Posts Tagged ‘Underwater Photography’
Monday, March 14th, 2016

This beautiful image from photographer and PADI Divemaster Sophie Hart is featured on the 2016 PADI Diving Society membership cards. We sat down with Sophie as she described the dive behind the shot, as well as some other insights into her budding career as an underwater photographer. When did you become a […]
The post The Dive Behind the Photo: Sophie Hart appeared first on .
Tags: Diving, News & Events, PADI, Underwater Photography
Posted in PADI Diving Society, Rebreathers, Scuba Careers, Scuba_News, sophie hart, standards, Teach First Aid/CPR, Tec, Tec Diving, Technology, TecRec, TecRec IT Crossover, UW Photography, Wrecks | Comments Off on The Dive Behind the Photo: Sophie Hart
Saturday, March 5th, 2016
Why do the Top 100 Readers Choice Awards, now in their 23rd year, still matter to divers? Because these are your picks, based on thousands of votes from the most experienced dive travelers on the planet. Why do they matter to us? Because every month you hear from our editors on what we think matters in the world of dive travel. For the January/February issue of Scuba Diving we get to listen to you, and we’re taking notes.
Here, we proudly present the No. 1 ranking destinations in the Best Beginner Diving category of the awards. The full list of winning destinations is below.
Best Beginner Diving in the Caribbean and Atlantic
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Bonaire
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Dominica
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Curaçao
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Cayman Islands
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Bahamas
Best Beginner Diving in North America
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Florida
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California
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Washington
Best Beginner Diving in the Pacific and Indian Oceans
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Hawaii
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Indonesia
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Philippines
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Thailand
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Red Sea
How We Got the Numbers Thousands of Scuba Diving subscribers and online users rated their experiences at dive destinations in a variety of categories on a scale from one to five. Final scores are an average of the numerical scores awarded. A minimum number of responses was required for a destination to be included in these ratings.
Tags: Bahamas, Bonaire, california, cayman islands, Curacao, Dominica, Florida Keys, hawaii, Indonesia, North America, Philippines, photos, Red Sea, Thailand, Travel, Underwater Photography
Posted in Asia and Indian Ocean, Australia and Pacific, Caribbean And Atlantic, Featured Travel, Rebreathers, Scuba_News, standards, Teach First Aid/CPR, Tec, Tec Diving, Technology, TecRec, TecRec IT Crossover, Top 100, UW Photography, Wrecks | Comments Off on World’s Best Destinations for Beginner Diving
Tuesday, February 16th, 2016
Divers that slow down while touring the reefs will find that they have more opportunities to witness some interesting behaviors – hunting, courting, mating, egg laying, egg tending, and territorial displays. However, I don’t think that anything is quite as cool, nor entertaining, as the “cleaning stations” that can be found on every tropical reef. This is where fish (including eels and sharks), as well as turtles and other open ocean critters like manta rays come for regular de-lousing by cleaner fish and shrimps.
Divers tend to disrupt the process when they arrive on scene, and it takes quite some time of just sitting back a bit, settling in (without touching the reef!) and watching without moving before the animals will again go about their business. It can be difficult to capture images or video of the behavior as fish being cleaned are in a vulnerable position, and are usually very skittish when approached.
It is an amazing display of cooperation — the critters that come in to be cleaned hover quietly, then open their mouths and their gills. The little striped cleaner wrasse dart in and around, pecking off small parasites that might otherwise adversely affect the health of the animal, and at the same time, they are getting a snack. The larger animals could easily swallow the little fishes — but they don’t — the little fish are given immunity from being consumed so that they can live on to clean another day.
Cleaner shrimp tend to inhabit little divots or crevices in the reef, where animals wanting to be cleaned drop by for a session. As you will see in some of the photos in this gallery, these little shrimps are also very obliging about cleaning the nails, and teeth (!!!) of divers, when presented nicely to them. You’ll note that in a couple of my images, the divers have their regulators out of their mouths. These are very experienced divers who are comfortable with this. Please use caution when attempting to entice shrimps into a dental hygiene appointment — you’ll need to feel okay about letting little creepy crawlies roam around in your mouth, and possibly have to spit them out to replace your regulator!
I’ve seen also butterfly fish actively cleaning other animals — mostly the shells of turtles, and, at the mother of all cleaning stations at a famous dives site called Alycone in Costa Rica’s Cocos Islands, swarms of butterfly fish clean the legions of hammerhead sharks that migrate there at certain times of the year, and that come in out of the blue to the top of the (deep) reef to be de-loused. It’s thrilling to witness.
Judy G is a traveling underwater photographer. Check out her blog HERE and follow her on Facebook: Judy G Diver
Tags: photos, Travel, Underwater Photography
Posted in Marine Life, Rebreathers, Scuba_News, standards, Teach First Aid/CPR, Tec, Tec Diving, Technology, TecRec, TecRec IT Crossover, UW Photography, Wrecks | Comments Off on Going to the Cleaners: Diving the World’s Best Cleaning Stations
Friday, February 12th, 2016
Cornino Lake, Italy
About The Shot
The bottom of the Cornino Lake is colonized by green algae, creating thick underwater grasslands. The low temperature and the shortage of food bring about the scarcity of fauna. The clarity of the water and the shallow depth lets see the mountain outside.
Go Now info@riservacornino.it
Tags: photos, Travel, Underwater Photography
Posted in Europe and Mediterranean, Rebreathers, Scuba_News, standards, Teach First Aid/CPR, Tec, Tec Diving, Technology, TecRec, TecRec IT Crossover, Underwater Photo Tips, UW Photography, Wrecks | Comments Off on LOOK: Underwater Wonderland for Divers in Italy
Friday, February 12th, 2016
Cornino Lake, Italy
About The Shot
The bottom of the Cornino Lake is colonized by green algae, creating thick underwater grasslands. The low temperature and the shortage of food bring about the scarcity of fauna. The clarity of the water and the shallow depth lets see the mountain outside.
Go Now info@riservacornino.it
Tags: photos, Travel, Underwater Photography
Posted in Europe and Mediterranean, Rebreathers, Scuba_News, standards, Teach First Aid/CPR, Tec, Tec Diving, Technology, TecRec, TecRec IT Crossover, Underwater Photo Tips, UW Photography, Wrecks | Comments Off on LOOK: Underwater Wonderland for Divers in Italy