neutral but its inportand to have them place not only around you waist...

I use offen 500 grams weighs around the legs so that i can say vertical all the time..

One good trick, if you like to be horizontal is to use back wieghts as sperarfisher do...

But the best trick is to really learn freedive. Not deep but the technic

so you are really relax and cool underwater.

To exhale for stabilisation is very very dancerous!!!! if you are not a good freediver and have flexible chest.

If you exhale in 5 meters you have a presuare on your lungs as you are between 30-50 meters!!!!!!!

Thats the way that we train to make ouer lungs get use the big preasure but its very very dangerus.. so dont do it

Put aditional weights , i know it hard to come up and you get tyired but its a good training :-)

Lambis

Just a note. I wasn't nor would I suggest that you exhale before diving or during. It is a good way to check your weighting. If you just float and you exhale and bob under, your weighting is pretty close to neutral.

Lambis and Larry,

I appreciate the advice. I'm going to by trying to photograph some Manatees next week with a wetsuit on. I often freedive while snorkeling in lakes in the summer and find that with a wetsuit it is very difficult to get as deep as I like. Anyway, I'll just be in 10-15ft of water in Florida but need to be able to be maintain depth to take an upward photo...not as easy as it sounds.

Thanks,

Gary

"I spent a summer in Aurora, whenever I went to the mountains I always wanted to bring my wetsuit and chase those mountain trout. Fond memories."

I often snorkle/freedive in Aurora Reservoir in the summer. While I'm not the best at freediving I can stay down long enough to harass the local trout population and crayfish. Unbelievable crayfish...some 6-8 inches long. Its unfortunate but the area they let you dive in is pretty much devoid of any fish. The best areas with large stripers and trout lies in about 20ft of water in the summer off the beach area (no fishing allowed!!!!).

Later,

Gary

How deep are we talking here? I snorkel without a wetsuit, not going very deep (max 15-20 feet) and like to have four pounds around my waist. I am very buoyant, though, and am still slightly positive even with this weight.

I would never exceed 20ft with a camera in my hands.

Gary