child diver suggestions available?

My 10 yr old granddaughter just completed Jr certification! WOOHOO. Her mother and father are already certified. In a few weeks, we will be diving together at Roatan, west end.

It will be the G.D's first ocean diving so we will be taking it very slow and comfortable for her. I will have a Canon A540 with OEM casing with YS-25 strobe for her to try if she is comfy with diving, while I will have my G9 in OEM housing and two Z240's. I am far from an expert u/w photographer.

Our dives with her will be relaxed, shallow with little to no current, likely late morning, early aftn. with the 4 of us staying together. Just making it fun for her to experience.

Any suggestions on easing her into the diving experience, then on into photography (if she shows strong enough diving skills) would be welcome.

I have not seen her u/w yet. If she does not look to be really comfortable with bouy. control and relaxed, will pass on trying to show her any photography until a future trip.

thanks for any suggestions.

Dave

Hello Dave,

My son took up one of my old compacts and YS-25s when he was 10 years old. A year later he now considers a camera to be as essential on each dive as his gas and regulators!

My only caution to you is its going to cost you a lot of money to feed both your and your grand daughter's photographic passions . CJ has already evolved into a G9, Ike, a pair of Z-240s and a rack of Inon glass. Just how long is it going to be before he starts muttering about "a DSLR and a Subal..?"

Hello Dave,

 

My son took up one of my old compacts and YS-25s when he was 10 years old. A year later he now considers a camera to be as essential on each dive as his gas and regulators!

 

My only caution to you is its going to cost you a lot of money to feed both your and your grand daughter's photographic passions . CJ has already evolved into a G9, Ike, a pair of Z-240s and a rack of Inon glass. Just how long is it going to be before he starts muttering about "a DSLR and a Subal..?"

Well if the babes would have been after your son as a cool scuba diver before, they sure won't be anymore now that he's an underwater photographer!

Well, CJ starts high school in September and he'll be well tanned and blonde from an August in the Red Sea so I don't expect it'll be too long before he (or the babes) start to take an interest... And wait till the girls check him out in his Marine Cadet uniform. Hey, maybe that'll be the cheaper option too!! Here's an unashamably self-gratifying snap I took of him at Elphinstone last year.

Dave,

My youngest started diving at age 10. She was adorable, very comfortable in the water, and fearless. I would recomment avoiding the temptation and not offering a camera for a while. I would want her to become really comfortable with her boyancy and very aware of her air consumption first. I'm sure there are exceptional multi-task capable children but you'd never forgive yourself if something went wrong for her or the marine life.

Just my opinion...

Lauren

Hi Lauren,

I believe you have given very appropriates advice. I omitted to mention that CJ has been diving from the age of 7 and at the time he took up camera had already completed two weeks in the Red Sea and around 70 dives.

Thanks for the good advice. I will give the extra camera to her mother or father so they can take pics of the first week of diving (along with me and my camera).

Will be there diving in only 2 weeks! "Pumped" would be an understatement.