Help? ...... anyone?....please?

[Jet1]

Hi people,

I know this is not REALLY a thread on underwater photography but this seems to be the place with people who can provide me with the answers I need. Sorry.

I am a newbie who is thinking of venturing into diving and underwater photography BUT there is one teeny weeny problem… I dun have a scuba license yet. :cry:

Am thinking of organising a diving expedition course to thailand this june/july but do not know of any good locations or even diving operators.

Would anyone be so kind as to give me some suggestions as to which part of thailand I should go? And of course kangtaos for good/cheap diving operators would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much people.

Is june/july even a good time to go scuba ah? Bo bian la…. Sch holidays ma

 

[waisj]

First Off

Welcome and Enjoy Your stay here. Please do read forum guidelies prior to future postings

:vhappy: :cheergal:

Secondly, My personal experience has governed that the period you have mentioned is not such a good time for diving over at the western side of thailand, but the diving conditions over at the eastern shore of thailand would be great.

As i have not dived at the eastern side of Thailand before, i would not be qualifed to give any constructive comments on the operators and conditions over there.

As a newbie that have no underwater photography experience, blatantly entering the underwater realm would be too much of a task loading for most to handle. In order to take good photos, your bouyancy control and knowledge of marine life are very much be needed, much as a pre-requisite to your photos turning out good. Needless to say a diving license is a must prior to all these

None the less good equipment like a camera that is more suitable for underwater photography, strobes could also affect the outcome of your pictures.

If you are concerned about taking up a diving license, why not try local dive shops, go to www.finsonline.com and have a look there should be more than enough information to quench your queries.

Cheers
Moderator
Underwater Photography

 

[Kira]

Eastern side must go to Koh Samui. There's a smaller island north of Samui call Koh Tao. Nice place to dive. Do a search on the web for this places and you can find out more.

Also, there's a small piece of rock between Koh Samui and Koh Tao call Sail Rock. That's a must dive if you're going there but I don't know if it's a good idea to go as a begainner as the max deep can get pretty deep. Max I went is 120 feet and can get deeper.

My advice, learn your license in singapore of maybe around 200+ thus you wouldn't be concerntrating on learning while diving oversea and waste the trip.

 

[kthan]

Am thinking of organising a diving expedition course to thailand this june/july but do not know of any good locations or even diving operators.

I presume you meant a trip to learn scuba diving (i.e. getting the license), since u haven't got one. Instead of venturing so far, I suggest a nice little island in Peninsular Malaysia called Pulau Perhentian (www.coralskydivers.com). From experience, Koh Samui is washed out with learner divers. Operations there are only keen in churning out new divers, and when u have a dive site flooded with new divers, conditions will deteriorate.

Pulau Perhentian (PP) is pretty much the same, but diving is better (IMHO) and the beach nicer. As of all supply vs demand situations, you don't really get good value for money as compared to other parts of Thailand or Malaysia....In PP, u will find yourself more like in the carribean than Asia.

All said, it is still cheaper to do an Open Water Certification in Singapore with a reputable shop here. $400 -500 including a trip to Tioman / Aur , with food and accom thrown in!

Eric

 

[lovells19]

try doing getting your open water and advance open water certification before starting on your underwater photography.

you'll have to get a hang of it before you can actually enjoy diving and taking photograph at the same time.

most important is to get your bouyancy control right, some ppl born water babies have no problem with it. some are still struggling with it after 20plus dives. without good bouyancy, you cannot manuvoer properly underwater, you tend to float too much or go crashing into the corals too much.. which will result in nothing to take photo of

it's cheaper to take your open water and advance water locally, pulau hantu, or just spend a little more to go pulau aur, dayang or tioman.

if im not wrong, thailand season is like late aug till late Apr... after that the weather there is not really suitable for diving, strong winds, rain, high waves etc.

so if you're going thailand to do it, wait till end of the year

 

[Jet1]

Wow. Thanks for all the responses! Will do a read up on all the places u've suggested so far. My original idea was to go to perhantium but my friend who went snorkelling there once says the drop is "scary like hell". Anyway, the underwater photog thingie I think should wait too. But another friend says my olympus c730 is quite a good underwater cam and he's willing to loan me the casing, so I thought, why not? Most prob gonna stay and dive for 2, 3 days after the course also. So maybe can do some experiment. But from the sound of you guys, that's not a very good idea huh?

Oh yea. Do u guys know of any good and cheap operators? In singapore or overseas also can. Would really appreciate it if you can provide me with some contacts. Thanks so much people! Greatly appreciated

 

[Jet1]

hey waisj... read the guidelines liao. like that can? or still deviate too far from uw photog?

 

[waisj]

hey waisj... read the guidelines liao. like that can? or still deviate too far from uw photog?

Since there is already a discussion going on, the moderation team will alow this thread to persue it's due course, as long as it does not deteriorate into complaints about dive shops, diving standards of individuals , etc.

The moderation team will preach leniency and this thread will not be closed nor will it be moved out of public's view.

It is again reminded that this is premierely an Underwater Photography Discussion forum. It is not a Diving Forum.

Oh yea. Do u guys know of any good and cheap operators? In singapore or overseas also can. Would really appreciate it if you can provide me with some contacts. Thanks so much people! Greatly appreciated

As of the above request from the thread starter, it is exceptionally appreciated that the request be fulfiled via PM

Cheers
Moderator
Underwater Photography

 

[waisj]

Wow. Thanks for all the responses! Will do a read up on all the places u've suggested so far. My original idea was to go to perhantium but my friend who went snorkelling there once says the drop is "scary like hell". Anyway, the underwater photog thingie I think should wait too. But another friend says my olympus c730 is quite a good underwater cam and he's willing to loan me the casing, so I thought, why not? Most prob gonna stay and dive for 2, 3 days after the course also. So maybe can do some experiment. But from the sound of you guys, that's not a very good idea huh?

As per the discussion above, there are sites in perhentian that do not drop off steeply and also offer a variety of marine life which is quite adequate for snorkeling.

IMHO, if possible, why not get the camera and housing from your friend and try it out? None the less, without adequate dives to hone your skills in bouyancy, your chances of taking good photos might be hampered.
If faced with this situation, you might want to hold back underwater photography untill you are comfortable underwater and being able to hover with ease.

I would recommend what the other forum members have suggested, getting you license here in Singpore, clock another few trip then go to perhentian, you'll enjoy it more this way.

A simple reason being that you won't really enjoy your training dives. There isn't much to see besides Fins and Silt.

HTH
waisj

 

[beivied]

A simple reason being that you won't really enjoy your training dives. There isn't much to see besides Fins and Silt.

HTH
waisj

you will see stars, when the divers kick you in the face and knock you against boulders... :sweat:


i myself took advance in perhentian, and i quite regretted it. travelled 15 hours up there and didnt see anything much becos i was on training... stick to the advice. get trained cheap (but dun compensate on quality of training) dive a few more times before trying uw photography ... or, you can try just a few photos between dives (not every dive) just to feel how it is like to multi task and difference in buoyancy control. dont pressure yourself to get good photos though. and avoid destroying marine life, please...

oh, and since you are very new, even if something very unique or exotic swims past you, you might not even notice, becos you dont know it is there...

 

[lovells19]

its not easy to juggle a camera and your dive gear underwater lor, you'll panic and it'll just only make matters worst.

start your open water course first, then see how you feel underwater.
then if you're very comfortable, then should you start bringing your camera down.

until now i still get kicked in my head.. last weekend just had a jet fin slamming down on my head and it HURTS!!! :cry:

once you start on basic.. then the strobes, the close up lens. wide angle, more strobes..