Group/club focused on helping newbies with UW?

[pkhunter]

Hi. I am interested in learning diving. Heard Singapore is a good place to do this. My interest is not so much for the mirth of diving in itself, but for underwater photography.

Question: where do I start? I'll need to familiarize myself with a whole new world of underwater -- learn diving, get a license, then learn how to put my Nikon in one of those glass cases, etc etc.

Are there any groups of people with a similar intent? Or a group that already does this and might be willing to take on a rookie trainee?

PS. I have a Nikon D300 and several macro lenses. Just need to get casing etc. Frm this forum I found some links like these, but it would greatly help to go on outings with people who already know what they're doing.

Thanks!

 

[GRbenji]

Dive sites in Singapore are limited, mainly at Pulau Hantu, and visibility isn't good. Most will do their training dives in the East coast of West Malaysia, at Palau Aur, Dayang or Tioman.

There are many Dive Centres that conduct Dive Course. You'll get a manual for self read, a classroom theory lesson, a pool session and then open water dives (usually over the weekend). All these can be completed in a week. This allows you to dive to 18m. Most will then take the advanced course which allow dives to depth of 30/40m.

Once you are certified, you probably will want to get your own dive gear. There are also many shops selling them locally. Don't rush, get to know more divers during your training trips and see what they use. Can always ask. Most will be more than happy to share their experiences.

As for underwater photography, I guess you are already aware of the cost involved, especially if you are going to bring down your DSLR, since you've already visited Oceanicfocus webby. There are a few more shops locally that sell housing and accessories. Underwater photgraphy is a bit more challenging, and you will likely need to improve your bouyancy control over more dives.

Next you will be looking at diving further away that involve flying. This will bring the next headache due to excess baggage. FYI, my dive gear weighs about 15kg, my housing, strobes, ports and arms in a Pelicase weighs another 15kg. Camera, lenses and batteries hand carry is another 10kg. And there is clothings somemore.

Hope above give you some insight, and welcome to the diving community.

 

[pkhunter]

Thanks SO Much! This is very useful.

Do you know of any groups, or any tours that I can trust that go to Palau Aur, Dayang or Tioman?

 

[GRbenji]

If you are discussing diving, it's better in a dive forums. Try this local dive forums, here is a thread on local dive shops.

 

[howeikwok]

Thanks SO Much! This is very useful.

Do you know of any groups, or any tours that I can trust that go to Palau Aur, Dayang or Tioman?

ask around and talk to the people at various dive companies before making your decision. for u/w photography topics and tips, try these 2 forums.

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?

http://www.divephotoguide.com/

p.s. i go up quite often every year to shoot at Dayang. welcome to join me next time after you're certified.

 

[antacid]

you've got to be a competent diver before you can even take decent pictures. that takes time, practice, and lots of money. don't expect to take great shots from day 1 in the water. we all learned that the hard way... haha

 

[sgfreestyler]

rule no1, learn to dive first...

 

[eagleray]

Agree with sgfreestyler
learn to dive first ... and learn to enjoy the underwater world

It is way too complicated and dangerous to be trying to get use to diving equipment and meddling with underwater cameras and strobe and such right up front

 

[sgfreestyler]

During OW course, I have a friend who could not equalized at the depth of 3m .... she give up diving after this...

TS, I'm not trying to scare you. You have to know ur body condition when comes to diving...

Go Step by Step.

 

[liquidforce]

rule no1, learn to dive first...

rule no2, learn where all the critters are hiding first.. hahahaha

Think i saw my first nudi after like 3-4 trips.. then i spend probably a year taking pics I never want anyone to see..

It's a long and expensive road to get really decent pictures.. a basic DSLR setup with strobes will easily cost you in the region of 3k... + a lot of trips to dayang/aur/tioman to practice.. underwater, a lot of variables change due to the medium in which you're taking photos. Your flash doesn't seem as powerful, you can't just whack a 200mm macro on so that you dun scare the skittery stuff, wide angles are extremely hard to light up and everything looks so blue!

We used to go hantu for our CS photography outings, but think our organizer is kind of buzy with work and married life....! Any volunteers? ;p

 

[CanonDreamer]

I "double" agreed with sgfreestyler and antacid.. specially those having difficulty equalizing.. I seen someone who is good swimmer in a pool but he just can't dive due to phobia.. there are also many cases where newbie divers got poison with BBB fever and simply follow experience divers into UW photography.. less than 10 dives they give up coz can't take good photos, money wasted.. step by step.. once u comfortable with in water, can manage urself then think about UW photography.. recently i got to taste UW photography from my last trip, with the rental UW camera from dive centre.. it's fun to me and i got a lot of lousy shots, btw i have logged over 150+ dives.. feels like a noob in water again.. now i am looking forward to test my newly purchased G11 + WP-DC34 upcoming trip..

Any tips and trick to share with me?

 

[howeikwok]

I "double" agreed with sgfreestyler and antacid.. specially those having difficulty equalizing.. I seen someone who is good swimmer in a pool but he just can't dive due to phobia.. there are also many cases where newbie divers got poison with BBB fever and simply follow experience divers into UW photography.. less than 10 dives they give up coz can't take good photos, money wasted.. step by step.. once u comfortable with in water, can manage urself then think about UW photography.. recently i got to taste UW photography from my last trip, with the rental UW camera from dive centre.. it's fun to me and i got a lot of lousy shots, btw i have logged over 150+ dives.. feels like a noob in water again.. now i am looking forward to test my newly purchased G11 + WP-DC34 upcoming trip..

Any tips and trick to share with me?

Get low, get close to the subject. shoot head-on/sideways to the subject, never the tail or the back. Breathe slowly, make sure all in focus, shoot a lot. curse a lot and have lots of fun. :bsmilie:

 

[sgfreestyler]

I "double" agreed with sgfreestyler and antacid.. specially those having difficulty equalizing.. I seen someone who is good swimmer in a pool but he just can't dive due to phobia.. there are also many cases where newbie divers got poison with BBB fever and simply follow experience divers into UW photography.. less than 10 dives they give up coz can't take good photos, money wasted.. step by step.. once u comfortable with in water, can manage urself then think about UW photography.. recently i got to taste UW photography from my last trip, with the rental UW camera from dive centre.. it's fun to me and i got a lot of lousy shots, btw i have logged over 150+ dives.. feels like a noob in water again.. now i am looking forward to test my newly purchased G11 + WP-DC34 upcoming trip..

Any tips and trick to share with me?

where u buy ur WP-DC34??? i just hoot a G11 as well .. ;p

 

[CanonDreamer]

i bought it from a from someone.. now i am looking forward for dive trip.

 

[kkgoxplore]

TS, as a few have mentioned, learn to dive first. Until you are competent in your buoyancy control, any good shot is more of an accident. There are numerous diving schools in town offering quickie-course to more proficient learning experience. I would advocate the later for your own safety albeit the higher cost.

As to the uw camera gear, the choice is dependent on your budget. A polycarbonate housing for D300 will probably set you back by $2k (housing only) whereas the top of the line Subal aluminum housing will cost about $8k. The mid price range such as Sea&Sea, Nauticam and Nexus will probably cost between $3k to $4k. For ports and strobes, be ready for another $1.5k up.

If you are really interested, pm me. I dive with BSAC (British Sub-Aquatic Club). Other popular diving agencies include PADI, NAUI, SSI, TDI, INTD.

 

[kkgoxplore]

If you are really interested, pm me. I dive with BSAC (British Sub-Aquatic Club). Other popular diving agencies include PADI, NAUI, SSI, TDI, INTD.

To avoid any miscontrusion or mis-interpretation of my statement, BSAC is a member not-for-profit diving club and I have no commercial intent.

 

[liquidforce]

Get low, get close to the subject. shoot head-on/sideways to the subject, never the tail or the back. Breathe slowly, make sure all in focus, shoot a lot. curse a lot and have lots of fun. :bsmilie:

My sis "specializes" in butt shots!!! she'll sneak behind all the fishes and sharks to take the butt.....

yeah, you'll definitely curse a lot, but important to just have fun.. some people are so serious about UW photography, they forget to have fun while diving. i.e. they spend 15mins taking ONE nudi...

 

[LeoDaddy]

My sis "specializes" in butt shots!!! she'll sneak behind all the fishes and sharks to take the butt.....

yeah, you'll definitely curse a lot, but important to just have fun.. some people are so serious about UW photography, they forget to have fun while diving. i.e. they spend 15mins taking ONE nudi...

Spend 15 mins shoot 1 nudi sounds like fun! :bsmilie::bsmilie::bsmilie: I've spend 10 mins trying to shoot a black frogfish b4! Tried many different settings.. but still FAIL! ;p

 

[diver-hloc]

Spend 15 mins shoot 1 nudi sounds like fun! :bsmilie::bsmilie::bsmilie: I've spend 10 mins trying to shoot a black frogfish b4! Tried many different settings.. but still FAIL! ;p

hahaha.... shoot and shoot again lor.... thats the key to sucess :bsmilie:

 

[CanonDreamer]

Hahaha... also dun forget all the bruises on ur knee if u wearing shortie...