In Issue #67 of Inside Scuba, we dive into a legislative fight that could reshape shark diving in Florida for good — the Florida Safe Seas Act, and what's really at stake off Palm Beach and Jupiter. On the photography side, we look at how time spent shooting topside can quietly make you a sharper underwater shooter, and take a close look at why external monitors are becoming essential kit for mirrorless shooters. Plus, adventurer Steve Backshall counts down some of the most hair-raising dives of his career, and we've got the latest dive news from around the world.

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For underwater photographers and scuba divers, few places on Earth match the raw, pulse-pounding thrill of the Gulf Stream waters off Palm Beach and Jupiter, Florida. Dropping into the deep blue, fifty feet (15.2 m) beneath the surface, you find yourself among numerous massive apex predators, though which species you encounter depends on the time of year. Great hammerheads with their tall, scythe-like dorsal fins, bold bull sharks, powerful tiger sharks, and inquisitive lemons glide past, their skin reflecting the flickering rays of sunlight. On rare occasions, lucky divers even catch a glimpse of a great white shark passing through these waters. To capture these creatures on camera, to freeze a moment of wild, prehistoric majesty in a digital frame, is a dream for image-makers around the world.

That dream, however, is facing a severe legislative threat.

The battleground is House Resolution 3831, officially titled the Florida Safe Seas Act. Introduced in Congress, the bill aims to outlaw the practice of provisioning, baiting, scenting, or feeding sharks in federal waters off the coast of Florida. Having already passed the U.S. House of Representatives by voice vote, the legislation now sits before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. If passed into law and signed by the President, it will transform the landscape of North American shark diving forever.

To understand why this bill has ignited a fierce, emotionally charged conflict between recreational anglers, dive operators, marine scientists, and wildlife photographers, one must first understand how shark diving works, what the law actually says, and the complex arguments surrounding both sides of the anchor line.

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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.

Think about how much actual camera time a typical diving holiday really gives you. Three dives a day is a generous schedule for most trips, and each of those dives runs about an hour. That sounds like three hours of shooting, but it never really is. Strip out the descent, the safety stop, the minutes spent settling your buoyancy or following a guide toward a wreck you have not seen before, and the camera in your hand is doing real work for only a fraction of that hour. Across a full week away, you might log fifteen or twenty dives. The honest number of minutes you spend actually composing a frame, checking exposure, and firing the shutter is smaller than most of us like to admit.

Now compare that to an afternoon on land. A photographer walking a beach at low tide, or sitting at the edge of a pond with a long lens, can rack up hundreds of frames before lunch. There is no tank to watch, no depth to manage, no time limit set by how much air remains. That imbalance is exactly why the strongest underwater photographers I know are shooting constantly when they are not diving, and why that habit is not a distraction from their underwater work. It is preparation for it.

Underwater, you are almost always task loaded. You are watching your buoyancy, tracking your air, keeping an eye on your buddy, and trying to stay close enough to a subject without crashing into the reef to get there. Gloves and drysuits in cold water make small dials harder to feel. A fogged mask makes a tiny screen harder to read. None of that leaves much spare attention for fumbling through menus to find the one setting you need before the moment passes.

Topside shooting strips away almost all of that task loading. Your hands are free, your vision is clear, and your mind is clear — you're in your natural comfort zone.

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In this article from The Underwater Photography Show, we'll be diving into external monitors — what they are, why they've become so popular, and everything you need to know before adding one to your rig.

I'll admit — this is Matthew — I've been extolling the virtues of monitors for a while now, and this time I set out to make the case properly. Monitors have been standard kit for video shooters for years, but they've only recently become genuinely useful for stills photographers, largely because of the rise of mirrorless cameras. A monitor simply pulls the video feed off your camera's LCD or EVF, which means it doesn't touch your camera's performance at all — unlike a DSLR, where using live view to feed an external monitor comes at a real cost.

I (Alex) use one the majority of the time, and the uptake at workshops has been dramatic. Three years ago, someone showing up with a monitor was a once-a-year novelty — everyone would gather round and marvel at how strange the camera looked. Now most workshops have at least one person shooting with a monitor, and quite a few have two or three.

The only monitors I've used in the water are Kraken's — I've been through every generation, from the original 7-inch down to the newer 5-inch versions. Almost every monitor on the market falls somewhere in the 5 to 7 inch range, regardless of manufacturer, though Nauticam has one that runs a bit bigger. Most are self-contained units: the monitor and its housing are one sealed piece.

I do a lot of muck and critter diving, which means I'm often shooting very low to the bottom. Being able to tilt the monitor upward and read a big screen without getting anywhere near the substrate is hugely valuable — and it also lets me get the camera itself as low as possible when a subject calls for an eye-level shot. I've pushed a camera into tight corners on wrecks and still been able to see my exact composition on the screen, which just isn't possible looking through a viewfinder in the same position.

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Our Video of the Week comes from adventurer and broadcaster Steve Backshall — and yes, the title sounds like clickbait, but ignore the click-bait headline, the content is actually quite good. Backshall counts down five dives he wouldn't recommend to most people, drawing on some of the most extraordinary places he's dived over the years, from crocodile-infested rivers to waters filled with electric eels, anacondas, and some of the ocean's most formidable predators. It's the kind of firsthand, high-stakes storytelling that's a good reminder of just how varied this sport can get. Worth a watch with your morning coffee.

That wraps up Issue #67. We hope it gave you plenty to think about on your next boat ride — and if it did, send it along to a dive buddy who'd enjoy it too. Until next time, happy bubbles!

Andy & Byron