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Inaugural Issue of Inside Scuba
Andy Deitsch & Byron Conroy
February 11, 2024
Welcome to the first issue of Inside Scuba
We are excited to be launching the first issue of our newsletter dedicated to scuba diving. In each issue, which we hope to release every two weeks or so, we plan to share thoughts, news stories, and tips curated by passionate divers like yourself. Whether you're a seasoned explorer or just dipping your toes into the world of scuba, our goal is to make each issue a treasure trove of knowledge and inspiration.
This isn't just our newsletter—it's yours too. Your feedback is extremely valuable to us. If you discover a gem, share your excitement (with us and your friends). If you think we missed the mark, let us know. Your input will help guide our course, ensuring that every issue is of value to our community. You can reach us by replying to this email or emailing us directly at [email protected].
So, without further ado, let’s get to it.
What’s happening in this edition?
In each issue of our newsletter, we will curate some top dive news from around the world. Links to each of the original articles are available.
Divernet: Paul Humann, marine biologist, author, publisher and underwater photographer died peacefully at the age of 86 on February 5th at his home in Davie, Florida. He was co-founder with Ned deLoach of both New World Publications and the influential REEF Reef Environmental Education Foundation.
Santa Barbara Independent: The first ever sighting of a newborn great white shark in the wild occurred off the coast of California. This is an important scientific discovery because researchers have not known where great white sharks go to give birth.
On November 29th, 2023 an American diver and underwater photographer died while scuba diving in the northern part of Raja Ampat, Indonesia on a site called Weka’s Wow near Kawe Island. Steven Harms was one of several divers caught in a strong down current that took everyone down in a rapid uncontrolled descent within a minute of entering the water. Details of the incident from a diver who was aboard the ship when it happened can be found on ScubaBoard.
CBC: Diver captures aquatic battle between seal and giant pacific octopus in British Columbia waters. Click the link to watch the video.
CBS News: Divers discover guns and coins in wrecks of ships that vanished nearly 2 centuries ago off Canada.
Scuba Diver Magazine: Large numbers of killer whales, including babies, are reported to have become trapped in thick drift-ice off the town Rausu on the Japanese island of Hokkaido.
March 2-3, 2024 The GO Diving Show will be held in Conventry, UK. Big name speakers such as Monty Halls, Alex Mustard and Andy Torbet will be there. Oh and yes, our own Byron Conroy will be speaking too.
In our deep dive section, we’ll take one story and deep dive to provide our thoughts on the topic and to give at least a couple of perspectives. We hope this will give you pause for thought and we’d love you to join in the discussion by commenting.
Shark diving is one of the most contentious of all types of diving. Often scuba divers who have never tried it condone it and non-divers fear it. There also those who love to shark dive and declare it the safest diving you can do.
For me there is a lot more to it than these simple descriptions. I have been lucky enough to do a variety of different shark dives all over the world. There are plenty of places where you can go and have a non-baited shark dive such as Cocos Islands and Galapagos, but these are expensive trips where you might get lucky and see a school of hammerheads or you might spend a week diving and end up with nothing.
The only way to really guarantee to see sharks is to go on a shark feed or baited dive. This could be done by using chum to bring them towards the area, or actual bait in the water in a bucket or container or even a live feeding session underwater. I have been involved in all these types of dives in a wide variety of places around the world, but I always ask myself the same question after the encounter. “Was this in the best interests of the animal or purely for my own benefit?”
There are a myriad of differing views on this depending on how you look at the situation. The purpose of this article is not to determine if it's right or wrong but just to highlight the different outlooks and allow you to draw a conclusion for yourself. I will however give you my opinions as we go based on the experiences I have had.
Sometime between November and January of each year, major underwater photography competitions are held that give underwater photographers an opportunity to enter their best images for the chance of recognition, prestige, and prizes. Three of the big competitions have published their results. We will highlight a few of the winners here but all of the images are available at the links below.
Suliman Alatiqi received awards for three different images of macaque’s swimming or playing near the water in the Phi Phi Islands, Thailand. Earning 1st Place in the wide-angle category of DPG Masters as well as Best of Show and 1st Place in the Portrait category of Ocean Art. Suliman also received 1st place in the wide-angle category of Ocean Art for his shot of sleeping whitetip reef sharks. Congratulations to Suliman on his wins! We had a chance to catch up with Suliman and ask him a few questions. Check out the interview here.
Suliman Alatiqi - Ocean Art 1st Place Portrait and Best of Show
Best of Show and 1st Place winner of the Over-Under category in DPG Masters was this shot by Marco Gargiulo of a jellyfish with a juvenile imperial blackfish and Mount Vesuvius in the background.
Marco Gargiulo - DPG Masters 1st Place Over-Under and Best of Show
Martin Broen received 1st Place in the Black & White category of DPG Masters. Martin has won numerous competitions and is well known for his Black & White images. Congratulations to Martin!
Martin Broen - DPG Masters 1st Place Black & White
Our own Byron Conroy won Gold in the macro category of DPG Masters, 2nd Place in the macro category of Ocean Art and 3rd Place in the Best 5 Images category of World Shootout. Congratulations to Byron!
Byron Conroy - Ocean Art 2nd Place Macro
All the winning images can be seen at the links below.
In each edition of our newsletter, we’ll be sharing an underwater photography tip. These tips will be aimed at varying levels of underwater photographer from beginner to advanced. No matter what your skill level, we hope you’ll get some value out of these tips.
Our first tip is about getting as close to your subject as possible.
Photo tips - Beginner
The enemy of the underwater photographer is water; our cameras are not designed to be shooting subjects through a wall of water, they are designed to be used in air. So how do we eliminate water between your camera and the subject?
Step 1 - Get close
The old adage goes “get close, and when you think you're close, get closer.” This can apply to almost all shooting conditions and is the simplest of techniques. Most other techniques are just using technology to allow you to get even closer but the biggest issues people have is that they always shoot from too far away.
The scorpionfish is almost touching the dome port in this image
Exploring the Depths: The Kodiak Queen Wreck in the British Virgin Islands
In this edition of our weekly dive newsletter Dive Site of the Week section, we're excited to unveil the captivating story of a sunken treasure nestled near Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands - The Kodiak Queen.
Historical Tale of The Kodiak Queen:
The Kodiak Queen, with a history as rich as the marine life that now calls it home, began its journey as a U.S. Navy fuel barge during World War II. Previously named YO-44, it is believed to be one of only five ships that survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. It played a crucial role in the Pacific Theater, supporting Allied forces. Post-war, it underwent various transformations until it found its final purpose as an artificial reef.
U.S. Navy YO44 Launched in September, 1940
Each newsletter, we’ll share a scuba diving related video that we think is interesting. In this newsletter, we are excited to share that our good friends Dr. Alex Mustard and Matthew Sullivan have started a YouTube channel called “The Underwater Photography Show”. It’s designed for underwater photography enthusiasts so if this is you, definitely check the show out.
Summary
As we wrap up this first issue, we want to thank you for diving into it with us. The ocean's depths hold endless fascination, and we're glad to share the journey with you. Your feedback and engagement make this community stronger, and we're eager to keep exploring together in the issues ahead.
If you enjoyed reading this newsletter, please share it! If you received this from someone and aren’t yet subscribed, please consider subscribing. Thanks for your time, stay safe, keep exploring, and we'll see you in the next dive!
Andy & Byron
P.S. One small request: Do you mind taking a moment to complete the quick poll below? Your feedback is incredibly important to us.
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