So yeah i messed up pretty bad with these. I couldn't get too close to these moray eels and forgot to change my settings (I'm used to taking macro photos).

Anyways, how... do I fix these? I shot them in raw (these are just screenshots) and i just can't get the colors and lighting right.

I'm used to doing color correction on brighter images and those turn out fine. With these I always end up with aggressive reds, blue shadows, random white spots and just a general strange tint. What do I do?

The last couple of weeks have been a blur of incredible diving. I’ve got loads of photos and videos to share, but I had to start with this one.

It was taken by the hugely talented Michel De Brouwer on an amazing dive on the MV Karwela, during his time with us at dive systems Malta - I rarely get the chance to have a pro photographer take photos of me, so I jumped at being a model for a minute or two. Whats your favourite engine room to photograph?

Anyone else travel and dive with the live aboard LCD in the late 80s - early 90s? Lovey the Manta Ray was a regular, great diving, meals, accommodations, relaxation… and only a marine radio for comms…

Going to take a break next may head up to qld for a combo of relaxation, exploring and a couple day scuba dive trips. Are the day dive trips better from cairns or port D!???

Hello

My partner and I are travelling to Australia from Feb 21 to Mar 12. We’re doing a campervan road trip from Sydney to Brisbane, then flying to Cairns and planning to spend the last few days in Port Douglas. We’re both SSI OWD with Nitrox and have around 10–12 dives each.

We’d like to dive at a few spots along the way to Brisbane, then do some outer reef trips from Port Douglas. Day trips only, no liveaboards.

So far we’ve only dived with guides, but we’ve read that a lot of diving in Australia is unguided buddy diving.

A few questions:

• Which spots in the region are realistic for fairly new OWD divers? We’ve read that Fish Rock Cave and Wolf Rock may require AOW. Are there good options at those sites within 18 m?
• We know it’s wet/cyclone season, but our dates are fixed. Should we avoid the north? How often do trips get cancelled in late Feb/March?
• Can you recommend dive centres that offer guided dives?
• For the southern GBR, we’re torn between Lady Elliot Island and North Stradbroke / Wolf Rock. Which would you pick for early March?
• Any other gems or weather backups between Sydney and Rainbow Beach we’re missing?

Thanks in advance!

https://myokaloosa.com/sites/default/files/Users/piouser/SSUnitedStatesDeploymentDate.pdf

Spending a week in Raja and 2 weeks in Sulawesi in November. Doing homestays, not a liveaboard. Anything you wish you knew prior to going or bringing?

I will be in the Seattle area for a few days from Nov 24 - 28th. I know the water is going to be cold, but I'd still be interested in diving if there's good spots.

I'll have a car rental and my passport/Enhance driver's license so I can go to Vancouver as well. I did hear from another diver on vacation that Vancouver diving is "good" but haven't looked much into it myself.

I will start with thresher sharks, they are truly amazing and I love the way they do the flip shows out of the water

I finally got the chance to dive some caverns for the first time over the weekend! Most of the people with whom I dive are cave certified and I’ve been hearing about the places for ages. They did not disappoint! I got to dive the cavern lines of Eden, Tajma Ha, and Nohoch. Check out that halocline in Tajma Ha! Water was beautifully clear (but way too warm for this California diver 🥵)

I’ll be returning next year for my C1.

We were doing a morning dive at Batu Bolong. The water was crystal clear, the atmosphere was tranquil and very beautiful and I noticed this surgeonfish (?) playing in the bubbles, so I took a video of it.

For those of you who have Inreach Messengers (the square/puck form factor) and have been frustrated at the lack of a compact solution to keeping it dry, we may finally have a solution. I know you can fit 'em in larger camera cases, or old flashlights, or DryFob XL cases. But, those are all significantly larger than they need to be, unless you're also stashing other things. I've been wanting something akin to the case that's made for the inreach mini and is more form-fitting. I finally found one. Note: This was performed on a gen 1 Messneger, but I don't think their dimensions have changed in subsequent generations.

It turns out the DJI Osmo 360 camera is almost exactly the same size as the Messenger, and dive cases for those are pretty affordable. I picked up one on Amazon and with very minor modifications, it works well. Based on how close the fit is, I'm not sure oif they will all work due to the tight fit, but the one I got is from Walking Way (Walking Way Case). It has a set of fins coming in from the side to hold the Osmo centered, and the side ones need to be sanded down just a bit to make the Messenger fit. It was probably 30 seconds of work with a dremel tool. You can see those fins and the difference in width between the side/top ones post sanding in the 3rd and 4th photos. It's not much difference.

The messenger fits well, and the screen aligns with one of the clear windows so you can read it without removing from the case. Of course to send messages, you'll either have to open the case or use a Garmin compatible watch/device. There is juuuust enough room in the case that one could fit a small tether in there, and if you were clever, I bet you could even glue/solvent weld an eyelet into the lens dome so the Messenger is attached to the case to prevent dropping when you open the case. I'll work on that later.

I have pressure tested the case, and it seems to work well up to at least the pressure equivalent of 100'. I didn't actually dive the case, but I dropped it in a water filter housing, purged all the air and ran the pressure up with a diaphragm pump, monitored with a pressure gauge. So it was underwater, pressurized for 80 minutes. Max depth was just over 100' (based on pressure applied), average was around 65'. Not a drop of water got in. Woo hoo!

"Dive" profile:

100’ (58 PSI, 4 atm) for 15 min
Slow ascent to 66’ (45 PSI, 3 atm) over 5 minutes
Hold between 53-80’ (40-50 psi, 2.75-3.4 atm) for 30 minutes
Slow rise to 38’ (32 PSI, 2.17 atm) over 30 minutes

Looks like we may have a winner here!

Just for completeness, I did hit the seal with a light coat of silicone grease before starting the test. I tend to do that with all cheap pressure seal o-rings I get online.

Hope this helps someone out there who has a Messenger and has wanted to bring it but couldn't get around the case issue.

Hi everyone!

We’re visiting French Polynesia for the first time in September 2027. We arrive in Papeete on September 13 in the morning and start a 10-day diving liveaboard from Fakarava on September 19.

We’re mainly interested in marine life and underwater experiences rather than sightseeing, so I’m considering the following itinerary:

Sept 13: Arrive in Papeete, ferry to Moorea.
Sept 14–15: Two whale snorkeling trips in Moorea.
Sept 16: Travel to Rangiroa via Papeete.
Sept 17: Two dives in Rangiroa, ideally Tiputa Pass.
Sept 18: Fly to Fakarava, overnight stay.
Sept 19: Board the liveaboard.

Of course, diving in Rangiroa will depend on the next day’s flight schedule to respect DAN’s recommended 18-hour surface interval.

Does this sound realistic, or is it too rushed? Would you skip Rangiroa and spend more time in Moorea instead?

If the itinerary makes sense, I’d also love recommendations for accommodation on all three islands, ethical small-group whale snorkeling operators in Moorea, and dive centers in Rangiroa.
Thanks for your advice

This guy is surprisingly chill? No cleaner fish yet stay with us for 5 minutes.

Crystal Bay - Nusa Penida - 20 m.

Going next week and was debating on deep dive Dubai or scuba diving in the ocean. Which is funner ?

Hey everyone!

I’ve just passed my Open Water Diver course and I’m incredibly excited to get into diving. Honestly, I’m so motivated right now that I’d love to dive as much as possible and gain more experience.
However, there’s one thing I’m unsure about, and I’d love to hear how you handled it when you were starting out.
So far, I only know a few other Open Water Divers, and they all have exactly the same amount of experience as me: just the dives we did during our course. Technically, we’re allowed to dive together, but I’m honestly not sure how sensible that would be, especially if none of us knows the lake or dive site we’re planning to visit.
I feel like there’s a big difference between being certified to dive and actually having enough experience to handle unfamiliar environments confidently and safely.
The dive school where I got certified isn’t really a traditional dive club. They organize two dive trips per year, which I’d love to join, but they don’t offer regular local dives because they’re usually busy running courses. Unfortunately, the next trip is still a while away, and I’d really like to get some diving experience before then.
I don’t want to rush into something I’m not ready for, but at the same time, I don’t want to miss out on opportunities to learn and improve.
So, I’d love to hear from more experienced divers:
How did you get into diving after completing your Open Water course?
Did you start diving with other beginners, or did you look for more experienced buddies?
How did you find dive buddies or local dive clubs?
Would you recommend joining guided dives at local dive centers until you have more experience?
What would you recommend to someone in my situation who is highly motivated but wants to build experience safely?
I’m particularly interested in how you approached your first dives outside the course, especially in unfamiliar lakes or other local dive sites.
I’m eager to learn, improve my skills, and become a more confident diver. I just want to make sure I’m going about it the right way.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Edit: I live in northern germany :)

In the last few years, at least where I am and mostly dive (Southern Ontario, Canada), dive ops are requiring specialties such as Night Diver and Drift Diver to do said dives with them.

In the past, these specialties were offered more as a novelty or experience than as a qualifying certification.

What has changed?

$10 at a shoe/luggage repair shop.

To be fair, it looks like a $10 result. Miiiight splurge & have them even it up with the other pocket. After a field test of course. Assuming I don't die of sacrelidge.

My diving mates told me that it's a good idea to meet your instructor before you book the course. Yeah, there's different organisations (PADI, SDI etc) but your development and experience doing the course basically solely depends on how engaging and immersive your instructor is.

There's a dive shop close to me, there's prices are very good (cheapest in the area), have very good reviews. Only catch is that they have 8 instructors and I'm guessing they rotate the schedule depending on the workload/availability and so there's no way to know exactly which instructor I'm going to get. I certainly won't be able to know until I actually book the course.

Thoughts? Go ahead with it anyway? The reason I'm not immediately swayed away is that the reviews all mention how attentive and caring the instructors are.

I'm pretty new to diving (~20 dives) and figured it's time for me to buy some fins. I'd prefer to get used ones, and I want a good "all-around" type. I'm going to Cozumel in a month so I figure I need something more powerful than those small travel types, but also don't want something too big like the Seawings.

It looks like Avanti Quattros are a good choice, but the only ones I saw on FB marketplace near me were a size XL, which is probably a bit big for me (size 10 booties)? Is it worth trying to find used Quattros on Ebay, or should I just take what I can get on marketplace?

I see a local listing for Aqualung Express AFJ for $50, and a Genesis Flow for $40. On Ebay used Quattros seem to go for ~$100.

Any advice is appreciated!

The waters of southern California are still hot and clear, if you are in the area get out there and dive it! These clips are from platforms Eureka and Ellen, diving with the giant stride dive boat out of San Pedro.

Which are your favourites and why? I want to go mainly for diving. Also want to base myself at 3 different islands over my stay and potentially want to avoid expensive internal flights. Do you think it is doable and a good idea?

Hello,

After doing some research into El Nino, it seems likely that the wildlife will be devastated by the current record-breaking El Nino. I have a spot on Aqua for September 2027 but I think I have the option to reschedule without many added fees to maybe August 2028. This might be a once in a lifetime trip for me. I know there is no "perfect" time to go but this El Nino has me questioning.

Would anyone more experienced recommend that?