Welcome to issue #7 of Inside Scuba

Welcome to the latest edition of Inside Scuba! In this edition, we delve into scuba diving certification agencies. Dive News highlights recent underwater developments, while our Photo Tip explores motion blur macro photography. We provide a review of Dive Into Lembeh, an excellent resort to explore the muck diving capital of the world. Our video highlight is the recent episode of Dive Talk where the guys meet with DAN following their incident in the Bahamas and they provide insights into what went wrong and what can be done better should you get bent.

What’s happening in this edition?

• Deep Dive - Choosing the Right SCUBA Diving Certification
• Dive News
• Photo Tips: Motion Blur Macro Photography
• Resort Review: Dive Into Lembeh
• Video Highlight: Dive Talk Meet with DAN
• Summary

Choosing the Right SCUBA Diving Certification: Agency Comparison Guide

Gaining a scuba diving certification is generally quite easy and with numerous agencies offering courses worldwide, however before engaging in training and especially continued education it's important to understand their differences. In this article, we'll delve into the distinctions between some of the most prominent scuba diving agencies, including PADI, SSI, NAUI, CMAS, GUE, SDI/TDI, and RAID, helping you make an informed decision about your certification path.

Before we begin though, it is important to remember that all of the agencies come under the umbrella of the RSTC (Recreational Scuba Training Council) and as such, the course standards for all agencies are pretty much the same as they all adhere to the same minimum requirements. What differs is if agencies offer you more than just these basics and how they allow you to have access to the materials and the courses.

Given that the minimum standards are more or less the same for each agency, the most important factor is actually the instructor that you find. You need to find a dive center and instructor that are giving you what you need in your training and can help you achieve your scuba diving goals. You want to find an instructor that is fulfilling the requirements you have, and not just churning out unnecessary courses that are not needed on your journey. Scuba diving training should be goal focused and each set of skills should be mastered before you attempt the next step. A good instructor will guide your progressively on this path in a fun and constructive way and not rush the process.

Read more…

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.

Photo Tip of the Week - Motion Blur Macro Photography

Slow shutter speed photography has been around in underwater macro photography for quite a long time. In fact, the winner of the 2016 Underwater Photographer of the Year was a slow shutter shot of a seahorse taken by Davide Lopresti, an image that has inspired many photographers. However, in recent years, British photographer Nick More has been generating a collection of spellbinding slow shutter images that have really taken things to the next level. Nick won British Underwater Photographer of the Year with one of his images in 2020 and continues to be the gold standard in this particular niche of photography, influencing many, including myself. You can view some of Nick's incredible collection on his Instagram feed @nickmoreuw.

Slow shutter speed photography is also known as motion blur because it is primarily aimed at using blur to express motion in our images. Think of a shark swimming; it's nice to use this technique to express that motion, with a nice sharp, strobe-lit image of a shark with a shadow behind expressing the motion. But in macro photography, our subjects are often stationary, so it's interesting to consider why we would use this technique. For me, it is no longer about creating motion but instead a creative technique for producing backgrounds and soft blues in our underwater images, rather than black backgrounds. This is why I chose to write about slow shutter macro separately from wide-angle motion blur. Although there are many crossovers in technique, the objectives are different, and we go about taking the images in different ways.

We can also, with macro, break this down into two subcategories: motion blur on moving subjects and creative backgrounds using slow shutters.

Read more…

Resort Review: Dive Into Lembeh

Situated on the mainland along the shores of Lembeh Strait in Indonesia, Dive Into Lembeh offers a haven for diving enthusiasts. Owned and managed by Miranda and Steve Coverdale, this boutique resort introduces guests to the captivating muck diving of North Sulawesi.

Exploring the Resort

Miranda, hailing from Holland, and Steve, a Brit, have crafted Dive Into Lembeh with a focus on comfort and relaxation. Located in Kasawari Bay, the resort features nine sea-view private bungalows with modern amenities like TV, air conditioning, and a five-gallon water dispenser for hot and cold refreshment. Each bungalow also boasts a unique Japanese-style stone hot tub, perfect for unwinding (and warming up) after a day of diving. There is also a larger suite with similar amenities to the sea-view bungalows and for those who prefer an inexpensive option, a little further up the hill from the water are 3 longhouse rooms which are more simple yet still very comfortable.

Read more…

In this issue we are sharing an episode of Dive Talk where Woody and Gus describe their meeting with Divers Alert Network to follow-up on the incident that happened to Woody when he got bent in the Abaco’s Bahamas. If you are not familiar with that incident, you can watch the full episode of that here.

Summary

And so we come to the end of another newsletter. We hope you enjoyed it. Please do share it with your friends. Until next time, happy bubbles!

Andy & Byron