Dive Buddy Etiquette for the U/W Photographer

This actually came about because I dive with my wife who is a non-photographer.

She complains that I take too long on one spot sometimes...of course its because I probably found a subject to shoot. Normaly if it is an "extraordinary" find I always signal her to come over so she can see it first, then I shoot her interaction, when she leaves I shoot the subject. There are times where I shoot the "mundane" such as a clown fish, or a soldier fish, or a reef scene in general...

I try to balance her diving experience with my diving experience, but sometimes I feel like I rush to take a shot knowing I am about to get the airhorn.

How do you dive with a NON-photog dive buddy?

Educate your buddy!

Many very experienced divers (who are not photographers) are very slow moving about the place. They have learned that the best things come to those who wait. All experienced divers will tell you that you will see so much more if you slow right down.

In fact I have dived with non-photographers who I as a photographer have had to wait for!

All that said, if your buddy is your wife, it is probably best to do exactly as she wants most of the time. Life is easier that way.

Alex

Get her a camera. That's what I did with my brother/dive buddy....

Get her a magnifying glass (one made from glass, not plastic) and she can explore the macro world while staying nearby.

Hmmm. Sounds like she is missing out. My non-photog buddy goes just as slow as I do, if not slower. She finds things that the guides miss. We were consistently left behind by the DM on our most recent trip to Thailand, even after I flooded my camera. One doesn't go site seeing through a scenic town at 200kph/124mph on the expressway. I get great enjoyment out of studying behavior.

Get her an S80 in a Canon housing. It's cheap and will suddenly slow her down.

Sorry to hear about your camera George :-(

James

Get her a camera and she'll be going slower than you. Thats what happened to me and I lost my spotter!

My wife and I take turns with our camera. We compete over who takes the best composition etc. I get it one dive, she gets it the next.

I typically end the dive when my buddy complains, and go up, and deal with whatever the problem was. It's usually a low battery or a full card.

My wife, non-photographer, is really pretty tolerant of me stopping to take pictures, although she has complained of bordom from time to time. This changed when we moved to monterey, and she got cold waiting for me to shoot a given subject. Although expensive, the drysuit changed everthing.

As long as she's confortable, she's willing to tolerate my obsession. I hope to get her to shoot with my P&S when I upgrade to a DSLR.

John

Get your buddy (in this case my wife) a video camera. Then she will spot stuff for you as well and it least in our circles good video beats good photos for interest every time. The disadvantages are that you need to get a second computer and a bigger camera case.

Bill

Teach them about what you do and also teach them to be independent and self reliant. My wife doesn't really shoot, but when we dive together she just putts around having fun. She also looks for stuff for me to photograph. She knows what she is getting when we jump in...a jump later for being so patient with me.

dive on your own!

I had this problem too! Hubby founds it boring to dive with me and this was really an obstacle to my uw photography. Also it was was leading to time conflicts, because he did not like having to spend "together time" on an activity that he did not like that much. A few years back I tried to solve this by trying to get him interested in photography, but that did not work at all, photography is just not something he he gets excited about, and there is no way I can "make him" like it. So we found another solution: He got into golf, something he always really wanted to do, but that I don't "get" at all. I lined up several more compatible divebuddies for myself. Although there are some photonuts in there, many of them do not carry a camera. Some like modelling, some like critterspotting and some just like going slow and easy. It helps being part of a dive club, but I also have found really good buddies by "picking them up on the divedeck". Now I can dive without worrying how the hubby feels and he can go golfing without worrying how bored I am. We do set aside weekends for "together time" and when we are together, we do something that both of us like passionately, in our case it is sailing. On the occasions we do dive together, I generally shoot WA which allows for a bit more movement than macro, and I try not to obsess too much although I still wouldn't go into the water without the camera. Works for us.