Photographers - be careful

I on the other hand don't have to worry about that and after 3 days of biting my tongue I calmly told the arrogant ass to clean up his act.

It came as quite a shock to him that someone would actually have the audacity to challenge his photographic and diving edicate.

Now make no misatke he is an excellent diver and photographer but he had simply lost the plot and getting the shot was his only concern to the detriment of the reef and other divers.

As we would say back home 'Fair play to ye boy!'

I do believe Jacques Cousteau wasn't adverse to using the odd stick of dynamite or two in the good old days, to blow up chunks of reef if they got in the way of camera shoots.

Wny not name and shame this arrogant ass...you'll be doing him a favour.....he can look on his 'name n shame' as part of his (much needed) re-education of where his place should be in the natural order of things....and you'll be playing a valuable role in curing that arrogance...

I have not read the study but when you go diving on a liveaboard and where you are expected to see nice things (coral formations or fish) people (sometimes I do, too) get too close and the damage you do with a tank banging on a coral is way bigger than some damage which is done by nature (storms or similar).

Besides that a lot of people doing photography underwater just don't know how to do it. It is so easy to get an underwater camera (for not that much money anymore) and you go down there without knowing your bouyancy and just kick against hard- and/or softcorals which always makes me quite angry. It's the same with an other simple and basic rule: just DONT TOUCH ANYTHING down there! As simple as that would it be if photographers knew how to control ther bouyancy and therefore get some nice pictures...

I would imagine that most people on here want reefs to survive so that we'll continue having things to see and photograph, but it always irks me that the first post is a "well, they can't possibly mean US! they must mean tourists with point and shoots".

I have been all over the world, and can tell you that the fact that you've completed your dive certs nor the fact you invested in a housing means you know anything about conservation, conscientious diving, or much else. I've seen divers trample reefs, kill species, and yes- I can tell you stories about Cousteau that no one else has heard- destroy the environment for a shot, or through negligence.

Anyway- be aware of what YOU are doing, tourist or diver.

I can tell you stories about Cousteau that no one else has heard...

We might have heard them, nonetheless.

Many of us have sucked eggs for a long time...

Yes, including the baby seal kidnap.

We might have heard them, nonetheless.

 

Many of us have sucked eggs for a long time...

That's refreshing...I'm new on here, but I have run in Cousteau's circles...many folks have a hero adoration for him, and it's nice to know there are those out there who question what he did. (Then again, to put his actions in context, there weren't rules/laws/etc to control what he did...It is hard to judge a pioneer). However, the historic office in Truk tells of several large shipping containers that were shipped out when JC left the lagoon...they bemoan what was lost, and never seen again.

Anyway-

By the way, I had never heard the "I can teach your grandmother to suck eggs" line- but it appears in a Ren and Stimpy cartoon- not knowing what it meant, it's a pretty hilarious saying.

I have held Hans Hass in greater regard than Cousteau for a long time, although Cousteau was a man of his time and that should not be forgotten.

I believe that education and training are very important factors to look after our environment while we are diving. I saw many photographers and non-photographers damaging the coral reef while shooting. Specially, new divers who focus on the picture and forget about the buoyancy, bumping against everything around them.