Inside Scuba Issue #31

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Byron Conroy & Andy Deitsch
April 06, 2025

Welcome to Issue #31 of Inside Scuba

Welcome to Issue #31 of Inside Scuba! This edition is packed with insights, from a firsthand account of Andy attending Byron’s photography workshop in Lembeh Strait to Byron’s essential lessons learned in underwater photography. We also take a closer look at the Nauticam MFO-1, a game-changing tool for macro shooters, and round up the latest dive news from around the world. Whether you're here for inspiration, gear recommendations, or to stay updated on the diving community, we’ve got something for you.

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What’s happening in this edition?

Capturing the Magic of Lembeh: A Photography Workshop Experience

I recently returned from Lembeh Strait in Indonesia—my sixth trip overall and third year in a row. For the past couple of years, I’ve attended a photography workshop with my newsletter partner-in-crime, Byron Conroy. As readers of this newsletter know, I’m a big advocate for underwater photography workshops as a way to improve skills, get inspired to learn new techniques, and walk away with some incredible images. This year was no exception, and I spent time on dives honing techniques I had barely used before.

Lembeh Strait, renowned for its muck diving, is a highly productive location for underwater photographers. Each dive presents an opportunity to capture truly stunning images, thanks to the diverse and often bizarre marine life that thrives in the area’s black sand slopes and rubble-strewn seabed.

The workshop took place at Dive Into Lembeh, a resort run by the wonderful Miranda and Steve Coverdale. I wrote a detailed review of the resort after last year’s trip, which you can read here. The workshop itself spanned nine nights, with eight days of diving. Some participants opted to extend their stay for a few extra days to maximize their time in this unique environment. We had an excellent dive-to-guide ratio of 2:1, ensuring that each pair of divers received plenty of personalized attention. The guides are incredibly skilled at spotting marine life, making each dive highly rewarding. Additionally, we had a maximum number of six guests per boat, providing plenty of space to maneuver and reducing the overall number of divers at a site, which greatly enhanced the experience.

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.

Dive Magazine: “At least six people have died and nine have been injured after a tourist submarine sank in Hurghada, Egypt. Four of the injured have been taken to hospital and are said to be in a critical condition.”

Divernet: “Greek tech divers find WW2 Australian bomber. A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Martin Baltimore aircraft, lost following a WW2 maritime reconnaissance mission in late 1943, has been discovered at a depth of 61m off the island of Antikythera by a Greek technical-diving team.”

Walt Disney World: “EPCOT’s popular 'Seas Adventures – DiveQuest' scuba diving experience is returning on May 1, 2025, and reservations are now available. DiveQuest takes certified divers into the 5.7-million-gallon saltwater aquarium inside The Seas with Nemo & Friends Pavilion. You get 40 minutes of dive time with calm conditions, no current, and clear visibility—something open water diving can’t always guarantee. Marine life includes rays, turtles, sharks, and over 6,000 other sea creatures.”

Dive Magazine: “A 39-year-old Australian woman has died after the boat she was travelling on capsized as it was travelling between Bali and the nearby island of Nusa Penida. Two other passengers were severely injured during the incident.”

Divernet: “Tragic wreck of ‘safest’ ship found in Lake Superior. The latest long-lost vessel to be discovered by the prolific Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) is the Western Reserve – considered for a time in the 19th century to be one of the lakes’ safest ships.”

Dive Magazine: “Vice President of Aggressor Adventures, Anne Hasson, has announced her retirement after a 41-year career with one of the world’s largest scuba diving liveaboard operators.”

Divernet: “Rex Cowan, who has died at the age of 97, has been hailed as the UK’s most successful shipwreck explorer, certainly of historic wrecks at scuba-diving depths – and it was the maritime history that fascinated him more than the diving itself.”

The 5 Biggest Lessons I Learned in Underwater Photography

When I first started out in underwater photography, I was living in Iceland and bought a second-hand DSLR setup with strobes and multiple lenses as my first underwater camera. I didn’t have a clue how to use it, and I was the only person on the island with one. With nobody to learn from, I had to teach myself. It was a tough process—one that I could have accelerated significantly if I had known a few key things sooner.

Here’s a list of a few lessons I learned along the way. I hope they can help others.

Why the Nauticam MFO-1 Is a Must-Have for Underwater Macro Photography

There was a time in underwater photography when adding a new lens was the best way to introduce variety into your portfolio. However, in recent years—primarily due to Nauticam—we've seen the rise of water contact optics. These are additions to existing lenses that can alter their optical characteristics. Macro diopters like the SMC-1 and SMC-2 brought unprecedented magnification and image quality. Then came a wave of more complex wide-angle water contact optics, such as the Wide Angle Conversion Port (1 and 2) and the newer Fisheye Conversion Port, which transformed wide-angle zoom lenses.

In the macro world, the SMC-1 and SMC-2 initially allowed for incredibly unique shots. But as a dedicated macro shooter, I found myself using these lenses less and less. They aren’t particularly versatile, with a very limited range of subjects they work well for. I began gravitating toward weaker alternatives, such as the Kraken +6, which proved far more useful. It allowed me to shoot a wider variety of subjects and was easier to use thanks to its greater working distance. As a result, I even started leaving my SMC behind on many macro dives.

In the last quarter, Nauticam released a new water contact optic for macro—the MFO-1 (Midrange Focus Optimizer). I’ve never seen a lens generate so much confusion upon release. This was partly due to Nauticam’s slow and somewhat secretive rollout of information, but also because the lens does something we haven’t really seen before, making it tricky to understand.

The new MFO-1 and thread for 67mm port

We’re launching a new section in the newsletter: YouTube Channel Spotlight. While our Video of the Week highlights standout individual clips, this new feature focuses on entire channels we think deserve your attention. Rather than featuring the big names every diver already knows, we’ll be sharing lesser-known creators producing high-quality, engaging content.

To kick things off, we’re featuring Azul Unlimited, run by Sarah Miller. Before embracing van life, Sarah ran a dive shop in Komodo, Indonesia—an operation she had to shut down due to the COVID pandemic. She later transitioned to life on the road and recently made another leap, moving aboard a sailboat in Seattle. Now outfitting her boat for scuba diving adventures, Sarah’s channel blends storytelling, exploration, and dive culture—definitely worth a subscribe.

Summary

As always, we hope this issue of Inside Scuba leaves you inspired to dive deeper—whether that means refining your photography skills, planning your next adventure, or simply staying connected with the latest in the dive world. If you enjoyed this edition, consider sharing it with fellow divers. Until next time, keep exploring and capturing the magic beneath the surface!

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Andy & Byron

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