Larry Gates Scuba Instructor and Underwater Photographer

BOOK II: "Advanced Underwater Photography"

2011-10-28T05:41:00.000-04:00

Hello Everyone!

I am thrilled to announce the publication of my second book on underwater photography!

This book is a sequel to my first book: "The Beginner's Guide to Underwater Digital Photography' and its goal is to help an underwater photographer advance in their underwater photography.

My favorite chapter in the book was written, more or less, by several of my students of UW photography where-in they share their thoughts and some things that are in their minds when engaged in their UW photography during the time they are actually taking a photograph. The book holds samplings of some of their (most) wonderful images. I whole-heartedly thank them for their contributions and believe the book's readers will too.

I also thank Craig Alesse, Publisher (Amherst Media), Barbara Lynch-Johnt, my editor and Kate Neaverth, Sales and Marketing Manager, for their faith, efforts and work in bringing this book to life!

I am very excited about this book and it is available at Amazon and here is the link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1608952533?ie=UTF8&tag=larrygatesunderw&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1608952533

Be the 'first kid on your block' or 'diver on the dock' to get a copy and enjoy! The book is informative, written in 'regular guy' terms and with some humor.

Thank you all, lg

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"March Madness" Key Largo style

2011-04-20T08:10:00.002-04:00

Hello bloggers, scuba divers, UW photographers and friends!

When I hear the term 'March Madness' it is in reference to the basketball tournaments. It reminds me of my days playing BB and of the spring season in South Dakota which invariably meant we'd suffer one last blizzard during that time. Now days the term has a new meaning to me and in pictures I thought I'd share it with all of you.

We had a wonderfull spring break this year in Key Largo, during the month of March which continues into this month and as I type. I was fortunate in that I dove with several of my regular 'guyz' and some new to me. I will let the pictures tell the story. In no particular order thank you for the wonderfull dives and times to: Andrianna,Mike, Greg, Connie, Rob, Thao, Steve, Chris, Adam, Denis, Julia (and friends) and Jannie!

I like the Key Largo version of "March Madness". Hope you do too. Here is a 'roll of 24':

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Congratulations to Connie!

2011-03-31T08:23:00.001-04:00

Hello Everyone!

This morning I blog being both very proud of and so very happy for one of my 'guyz', Connie.
Connie entered Beneath the Sea's Underwater Photography Competition. Beneath the Sea is one of the world's largest consumer SCUBA shows and each year conducts one of the world's largest UW photo competitions with thousands of participants. Connie participated in the 'Conservation' category and received an honorable mention!

I think this is huge and am so thrilled and excited about it. I could not help but make a blog post congratulating her and to also express how happy and proud I am for and of her.

Connie initially became interested in UW photography due to her concern over the condition of our undersea environment. Her early subjects were and still are of distressed and diseased corals and other marine and aquatic life. It was fitting therefore that she entered her photograph in the conservation category. She e-mailed me this thought about her image: "I like the picture they chose because even though the shark is wounded it is still so proud and magnificent and knows it was the good one in the encounter." I like that.

Connie uses and shoots a Canon dSLR housed in an aluminum housing made by Watershot Inc. Watershot also made a congratulatory blog post about Connie's victory and you can read theirs by following the link to their blog from here: www.watershot.com/ .

To view all of the winning images from the BTS competition open this link: www.beneaththesea.org/photo_contest_2011.html

Here is her image:

And some others of her on the boat, underwater and one taken at BTS's event:

To enjoy more of her photography visit her website: http://www.conniezphotography.com/Site/Welcome.html

Connie is somewhat shy and humble about her photography and about herself as an UW photographer. So I suspect I am embarrassing her and apologize in advance. But I wanted to congratulate her and brag a bit about this none-the-less!

For those of you who know Connie, join with me and be happy for her accomplishment. Congrats Connie!

lg

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Adding to my splendid collection of ordinary photographs

2011-03-10T04:45:00.000-05:00

Hello fellow bloggers,

During my last couple of outings, I had the great fortune of diving with two of my long time 'guyz', Greg and Connie. Most of the dives we did we were shooting Macro lenses. Macro lenses are a 'hoot to shoot'! We three all used Canon dSLRs, housed in Watershot and Ikelite housings, strobed by Ikelite, Inon and Sea and Sea. The Macro lenses used were Canon's EF-S 60mm and their EF-100mm Macros.

I even managed to add a few photographs to my splendid collection of ordinary photographs in the process.

Here is a peek:

Thank you Connie and Greg! We had great dives together and in good conditions for both diving and doing underwater photography. It was also my great pleasure to photo-dive with you both :) lg

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January/February 2011 "Winter..."

2011-02-14T07:02:00.000-05:00

Hello Bloggers!

Whether anyone else does, I thought it time to do another blogpost. So here goes:

For those living in the Florida Keys, we are all painfully aware that winter is here. This year winter arrived early (for us) and at the beginning of December. For those reading this that do not live in the Florida Keys, I am sure I am not receiving any sympathy. I suppose it does not matter where I , or anyone, lives, it is safe to say none of us scuba divers are fond of winter.

It is not all bad and could be worse. Attached is a photograph sent to me by one of my 'guyz', Michael Fulayter of what winter can be and is like in climes further north of the Florida Keys.

Obviously not all bad because we don't have the 'white stuff' here in Key Largo. Also not all bad because I had the great pleasure of working with both some new 'guys' and a 'couple-three' of my regular 'guyz'. And shared the reef with some of my local friends and peers. Pictured below are Alan and Anne who came to work with me on their photography before their trips to Belize and Wakatobi.

Connie, one of my most frequent 'fliers' was back and as usual, shooting the eyes outta everything!

One of my most favorite and fellow instructor, Louis, was on the boat working with his student and treating us to his pineapple after our dives.

Another regular shooter of mine, Susanne, was also escaping the northern winter (in South Dakota) and came down with her new Macro lens and gave it a go:

We also had some unexpected visitors on our reefs, the Portuguese Man-O-Wars, and to the extend they carpeted the reefs so densely there were times when we could not dive. As such they became part of each day's reef report.

Year after year, I am the most viscious of complainers about winter. Yet without it, I suppose I would not meet or see the people that I do meet and see. For another example, each winter one of my 'heros' Dr Morgan Wells shows up down here. He is among the pioneers of diving and was a diver on the Sea Lab projects back in the early and mid 1960s. I was a teen-ager then and totally engrossed by that project. How thrilling for me, decades later, then to meet and become friends with one of those divers.

So, while I hate winter, I suppose without it, what would I have to blog about today? I am still diving with my guyz, new and long time, diving with my friends, hanging out with mentors, taking my photographs and all in good health. Getting that dry suit that I blogged about earlier has made a huge difference in how happy I am these days on the boats during this time of year.

I am thankfull and thank you all for reading my blog and being part of what I do. Here is a parting shot, until next time. lg

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the DRY SUIT

2011-01-02T14:34:00.001-05:00

Hello Everyone!

I could and probably will ramble on (and on) in this blogpost, but, hopefully you will bear with me. This post will somewhat detail my (little) experience to date about dry suit diving and some early observations about dry suit diving.

A confluence of events occurred in November which were: my birthday, my wetsuit needed to be replaced with a new one, and I had in mind the past few years to buy a dry suit, and winter came a month early. Whether my wetsuit was new and un-crushed or needing to be replaced, I have always been cold in it during the months of January and February. Cold during the dives and cold between and after the dives.   I think the reason for this is a combination of my age and that I am well acclimated to the water temps here in the Key Largo area.

So I placed a call to my friend Sasha who owns SoBe Divers (http://www.southbeachdivers.com/) and is a Bare dealer and Bare makes both wet and drysuits.   Sasha quoted me a heck of a price (ask me personally as he said he would do the same for any of 'my guyz') so I went ahead with the purchase and called it my birthday present to myself.   For anyone curious the cost was around $800 yet the suit retails for over $1100.

Ordinarly I buy some piece of UW photography equipment, lens or camera....

So, I had this dry suit coming and never having dove one, I put the study cap on and read the PADI Dry Suit Specialty course instructor's manual, trying to be a good student of SCUBA. Did that homework and then counselled with several PADI instructors who both dive Dry Suits and teach dry suit diving. Thanx Pam Wooten , Georgia Hausserman, Tom Witmer, Mike Waters, Joe Thomas for all your tips, pointers, advice and suggestions.

When the suit arrived the first step after unpacking it was to read its manual. I bought Bare's NexGen Dry Suit and substituted its built in boots with ankle seals. The suit is bilaminate suit rather than any of the neoprene versions of dry suits. The next step was trimming the seals with the neck seal being the most critical.   Thanx to Dan at Horizon Divers, http://www.horizondivers.com/ for his help in getting my neck seal properly trimmed.

Book work done and seals trimmed, the next phase in this grand expirement was the pool training. Armed with the Dry Suit and an instructor slate full of performance requirements, off to the pool I went, where I spent the better parts of two mornings getting acclimated to the suit and diving in it. Tom W was pool side and keeping an eye on me and for my safety :)   Friend Mischa was there with a camera to photograph any comedy or tragedy that may have arisen while I sort out diving in this type of suit.

Finally, got the weather and opportunity to do (now) 7 dives in the open water in the dry suit. Including a staff dive with Ocean Divers, thanx OD, http://www.oceandivers.com/ for the invite Obviously it is 'different' (than diving in a wetsuit). The DS itself does not keep you warm, only dry. So undergarments are worn and enough to keep you warm. The kind, numbers of layers, of these you wear affects how much weight you need to wear when diving in the DS. I normally wear around 8 to 10#s of weight diving in my wetsuit and wear anywhere between 16 and 22 #s of weight diving in the DS. I dive with a minimal amount of air inside the suit. Just enough to keep the 'squeeze' off. More on this later.

I use my BCD for buoyancy control both on the surface and UW. The suit that I bought was not so bulky as to require me to buy a larger BCD than the one I own. And because I ordered ankle seals I can still wear my full foot fins when diving 'dry'.

A person can buy undergarments made specifically for dry suits. I chose not to for a number of reasons, and one was cost. I have a 'darlex' dive skin made by Body Glove that I wear and when necessary I layer tee-shirts, fleecies, or polartech underwear, depending upon the water temps. Most of the DS specific undergarments that I have seen are thick and therefore hold a lot of air and therefore require additional weights to be added to my weight system. Although these undergarments are more comfortable insofar as displacing suit squeeze.

Some observations: While I do not yet have a routine or system down pat yet, donning and doffing the DS is no more or less problematic or work than my donning/doffing my two piece FJ with hooded vest.

There is a saying:   'There are two kinds of divers- divers that pee in their wetsuits and liars'. I am not a liar and this urge was a concern of mine when contemplating diving in a DS. So far I have not had the urge, and this was told to me by other DS divers (that I would not have), and that is the truth!

Given my limited experience, the suit is somewhat restrictive to move in compared to my wetsuit. The water pressure helps squeeze the air from the suit thru its vent valve(good thing insofar as less weight being needed) but once that is done, the thick, sturdy material of the suit wraps around me. It does not pinch me because of the layers of undergarments I have, but it does make moving in it more of an effort. I still have full range of motion and can contort myself any way I need to do take UW photographs, but, it is still a bit cumbersome. This is hard to explain, and, it is getting to be more comfortable with each dive I do. I suspect then, that this is something a diver 'gets used to'.   The suit does create more drag in the water column and on the surface, so my movements are slower to prevent over-excertion. I would not want to do a long surface swim in my DS in any substantial waves or current. (well for that matter I could say the same thing about my wetsuit) I am more agile, so far, when diving my wetsuit.

I thought or expected buoyancy control to be a lot harder for me to gain some mastery of than it turned out to be. The suit, in this regard, was much easier than I expected, to learn to dive. Figuring out and dealing with the nuances of the DS's buoyancy was actually a lotta fun and I did a lot of laughing at myself.

The DS is more maintenance intensive than is the wetsuit. There is a rigid protocol involving its care and the care of the zipper and seals. Every two or three years or so, the seals need to be replaced and this is not without cost. I calculate replacing the seals in my suit will equal the cost of my buying a wetsuit, which I do every three years.

The dry suit has been a joy for me to own and dive in. It does, as advertized, keep me dry. And I am not as cold, if at all, underwater diving it as I am in a wetsuit. Equally important, I am warm, not freezing cold, when back on the boat between dives and after dives. So, the trade off seems to be for now, I am warm and dry with less mobility, comfort, and agility during my dives. I expect that with more dives I will become more comfortable, mobile and agile in the DS. These are very early impressions and observations.

So: For me a great trade!! Thanx Sasha, and Everyone who had a hand in making it possible for me to dive dry. If you are diver who gets cold during dives and freezes on the boat after dives, I highly reco the dry suit. Pics below for the fun of it:

A special thanx to my buddies: Rich R and Connie Z.

Warm and safe diving to you all in 2011. lg

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Birthdays, Scuba Diving, Underwater Photography, old and new friends

2010-11-15T04:27:00.002-05:00

When I started this blog couple of years ago, I did so in part for the pure enjoyment of it. It sounded kinda fun. Blogging about what I do. Quite a bit, well, to me at least, has occurred these past 'couple-three' weeks. I have been in the midst of my life's work, providing my diving and underwater photographic services to a wonderfull mother/daughter team of scuba divers, Joan and daughter Margo. They seemed to me to be among the epitome of those who can personify the spirit and fun of scuba diving. I've included some photographs of them in this blog as examples of what I write about.

Since my last blog I also had the opportunity to work with an underwater photographer, Denise, who in a past life of hers engaged in the profession of underwater photography in the Bahamas. She moved away from that, becoming an attorney, but, recently acquired a housed dSLR camera system. Her fiance engaged me to help her learn these new ropes and as a birthday gift to her. Denise arrived as both an accomplished photographer and scuba diver, as she was an instructor in the aforementioned other life. My 'job' more or less, was to help her transition into her new camera system. I have included some of her images and hope you enjoy them.

During the course of my dives with Joan, Margo and Denise, an old friend appeared on the scene, Capt. Mike Brooks. Lots of water has passed under the keels of dive boats with he and I on their decks and it was a pure joy to have him as Captain again. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience and delivers among the best of dive briefings when on board. Mike is truely one of the old timers here having been raised here and living his life as a scuba instructor, dive boat captain, and now engaged in the boat survey business. Mike is pictured in this blog with Denise.

A few days ago my birthday arrived, and I will excercise discretion and not divulge which one it was. Within a day or two of my birthday, another, friend and diving legend, Dick Rutkowski, had his birthday. Dick is not sitting beside me, as I write this, so discretion is tossed aside and it was his 80th. Dick was literally the first person I met when I arrived in Key Largo 16-17 years ago and he, in my eye and mind, has not changed one bit. A nice party was held for him on the 13th. In addition to many other of his character attributes, Dick has a lot of charm and a photograph of this portrayed is below. Thank you Jennifer for the pose.

I received lots of well-wishes around and for my birthday from many friends, students, dive clients, and family. One example is what I characterise as a work of art, sent to me by Connie Z, one of my very best 'guyz'. She is continually taking her diving and underwater photography to newer and higher levels and is engaged in an extensive Photoshop for photographers course. She crafted a birthday 'card' for me while practicing some of her newly learned skills. I could not resist not displaying her work in this blog.

I will conclude this blogpost, written early this morning, over coffee, by thanking Everyone. Including my new friends, Joan, Margo, Denise, my long time friends, like Mike and Connie, and all others who wished me well during my birthday. I had a good birthday. I was scuba diving, with my camera, and with people I liked! I even managed a couple lucky grab shots (pictured below). I hope the images in this blog depict the good times to be had when scuba diving, engaged in underwater photography and with friends both new and old. To me, it is always an incredible experience! Thank You. lg

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musings...

2010-10-20T05:11:00.000-04:00

Living on island time, I believe we are in the fall of our year. It has been almost a month since I last blogged, and amazing how time, even island time, flies. So, for what it's worth here are some dive and photo related musings! Enjoy:

Business typically slows down a bit after Labor day and this year was, for me, no exception. However it went from slow to slammed when October began and this was my first (though unobserved at the time) instance of some bipolar events to come. The next was our weather during much of October. While we have so far been mercifully spared any hurricanes, our weather has none the less been psycho-like.

We experienced periods of dry, calm summer-like conditions to dark, windy, rainy and dreary conditions atypical of our climate. Both above and below the water. And this shift occurred on a daily basis. Pictured are four examples, two topside and two underwater of what I am writing about.

I've heard it said that Key Largo is where 'weird turns pro' and if true we are pretty good at dealing with it! One way is to simply have a party and one was held by our local Divers Direct in appreciation of and for their customers (to my customers- don't get any ideas, I appreciate ya but...). Pictured below is the food laid out for us one Friday evening. Thank you Brenda, Pam and Mike, who speared, grilled and shared with us hogfish snapper and grouper.

The new month of October brought me new students of scuba and underwater photography. I am a consumate tourist myself and when I have my camera am always snapping away. Below are my 'new guys' hard at 'work'!

It wasn't all work and we had some fun along the way, the psychoman-like weather notwithstanding. I even learned a new trick or two and about trick photography. We came across the usual subjects and one not so usual subject. Pictured below is a rare sighting of a great Hammerhead shark. Is it real or is it Memorex. I'll let you decide :)

I am a wide angle guy at heart. So, even I went a bit psycho when I flippantly abandoned my WA lens and descended to the depths in quest of the smaller subjects to shoot or shoot the usual subjects with my Macro lens. Below is what I came up with:

Don't worry, later I returned to normal (if there is such a thing) and reverted back to my old workhorse and familiar friend, my wide angle lens. I've always loved the corals and their colours which inspired me to learn to dive. I still do and never pass up a chance to photograph them.

I can't end this blogpost without saying a special thanx to my new guys, Donna, Cameron and Al. We made the most and the best of the conditions during our time here. I also think we were most successfull! We got to know each other and had some fun. Congrats to you 'guyz'. One more parting shot, until the next time I blog my musings, lg

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SCUBA Diving Mega-Course!

2010-09-20T11:44:00.001-04:00

I am very happy and proud to write this blogpost. I and several students of mine and of scuba recently completed what I coined as a scuba diving mega-course. I doubt you will find that defined anywhere else, but, what it means (to me) is that several students participated in multiple scuba diving courses. This 'mega-course' began about a year ago. It involved students participating in their Open Water course, their Advanced course, their Rescue Diver course and their Divemaster course. During these courses, students were oftentimes working toward their completion of their course with other students working toward completing a different course. For example, Kelli worked on her DM course by working with Brandon and Angie.

This was some feat for this scuba instructor. Only one student participating lives in Key Largo. So, everything thing was planned from afar and it all came together during this past year.

Students participating were: Brandon G, Angie Z, Jenn M, at the Open Water Diver level. Tara S, Steve W at the Advanced level, Tara S, Steve W at the Rescue Diver level, Tara S, Jeff F and Kelli Z at the Divemaster level.

My main purpose in this blogpost is to congratulate, whole-heartedly, all of these students. They did an absolutely outstanding job while reaching their goals. I hope they are as proud of their accomplishments as I am and I proudly herald them here.

Pictured below are some snapshots taken during the mega-course. They depict the studying, the pool session the equipment piles, the boat, and a fun moment after the result of a lobster dive! There are pictures of the students in the mega-course.

Kudos to you 'guyz'!!

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I've taken the pictures, now what!?

2010-09-15T08:11:00.001-04:00

Dear Fellow Photographers and Bloggers,

I wished I would have asked (and answered) that question almost 20 years ago. Or at least 7 years ago or so, when I moved from film photography to digital. Because I ended up with tens of thousands of photos that I took, but had no real idea what I was going to do with them even though I saved them. Instead I asked this question a few years ago, and, while I came up with the answer it was not until just recently that I did something about it.

Namely, scour through my many folders full of photos and edit them. This editing process ranged from dumping (deleting) photos that when I viewed them, wondered why I ever kept them to begin with, to, full-on edits to enhance and bring out the best in others. And then find something to do with these survivors.

I recommend in this post that you do not wait years before you ask and answer this question. Unless of course you want to go through what I just did. Which was to spend days upon days sorting through thousands upon thousands of images. Sounds grueling but it was fun.

And the job was made easier by my use of two resources. There are many photo editing programs out there, and, I became kean on and purchased Adobe's Photoshop Lightroom (now in its 3rd version- to show you how far behind the curve I can get). This program has 99% of the organizing and editing power that I find necessary to work with my photographs. Here is a link to it at Amazon:
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

I am still engaged in this process and thus far have worked with over 2400 of my photographs. Those that I have finished beg the question- now what? Well, I would at least like them presented so people could see them, and, even better, offer them for sale, and finally have an off-premises means of backing these up. There are many services that offer these capabilities. Over the years, I have now resolved to using Zenfolio as a repository for my stock of underwater photographs. This is a subscription service (i.e 'not free') but, in my opinion, worth the annual subscription. It costs $100 per year. They offer a free trial period, so check it out. If you use this link, you will get a $10 discount: Zenfolio

As mentioned so far I reviewed over 2400 images and uploaded around 700 to my Zenfolio website. While my task is not done, it has been made much easier and more efficient by my use of these two resources. I guesstimate that I spent 90 hours in total and without Lightroom's power and speed, this task would have taken three times the amount of time. There is a free plug-in for the program, that enabled me to upload direct to my Zenfolio account and into my web galleries there. Zenfolio has themes that make it easy to get yourself set up, and, I was even able to build a custom theme to make my Zenfolio pages mirror those of my website.

I am including two screen shots which show Lightroom on my computer's monitor and one of my photo pages on my site hosted by Zenfolio.

If you've used any of Adobe's editing programs in the past you will find Lightroom to be easy to adopt and adapt to, as it is very intuitive.
Similarly, if you've uploaded photos to any photo sharing site and created a photo page, Zenfolio is a snap to work with. I can also vouch for the customer service at Zenfolio. I had several 'dumb questions' and all were answered promptly in email.

So, if you ever get around to making the above statement and asking the above question: "I've taken the pictures, now what!?" remember these two helpfull resources in finding your answer! I've also added links to both of these in my blog's sidebar for future reference.

Lightroom and Zenfolio are the best I've found.

Good luck with your photographs, both taken and those yet to be taken, and finding some thing to do with them afterwards! I urge you to not let your photographs stack up on you as I did. My goal now is to deal with my photos ASAP !!

lg

PS: if you look hard enough at the screenshot of LR, you may see a reference to photos and 'book II' (but keep it a secret..)
PSS: Oh yeah, check out some of the results here:

my Zenfolio collection of stock underwater photographs

Hans DeJager: June 9, 1949 - June 22, 2010

2010-08-18T11:10:00.001-04:00

On June 22, 2010, we who knew Hans, lost a very good and dear friend. The world lost a good and decent human being.

On August 6, 2010 we friends and family placed Hans's ashes where his spirit lives.

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Information about Watershot Inc's housings for Canon dSLR cameras:

2010-07-23T14:18:00.005-04:00

Unless you are a regular follower of my blog, you landed on this blogpost by following a link to it found on my website's Watershot page ( http://www.larrygates.com/watershot.htm ). Welcome to this blogpost about the Watershot housing system.

Early in 2009, I was offered the ability to become a dealer for Watershot, Inc. and their housings for select Canon dSLR cameras. I accepted and doing so proved to be most beneficial to my own underwater photography. I began using the Watershot housing system before deciding to represent the product. Because I am not in the business, per-se of selling either scuba or UW photographic equipment. So, I wanted to make sure if I took that step forward, the product I would offer to 'my guyz' would be of best quality and of the greatest value. I believe the Watershot housing meets both of these requirements and have been using and marketing the Watershot housings for over a year.

Watershot makes housings for Canon's 500D, T1i, and this housing will also nest Canon's XSi. This housing is sold as a kit and comes with the flat port and zoom ring gear for the EF-S 18-55mm lens. It retails for $2300. During DEMA in 2010 Watershot introduced their housing kit for Canon's 550D, T2i. The T2i kit is offered with the WS tray and handles at a retail price of $2500. Watershot also makes a housing for the Canon 5D MK II dSLR camera. The retail price for the Watershot Canon 5D MKII housing is: $3300.

The 500 series housings come with a bulkhead (a second is an option) to accomodate synchronization with the strobe via a Fiber Optic cable. The housings can be ordered with bulkheads that accomodate the use of traditional electrical synchronization cords. These options enable the housing to marry-up quite nicely with an array of strobes manufactured by Sea and Sea, Inon, Ikelite and others.

Watershot offers a standard flat port ($199) and both a 6 inch ($899) and 9 inch dome port ($1799). These ports are made using aluminum bodies and optical quality AR coated glass. They mount to the housing using the tried and true bayonet mounting system. Also introduced during DEMA of 2010 was a 203mm Acrylic dome port ($999). Watershot has an array of port extentions to accomodate several lenses made by Canon, Tokina, Sigma and Zeiss.

Ports, port extenders/extentions, zoom ring gears or focus gears are available for the following lenses: Macro- Canon's EF-S F/2.8 60mm Macro, EF F/2.8 100mm Macro, Sigma AF Macro 50mm F/2.8, Sigma AF Macro 70mm F/2.8. Zoom- Canon EF-S 18-55mm IS F/35.-5.6, Canon EF-S 10-22mm F4/5.6 USM, Canon EF 24-70mm, Canon EF 16-35mm, Sigma AF 10-20mm F/4-5.6 ESX DC, Sigma 17-70mm DC Macro, Tokina AT-X DX Fisheye 10-17mm. Wide Prime Lenses- Canon EF 15mm F/2.8 Fisheye, Sigma 15mm F/2.8 Fisheye and Sigma 10mm F2.8 EX DC. Watershot supports the following Zeiss lenses: 18mm, 21mm, 50mm, 80mm.

Pricing for zoom ring or focus ring gears is $99, and between $149-$249 for the various port extentions.

Watershot housing for Canon EOS 5D MK II (above)

Watershot Dome port, a port extender and zoom ring gear (pictured above)

These housings were very well thought out and are as compact as can be and are very ergonomical. I have one-handed this housing with strobe and made images in the portrait mode. The housings were designed with simplicty in mind and are simple to assemble/disassemble. No tools are required and a shooter can set up the housing/camera/lens/port system in a bit over 5 minutes time. Lens changes can also bemade in minutes and there is no wiggling or jiggling of pieces to make it all come together and function. The teeth on the crown gear and focus/zoom ring gears are large and provide very robust operation when meshed. The union is strong with no slippage.

The shutter control and zoom/focus controls are large and very smooth, and, all the other controls work as they should. I.E. you press or move one, and something happens! Some examples of how well thought out the housings are: Watershot used shallow engraving to label controls that are not obvious as to what they do. Watershot machined grips into the leading edges of their ports and extenders making installation and removal of these easy. They also use index marks on the ports and extenders along with one on the housing to make installation and removal of these a virtual 'no brainer'. The other controls and knobs are also large with ample spacing between them and this facilitates their operation while wearing diving gloves.

The housings are made by machining a single billet of 6061 T6 aluminum and hard anodized and has a lustre satin finish. Great quality with sex appeal! All the metal buttons and control shafts and springs are made from 316 stainless steel. A metal considered best for underwater use as it contains no iron and will not rust. All high use buttons and knobs are double o-ring sealed, as well as all shafts unless not practical. Any other components used, seals, o-rings, etc are made using materials that meet, or beat, the industry standards.

The service when needed has been excellent across the board. Timely and effective. Not only by Watershot to me but also to my Watershot clients. Over my years in underwater photography I have grown very kean on the service standard set by Ikelite. I rate Watershot's service its equal.

The photographs below were taken by me using the Watershot 500D housing, flat and dome ports, with Canon's 500D (T1i) camera and Canon's 60mm Macro (Flamingo Tongues), Canon's 18-55mm IS (Trumpetfish portrait) and Canon's 10-22mm ( Turtle with diver) lenses:

While a relative newcomer to the market, the Watershot housings are well travelled. They have helped photographers come home with keepers from Indonesia, the Bahamas, Bonaire, Belize, Roatan, Cozumel, the Florida Keys, the green waters of South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota, the cold waters of the California coast and the frigid waters of Antartica.

The Watershot housing and system is very high quality product at a comparatively low and competitive price point. I have been using it for over a year and during 100s of dives, in three countries and imaged using Macro, midrange zoom and ultra wide angle zoom lenses with it. It is a dream tool to use to do the job of underwater photography with.

I can help you put together a complete system, housing, strobe and necessary components such as camera trays, handles, strobe arms and clamps, synch cables/cords. Contact me if you need any additional information or have any questions. larry@larrygates.com
Good diving and shooting to you all.
Larry

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Belize: a very special trip diving and witnessing shark research

2010-05-07T10:06:00.002-04:00

Hello Everyone! This is a very special blog for me as I was offered a once in a lifetime trip to travel to Belize and to see and photograph shark research that has been and is being conducted there and at Glovers Atoll.

I travelled to Belize with Ellen Pikitch, PhD a world renowned marine scientist and one of 'my guyz', underwater photographer, Connie Z. I was invited there as their guest and to be a dive buddy and backup underwater photographer. The trip planning started many months ago and we left Miami on April 26th and returned on May 4th.

w/Dr Ellen Pikitch and underwater photographer Connie Z.

Dr Pikitch runs the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science http://www.oceanconservationscience.org/mission/mission.php and more about her and her work can be learned by following the link. The New York Times ran an article about her shark research at Glovers Atoll coincidentally on the day of our departure. Her shark research is the longest running research of sharks in the Caribbean.

Our trip was multi-faceted and there was much on our plate and itineary. We flew into Belize City on American Airlines and from there caught a Maya Air flight to Dangriga Town much further south. Very exciting and the beginning of this wonderfull adventure.

From Dangriga we took a 40 minute shuttle van ride to Hamanasi resort where we spent 3 days getting acclimated and organized and did some diving and attempted to see and photograph whale sharks as this is a peak time of year for them to show up. Hamanasi is a jewel of a resort with wonderfull staff, food and accomodations and a professional dive operation. http://www.hamanasi.com/ Our hostesses there were Jan and Stephanie and if ever we wanted anything their reaction was: 'no problem'.

w/Jan and Stephanie
While at Hamanasi we did some tune-up dives and quested for the whale sharks. Whales sharks are in these waters to feed on the spawn of Cubera Snapper. The snapper collect at a location named Gladden Spit which is a bit of a hike by boat from either Hamanasi or later Glovers Atoll. The snapper release their spawn and as it rises to the surface the whalesharks appear and filter feed upon it. We could and did simulate the spawn by gathering in a circle and our exhalation bubbles provided the simulated spawning. Cute trick but in our case it did not work! However, we did see dolphins, Cubera Snapper, Trevally Jacks, Horse-eyed Jacks and Bull sharks all on the same dives and layered upon one another. Oh, I almost forgot that we also saw Loggerhead, Green and Hawksbill turtles. The corals in Belize are all dense and very much alive and splendid with color. I had one of the best wall dives ever while there. Later during the trip Dr Pikitch and Connie returned to Gladden Spit from Glovers Atoll and did see one whale shark!!

simulating spawn

From Hamanasi we travelled by open boat with luggage under a tarp to Glovers Atoll which was an adventure in itself! We arrived at dive resort on an island located just a few minutes by boat from the Wildlife Conservation Society's research center, the Isla de Marisol, which is owned and operated by 'Eddie'. http://www.islamarisolresort.com/ Photo above, and Eddie and I in the photo below.

Photos of the research center below

We used Marisol as a headquarters and from there travelled by boat to meet up with Dr Ellen's research crew who were housed at the research center. In addition to Dr Pikitch's shark research there are other marine science related research programs being conducted at the center. Alex Tilley (working toward his PhD) is conducting research on Southern Stingrays and there were two young marine scientists studying sponge growth. One other project involved the study of algae and currents, and cages were made using PVC to cover small coral heads from the foraging of algae by parrotfish. Cages were placed on heads of corals on both sides of the Atoll where currents fluctuated.

sponge study

PVC cages

This was all very fascinating to me. I never dreamt I would be anywhere near any marine science studies much less be along during it all! As mentioned the trip was multi-faceted with much to accomplish on our plate the main focus was Dr Ellen's shark research.

Her research officially began in 2000. Her shark studies and surveys are conducted in a protected 'no take' zone. As we all know sharks, an apex predator and a key element in the oceans' food chain, are under increasing pressure from fishing. My personal take on her research shows that while shark populations may not grow where they exist within protected areas, none the less, the population does not diminish in numbers either. Sharks existing in protected areas have a chance to thrive or at least survive. I witnessed this in Key Largo where we are now seeing small numbers of sharks in our Sanctuary Preservation Areas (SPAs) which are also 'no take zones'.

Her and her research team would during the day and at night venture in an open boat and upon open ocean to set baited lines to catch sharks. They employed long lines in shallower water with 50 hooks and employed deep water lines vertically to depths of 800 feet with 5 hooks on these. They were very meticulous in not leaving these lines soaking too long. This was to avoid injuring, due to fatigue, anything that they caught. This aspect of the trip was a lot of physical work and long hours. I was glad I was just there to photograph it all.

Once a shark was caught the team would bring it to the surface and from there: measure it, determine its sex, take a small slice of its dorsal fin for a DNA sample and tag the animal. I want to stress that great effort was made to not harm the animal. In one instance one gray reef shark appeared very tired so it was released immediately and no data was collected. We caught two types of sharks on this trip. Caribbean Reef Sharks (which I oftentimes just call 'gray reefs') and Nurse sharks. The gray sharks were small 'pup's and my loose guess measured them at up to 3 feet in length. The Nurse sharks caught were larger and one caught was at least 8 feet in length. Dr Ellen put together a great team. Captin Nolan a great boat handler pictured above and to the left and the 'team' to his right and heading out to haul up the long-line. Just under are Connie and Dr Ellen prepping hooks. Below that photo is a shark alongside the boat.

The following photos hopefully tell the story better than I can in writing:

I could write thousands of words about the exhileration of this trip and experience. It was a very wonderfull opportunity for me. Hopefully pictures are indeed worth a thousand words.

Thank you very much Dr Ellen and Connie for the invitation and opportunity for me to have this marvelous experience! lg

PS: I would also like to thank the following people for their help, support, kindnesses, generosity, and friendship: Jan, Stephanie, Bert and Troy at Hamanasi. Eddie, Darren, Chad and Kitty at Isla de Marisol. Nolan, Damion, Alex and Buc at the WCS research center.

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Bonaire: a dream that came true!

2010-02-18T05:25:00.159-05:00

Many years ago, I began working with a good student of SCUBA, Jim Kent. He ultimately became a PADI Master Scuba Diver. Along the way we found we had one dream in common, which was to some day travel to and dive in Bonaire. In 2002, the dream started to become a reality when he and his non-diving wife invited me to go as their guest.

We orginally planned to go during the winter months of 2003. However, as is often the case in life 'shit happens', and the trip was postponed. Same thing again for the next several years. Until last fall when I received an email from Jim, wherein he reiterated his invitation and wondered whether I could and would still go. The answer was a resounding yes!

So Jim made the arrangments and we spent the week of February 6th through the 13th diving in Bonaire. It was worth the wait and in a word: 'breathtaking'!

The following pictures and my notes hopefully will do this trip of a life time justice. Also, I hope that my blogging about Bonaire will be of use to any reader planning a trip to Bonaire. Which I highly recommend! Here goes:

The above photo depicts the 'fun' spirit which was the undercurrent of the trip. Jim invited a family of three, Jeff, wife Trish and 9 year old daughter Maddie (Madison). Many pre-trip emails were sent back and forth and I mentioned in one that all I needed to pack was tee-shirts, and swim trunks and shorts and flipflops for clothes. Trish thought I should also have underwear, so the gang, bought me a pair and this is what I found on my bed on my first evening when I arrived! Okay, stage is set for a fun, filled with practical jokes week!

We stayed at Buddy Dive, and they are in their 30th year of business and we even got a free tee-shirt as part of their celebration. Buddy Dive is an excellent choice. The service from everybody working there was great and had two common aspects: all staff smiled and any request was answered with 'no problem'.

Like most resorts it is located on the water and in front of a glorious coral reef, which are referred to as 'house reefs'. They are only a few fin kicks from shore and at the resorts, entries and exits, could not be easier when it comes to shore diving. Something we later learned to appreciate. All tanks, including Nitrox and our gear were kept and stored at the dock at the dive center , so, diving could not be any more convenient or less of an effort.

The snapshot above shows 'my guy' Jim, the 'chick magnet', with Susie, who along with her husband John own and operate the digital photo center at Buddy Dive. They have 40 years of experience and were helpfull to me in finding subjects, like Octopus and helpfull to other guests with photo questions and in giving advice. Susie in this photo epitomizes the friendly nature of all the staff at Buddy Dive.

This picture is of the largest Orange Elephant Ear sponge that I have ever seen. It is also typical of the live corals and densely packed corals found in Bonaire. The dives start in about 15 feet of water and in most cases the corals are found on gently sloping walls ending at around 100 feet. Our visibility always approached 100 feet. The skies were cloudy early in the mornings but by mid morning filled with sunshine. Air temperatures were in the low 80s and the water temperature at all dives sites was 78 degrees.

This photo shows the ease of entry when shore diving at Buddy Dive and its house reef. The reef begins where the water turns a deeper blue in color. I don't think diving gets any easier than this!

Photo of Jim, Trish, Jeff and Maddie. A great group. It was Jeff's first ocean and coral reef diving experience though he has dove for many years and done the deeper wrecks in Michigan. Trish and Maddie discovered the corals and decorative reef fish and critters on snorkel. One evening after dark, while snorkelling Trish witnessed a Tarpon preying on a Blue Tang! Evidentally the tarpon buddy up with the divers and use the dive lights to help them spot prey.

Trish and Maddie snorkel at an off property site named the Windsock and one of our favorite sites, due to its ease of entry and exits. Ease of entry and exits are crucial to shore diving and including in Bonaire. While the dive sites are on the leeward side of Bonaire, there is still some surge and surf to deal with on most days, even though both are comparatively mild.

The above photo is of Jim's leg which was abraded during a fall when exiting an off property dive site. His fall was not uncommon, as I too fell, and I witnessed many other divers falling, either during entry or exits. I had not heard of difficulty in shore diving in Bonaire, so after these events, I asked the local divers (working pro divers) what was up with that? The answer was that in 2007, Hurricane Omar passed close to Bonaire and its swells washed the shore diving beaches clean of sand. The result of this was exposure of rough substrate with small ankle turning crevices and foot trapping 'potholes', scattered among a lose rock, dead corals, and a cobblestone like limestone bottom. These were impossible to see as the waves filled the water with sand which prevented in many cases the ability to see where you were walking.

We were lucky in walking away (pun intended) with only abrasions and nicks and scratches. One pro diver there had a full leg cast and a touring diver broke his leg which shortened his vacation.

Midmorning of our second day, we resolved to do a bit more 'dive planning' which is depicted in the above photograph. We took more time in scouting out off property sites for ease of entry/exits. Ultimately, we spent most of our dive time diving the house reef. It is also where we saw most of the cool stuff, like an Eagle Ray, and a school of Tarpon, neither of which are depicted in this blog. When going to Bonaire, take some form of full body suit. A dive skin or darlex or trilaminate suit, or a 3mm one piece wetsuit will be of comfort if you fall and also help keep you warmer (3mm wetsuit). Also, while I use full foot fins when boat diving, when shore diving I'd reco using adjustable foot fins as they require the use of booties which are a necessity when walking in and out of the water and shore diving.

After our successfull regroup and more thoughtfull dive planning we thought the above was 'thee' way to go (and come)! Nothing could be easier and we are all about easy diving with minimal effort and maximum safety. I ran into fellow named Scott from Nebraska who had been coming to Bonaire for 20 years and he told me that he only dives the house reefs. Pre or post Omar. My new experience tells me Scott is right and other diving could be done from the resorts' boats. A one tank dive is only $30. A bargain compared to the time and effort consuming logistics of packing the rental vehicle and managing off property shore diving.

Each day our day started with an all you can eat breakfast buffet. This included scrambled eggs, omelettes and eggs made to order, bacon and sausage links, white and dark bread toast and butter, mini crusty baggettes, fruits of cantelope, pineapple, honeydo, watermelon, papaya and others, waffles, pancakes and french toast, good coffee, juices, milk, cereals and water. They make their own water in Bonaire and it is potable from the faucets. We stayed in a large on property apartment/condo with full kitchen facilities so were able to take and make many meals 'in'.

After breakfast the focus was diving! All visitors participate in a mandated one time 'orientation' and these are held each morning at 9AM. Bonaire has protected its resource since 1978 and Bonaire is a dive Mecca because it has done so. An early advocate of buoyancy control, they want to make sure the divers have it together before turning them loose on their reefs. The above shot is of a buoyancy control 'obstacle' located on Buddy Dive's house reef and in about 40 feet of water. Gloves are banned in Bonaire for diving.

As a photographer, I found it easy to find photographic subjects, but, hard to photograph them. This is because the coral is all alive and very densely packed and it was difficult and at times impossible to find any open areas of sand to settle into and or even to find a piece of bleeched or dead coral to use my finger-tips to stablilize myself. Fortuntely there was little or no surge at depth nor any currents of any measureable degree. Lack of current and surge is typical in Bonaire at least along the leeward side of the island.

Bonaire is more of a Macro place than a wide angle place. I used a Canon and Watershot housed digital SLR camera system and a mid range zoom lens and a 60mm Macro lens both behind a flat port. Only on a couple of occasions did I want for my dome port and a wider angle of view lens. My housing, a Watershot, was small enough and agile enough with good ergonomics, for me to be able to 'one hand' it, so I could, if I could find a place, use my free hand to help stablelize myself to make the photograph.

The above snapshot depicts the Macro nature of Bonaire. In this case a photo of a Banded Coral Shrimp. In most desitnations a rarely encountered critter, but, in Bonaire it seemed at times I would come across small villages of them!

Green Sea(above) and Hawksbill Turtles are doing well in Bonaire and are frequently sited. The photos that follow are of other marine life that are commonly seen and most were photographed right in front of Buddy Dive and on its house reef.

The above photograph of a Scorpionfish among the colorfull and live corals

Peacock flounders were seen on virtually every dive and this guy was about one foot in size.

I thank photo pros, John and Susie, for this shot as they alerted me to the presence of the Octopus on BD's house reef. took me parts of four days to find it, but, that is another story.... !

Just another snapshot of how alive the reef is. And below a shot of the resort, with the dive and photo aspect of the operation depicted in the lower level.

My words and these 20 odd photos do not do justice to my trip to Bonaire. It was one of those trips of a lifetime and one of those dreams that do come true. Bonaire is considered a dive 'mecca' and rightfully so. Highly recommended to any and all levels of scuba divers. Hard to begin to describe all the good things. Beginning with a non-stop from Miami via Insel Air. No travel glitches or hitches.

The accomodations we had at the resort were excellent. The grounds were garden and paradise like. The housekeeping was there every day and did a thorough job leaving plenty of new towels and changing bedclothes daily.

The wait staff at the resautants and tiki bar at Buddy Dive's were very prompt and courteous. When on vacation, both food and drink are of high import to me and I was not at all disappointed.

The dive staff were all smiles all the time and anything they could do to help, all one needed to do was ask. It was done! 'No problem'. A very professional group of divers. Rinse tanks for scuba, regulators and camera equipment were everywhere and the water changed several times a day.

My photographs and words do not do this trip justice ( said again to make sure I am clear on this!). I have been on some great dives and on some great trips and to great places. Bonaire ranks right up there with the best of the best!

The following are some links that may be useful to you should you begin to plan your trip to Bonaire:

http://bonairepros.com/About-Us.aspx We spoke with and emailed Andy at Bonaire Pros. Very helpful.

http://www.buddydive.com/ This is the link to Buddy Dive and Andy helped with our arrangments.

http://www.fly-inselair.com/ Link to Insel Air and they fly every Saturday to/from Bonaire non-stop from Miami.

http://www.infobonaire.com/ Great site to learn almost everything about Bonaire. Check out Bonaire Talk

I need to take a minute to again thank Jim Kent for being such a gracious host and thank Jeff, Trish and Maddie for being such good company and buddies! Thank you Jim, Jeff, Trish and Maddie.

PS: The diving community is small and while in Bonaire that fact was again proven to me. I unexpectedly ran into Ron Willis, fellow scuba instructor and a former UW photo student of mine and his group, who came from Pennsylvania. To top that off, if possible, I met Ken Nedimyer from here in the Keys, who does reef restoration work. He was there with his family as working guests of BD and they may do some restoration in Bonaire ( does it need it??). Finally, I met Bill Donovan, who owns Donovan's Scuba in Sioux Falls, SD. He was there with his group of divers also from SD! Over the years I have done referals with his students and it was good to met him and his wife and other South Dakotans and in all places, Bonaire!

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Bonaire Trip and notice

2010-02-01T07:26:00.000-05:00

Hi Bloggers,

I am going to Bonare for a week beginning on February 6th and will return to Key Largo on the 13th. Obviously I will not be blogging during that week. But, that is not the reason for this post.

I am posting this notice here and on my website, because my new customers find me either through my website or through this blog. So, am making this post for their information and to let them know that should they contact me during this week, I may not be able to get back to them.

I will have limited email and internet access while there but no cell phone service. I will reply as best I can and to those I was unable to reply to while in Bonaire will receive a reply from me beginning on the 14th.

Larry

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Winter came......

2010-01-14T06:33:00.001-05:00

Over a month ago I posted that winter was coming. Well, it came! Most reading this will already know that record low temperatures were experienced here in the Florida Keys and in Key Largo. As I type we are not through with this weather and cold. Very few souls have braved the cold air and water temps to scuba dive during these past weeks. Most locals have dug out clothing that they wore in other lives and when they lived 'up North' in 'cold country'. Pictured above are two examples!

I was in a local dive store a couple days ago and was taken back by the fact that one of the sales reps was wearing a 'parka' (I question my spelling as it has been over 15 years since I've seen one, let alone spell it)!

I always carry a pocket camera and couldn't resist asking whether I could get a picture of this 'event'! My models were great and agreed.

It's been a month since my last blogpost. So, missed an opportunity to wish everyone happy holidays and the best for 2010. Right now am wishing it would warm up and soon so we can all get back in the water and truly enjoy our time there.

Stay warm and healthy everybody! lg

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FOOD!!!

2009-12-10T09:59:00.003-05:00

I figured that if you are like me at all, and you likely are or you would not be reading 'my blog', that my titling this blogpost 'FOOD' would get your attention.

I'm a major food-a-holic and should weigh much more than I do because of it. I love food, both the eating of it and the cooking of it. So do most my friends and hopefully all of you reading this.

I'm proud to present in this blogpost 'Captain Pete's Banana Pepper Mustard'! This stuff ROCKS, guyz! Good-bye grey poupon. Because Capt Pete's Mustard is the real deal!

Captain Pete is a friend of mine here in Key Largo and is a boat captain who recently moved back to Key Largo from working in the Bahamas. And since then, started making this kick-ass mustard and makes it available to food-a-holics like me.

Capt Pete is just getting rolling with his mustard so it is not yet nationally distributed. But, if you are in Key Largo, you can get your jar of it at the Galley, just upstairs from Sharkey's Pub and next to Ocean Divers. If you are not in Key Largo, but, are coming, put getting a jar of this 'stuff' on your list. And while you are buying Capt. Pete's mustard, have some food at the Galley, dive with Ocean Divers and enjoy an adult beverage at Sharkeys afterwards. Thank me later!

Congrats Capt Pete on a great idea and recipe and best of luck with it.

lg

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Great Christmas Gift Idea!

2009-12-10T09:36:00.003-05:00

Hello Everyone!

and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

I've been such a slacker with my blog lately so am going to try to fix that and beginning now.

I am going to make a 'plug' for what I think is a cool thing! Pictured above are two hand-made gel candles that are scented. The person who hand makes these is a friend of mine and also one of my students of scuba. She is very talented. She is also a very hard worker and makes these in addition to her full-time job and alongside of another part time job.

I have the two pictured above and they are very kewel. She buys shells and sand and the other materials and puts her loving touch to each candle by carefully placing each shell.

Some reading this might think it a bad thing to be using shells 'taken' from the Sea. However, to those who are; know that nothing was living in these shells at the time they were collected.

Additionally shells are beautiful things. But unless you live or travel to where they are found, you will never have the chance to see them. So, PC aside, these candles allow people who might enjoy shells, but, who do not get a chance to see shells, the opportunity to do so.

Also these candles help a very hard-working young woman earn her way in life! They make great candles for your own home and I believe a nice gift for Christmas for some one special in your life.

Here is the link so you can get these:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/jennmak1979

Merry Christmas to Everyone!

lg

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Winter is coming to the Keys....

2009-11-15T15:55:00.021-05:00

We do have 'seasons' here in Key Largo. From a scuba diver's and underwater photographer's perspective, I think two. Summer time, pictured above and winter. Not all our diving days are like the one pictured above, and 'winter' is coming.

We got a preview of it the past two weeks with winds blowing and gusting to over 30 mph. This built big waves to heights of 8 feet and taller. Given what I do, we do, these are not 'diving days', no matter how bad we would love to go. 'Winter' is like that.

Scuba diving is an outdoor recreational activity and like all other outdoor activities, our ability to recreate scuba diving is weather dependent. In other words it depends on the weather, whether we will be able to go scuba diving. I strongly disslike winter, the worst two months of it are January and February. It is windy, cold, big seas, reduced visibility and on many days, not very much, if any, fun.

This is a disappointment to me, as I love diving too. It is also a disappointment to those (some reading this) who come here to dive and the weather will not cooperate. So, when that happens what can a diver do?

The Florida Keys is essentially all about diving and fishing, or other 'on the water' activities. As such there is not a lot 'to do' if a person cannot get out on the water.

Because of this I am strained at times to recommend some other fun thing to do, because the build up of the Keys was to support these activities. So, mostly, we have restaurants, bars and places to stay. Not a lot goes on 'on-land'. Or is there?

As mentioned such weather happened recently and I found myself taking my own suggestions and recommendations on alternative activities. I discoverd I had a lot of fun and while not diving certainly took my mind off my not being able to dive.

Scroll down and check them out!

Take a road trip and explore the Keys!

and go shopping !!

Visit Dolphins Plus and interact with Dolphins!

Visit the History of Diving Museum!

Visit the Turtle Hospital!

Visit Mote Marine Research Lab!

and have a cookout with friends!

and hang out with fellow divers and friends and 'talk' diving!

or build a zoom ring gear for your favorite but unsupported lens!

or refresh some rusty Scuba Skills at the pool!

OR, just hang out by the pool!

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A real Thrill with an old Friend!

2009-09-30T15:59:00.005-04:00

Two Fridays ago, I had the opportunity while conducting an advanced underwater photography course to dive with an old friend, Captain Spencer Slate, who 30 years ago started his dive center here in Key Largo. ( http://captainslate.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3&Itemid=7 )

In my opinion, Capt Slate is somewhat of, if not in fact, a legend or icon in the receational diving community. I won't list all his accomplishments or kudos or contributions for they are easy to find with a moderate effort and on-line. However, Captain Slate for years was the national director of the YMCA Scuba Program (now gone..) And among the things he did that made his mark was to conduct 'critter feeds'.

For some years, Slate has conducted a 'critter feed' and that was the occasion that brought me back to diving with him again. My student and I needed some 'action photography' and we found it during the 'critter feed dive' conducted by Captain Slate. It was a treat that he actually conducted the event and a bonus that another friend, Frazier Nevins, renowned UW videographer, was on the scene as well.

The event is very exciting and high voltage and entertaining. It is also educational in that Capt Slate uses the opportunity to educate and inform those joining him in this event. It was a thrill for me to dive again with my old friend and a thrill for my underwater photography student to experience this type of 'in your face' interaction with the critters that Slate conjurs up during these feeds.

I'd encourage anyone reading this to participate in this. They are conducted each Friday and Sunday and the link above gives more of the particulars. If any of you do, tell Slate that I sent ya!

All kinds of critters show up: beginning with Yellow-tail Snappers, then Black Groupers, then a Barracuda, not long after a good sized Goliath Grouper (aka Jewfish) and most times more than a couple Nurse Sharks! All of them eager for a handout !

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Congrats to Clark M, underwater photographer

2009-09-21T10:32:00.004-04:00

I had the fortunate opportunity to work with a creative young person, Clark, and teaching him about underwater photography here in Key Largo over Labor Day weekend. Clark more than successfully completed the performance requirements of PADI's specialty course: 'Underwater Photographer'.

I enjoy working with all my underwater photography students, whether in a 'formal' class setting or in a workshop or seminar-like environment. For some reason, however, and I am sure it is just me, the young(er) people coming to me, seem to have an element of creativity, that if I ever had it, it has faded with time and over the years. Clark is one among those of you with an imagination and a creative characteristic about him.

He has his humility so am only posting a couple of his shots and not his best works, as those are for him to share.

Good job, Clark and congrats! lg

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And in the meantime, 'back at the Ranch'...in Key Largo

2009-08-21T05:29:00.008-04:00

After my having 'run away from home' to the Blue Star and taking an imaginary exotic dive trip to Indonesia with Rob; I thought I would check in back at the 'ranch' and see what I had been missing!

I found I almost missed a lot of great diving and with my guyz and right here in Key Largo.
Had I not been here last week, I would have missed out on diving with Cj and his daughter and Bill and Karen, who all happened to be in Key Largo to scuba dive and do some underwater photography.

While the Blue Star is nice ( an understatement) and Indonesia the latest 'hotspot' to go diving, neither are the norm for most of us scuba divers and underwater photographers. Day in and day out, I really like scuba diving and doing my underwater photography right here in Key Largo.

We have a wide variety of diving from shallow coral reefs to deeper wrecks. From tranquil waters to the sporty diving the Gulf Stream's currents can present us. Over the years I have ran away from home, but, always seem to find my way back.

Glad I did because I had a couple of real nice dives last Thursday with four of my regular guyz and right here at home.

Thanx Bill, Karen, CJ and Andrianna for the great dives and day.

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Sulawesi and Rob

2009-08-20T08:39:00.010-04:00

Hello all!

I just finished a fairly substantial undertaking and that was to review over 2000 images that one of my underwater photography students took during a trip he made to Sulawesi. Rob and I first met when we were both shooting film, and, 'back in the day...'

This spring Rob contacted me and had questions about his migrating to digital and he did migrate by sticking with his Nikon / Ikelite scheme. After Rob bought his new housed dSLR system he managed a quick trip here to Key Largo, in May, to do some familiarization dives with it.

This was all in preparation for an ambitious trip to Sulawesi this summer. He made the trip, and got along famously with his new underwater camera system; as a sampling of his images posted here demonstrate.

These are a very small sampling of the many wonderful images that Rob took and brought back with him during his trip. In my review I was constantly overwhelmed by the myriad of subjects, most of which I do not know by name, that Rob encountered on his dives. Rob says- 'each dive'!

Rob shared the photographic results of a wonderful dive trip with me and I am taking the time to share a small part of it with all of you.

Congrats Rob, on your trip and successful outcome with your new camera system. I for one am extremely green with envy! Thanx too for taking and wearing my logo-ed tee-shirt!

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The Blue Star- a day at the office

2009-08-15T10:15:00.010-04:00

Last Tuesday morning I received a call from Capt Mike Beach, a long time friend, who owns RJ's Dive Charter in Miami Beach. ( http://www.rjdiving.com/ ) Mike had been contacted by the captain of a 144 foot long motor yacht, the M/Y Blue Star, who was motoring the vessel to the Key Largo area and needed the assistance of a local scuba diver and underwater photographer. My job would be to find suitable dive sites and to assist the yacht owner's son, an avid UW photographer, with his UW photography. Mike gave me the phone number and name of the Blue Star's captain and I made contact with him and we made the arrangements to dive Wednesday.

The Blue Star is too big to get into our canal so we scheduled a pick-up (me and my scuba and camera) to be made by a Blue Star crewmember in one of her three launches.
Molassass Reef day in day out is our best dive site for UW photography and I suggested we conduct our diving operations there. It also affords plenty of deep water, from 45 fsw to over 100fsw just off the reef proper where the Blue Star could hover if necessary as she needs ten feet of water under her to float. However we were able to moor on one of the deep mooring balls at Molassass at the reef's seaward edge. We staged our dives from the Blue Star but conducted them by shuttling from her onto Molassass Reef proper in a tender.

Arriving on the boat I found the owner to be absent. According to the crew I talked to throughout the day, he is a very active and passionate scuba diver and is most times on the boat. As such he, eight years ago, bought Blue Star for scuba diving and completely refurbished and re-fitted her for scuba diving. The boat can make Nitrox using the membrane method and can mix Trimix. Being very beamy, it had a very spacious cockpit, and when I stood on its full width swim platform it felt like I was on solid ground. These Blue Star 'guys' do some serious diving. Here is an example: I was on the boat with Watershot's new UW housing which they completely fell in love with. Until they asked me how deep it could go and I told them 200 feet. They said that was not deep enough for them! They needed something that could go to 300fws! The Blue Star, flagged in the Cayman Islands, had spent the last couple years in the other hemisphere diving in the Solomons, Australia, the Marshall Islands, and Micronesia. Their plan is to keep it in our region, the Bahamas, and Caribbean for a year or two. Then I suppose off to other exotic and remote dive destinations.

What a beautifull boat the Blue Star is. A Captain and crew of nine serves her and her owners and guests. An Engineer, a head steward, a 'diver' David, two or three petite asian/indo/pacific looking stewardesses, the third was the assistant to the chef, a chef, named Chris, who cooked a kick ass lunch of fish fingers, pasta with pesto, tossed salad and home-made french fries (that appeared to be individualy cut from a potato), which he simply called: 'Fish and Chips'. The crews loves Chris!! LOL. On crewmember, Brendan who picked me up in the launch and another and I don't remember his name but he was well, just there. I think he was a, like, well, a 'spare' crew, so if anyone ever needed or wanted anything, they had plenty of crew to make things happen! I also learned that most of the crew were Australian and most had been on the Blue Star for several years or longer.

I was treated and served like royalty and at one point, for example, I believe I had three crew ask me if I wanted anything to drink. Bottled water, a soda, anything? I was a bit embarassed and found myself continualy thanking, as best I could, them for anything they did for me. Which was everything, including helping me care for my camera and rinsing my scuba.
They waited and dolted over me as if I was the owner's best friend. Which was totally unexpected, and, I felt like some sort of prima dona. Once I told them that I had worked yachts and boats, they kinda 'got it' and, I hope they knew I was embarassed by being waited on hand and foot, because, I like them was there 'working'. But it was and is their habit to provide such a level of service, so I suspect they could not help themselves, even though I told them I can more or less take care of myself and to use their energy to tend to Iliya, which of course they still easily managed to do. Other than that, I did not mind all that much being spoiled rotten!!

I did not take as many pics, particularly of the Blue Star herself, as I would have liked to. In part because I thought it bad form to go on to someone's boat, when they live on the boat and start photographing their 'home'. Additionally, my job was to take Iliya diving and give him any photo tips he may ask for. I wished I could have taken a lot of photos of Blue Star. Especially once on board. Its engine room, bridge, heck, even the crew's quarters, which had its own galley and it was full-on. The main Galley, you know me and food, was huge and all the fixtures, stoves, ranges etc etc, were stainless steel. I don't recall ever seeing so much SS in one place.
I am presenting the few I could manage in this blogpost.

So, my day at the office was spent on the Blue Star, diving with Ilya and his wife and 'diver' Dave, doing UW photography during optimal diving conditions. Near flat calm seas, no current, no surge, 100 feet of visibility and swim-trunk's only 87 degree water. Totally catered to and taken care of by the Blue Star's outstanding crew. If any of them read this blogpost, thank you all again!
Because I hade not dove with The Blue Star crew or on the boat, nor did I know anything about them I took the time beforehand to do a bit of research on the yacht, the "Blue Star" and came up with this interesting story: http://www.noonsite.com/Members/sue/R2008-07-03-2

All in all a great day.

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Making an Image: 'Reeflections!'

2009-08-10T03:42:00.010-04:00

I once read that there are 'picture takers and image makers'. Once every so often I get a chance to try to become an image maker. A few months ago I came across a pose that intrigued me and began to wonder how the photographer made the image. My rendition of it is featured above. How the picture was made is explained below.

You can see the photograph captures a reflection of the model and was taken in a swimming pool. Once I figured out that the photographer did not stand the pool up on edge, I figured I could make this image. I needed a model and engaged Aja Vickers who at the time owned Pleasure Diver Dive Charter services here in Key Largo. We prevailed upon the hospitality of the Marina Del Marr Resort, also in Key Largo, for the use of their pool.

I showed Aja the pose the evening before and she, fortunately for me, had studied it well and had already thought through what she needed to do to make the pose. I loaded a Canon dSLR into a housing, grabbed a mask, and we met on a Sunday morning and began making the image.

To make the pose, Aja would drape her legs over the edge of the pool and then lean back down into the water and next would raise her hands to just barely touch the water's surface. I perched myself on a small poolside table weighted underwater with softweights. We did this while breath-holding and spent a bit over an hour at it.

To me capturing reflections is a cool technique. Both in underwater photography and topside photography. The camera settings I used were: ISO 100, Auto White Balance, 1/200th of a second for shutter speed and an aperture of F-16. The lens's focal length was 18mm in front of a cropped, DX, sensor.. But that was just half the shot. The other part was the headsup position the model, Aja, ends up in. How was 'that' to be accomplished?

In the digital paradigm of underwater photography we are also the developer of our 'film'. The rest of the image was made in Photoshop and by simply 'rotating' the frame 90 degrees counterclockwise.

I try to teach to my students of underwater photography that when they see an image that intrigues them to ask how that image was made rather than ask 'what type of camera' was used. While I detailed the camera and its settings in this blog, you can see that the type of camera used had little to do with the making of this image.

It was great fun working with Aja, thank you Aja, in making this image and I hope it was fun for you to read about it here in this blog. And that you enjoy the image!

Oh, I almost forgot; to order a print go here: http://www.postersize-it.com/Larry-Gates-gallery-2.html

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The Aquarius!!

2009-07-26T11:45:00.017-04:00

Hello Everyone!

Last Thursday I had the most fantastic opportunity to do two wonderful scuba dives on NOAA's and NURP/NURC's undersea research habitat, the Aquarius. I want to thank the 'guys' at NOAA and NURC here in Key Largo for enabling me to visit the habitat. Thanks to: Otter, Otto, Buck and James. You are all good guys and great scuba divers and am glad you are my friends.

It was a sentimental dive as years ago, we used to dive around the Aquarius frequently. It is located on Conch Reef and rests in 65 FSW. For more information on the Aquarius follow these two links:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/coralreefs/undersealab.html and

http://www.uncw.edu/aquarius/

My dive buddy was Connie Z and was in Key Largo, testing out her new underwater camera system this past week. Connie is a proud owner of Watershot's new housing system for Canon's XSi and T1i dSLR cameras. She was gracious enough to give me permission to use some of her captures of the marine life around the Aquarius for this blogpost. Thank you, Connie, for the great shots!

Diving the Aquarius was not only sentimental for me (it has been over ten years since my last) but was a true adventure. It was a great exploration and seeing how it had changed. A much wider variety of fish and corals on and around the habitat than years ago.

I'm including 11 photographs taken by Connie and myself that afternoon. Hope you enjoy them.

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Matt's Kids Stockton College NJ 2009

2009-07-18T06:29:00.003-04:00

I've blogged about Professor Matt and his students of the marine sciences before and will hopefully do so again. For reference you may want to scroll back through my blog and find my first blog entry regarding "Matt's Kids".

This year as in the past years Matt returned with groups of his students of the marine sciences and conducted three week long field trips where they studied our marine environment. The video clip I am presented depicts their experiences. The first slide is of one of his students sleeping on the boat. I thought it appropriate because these field trips are made of long days and work and as such his students grab sleep when they can!

The rest of the slides in the show are random images of their time here, above and below the water.

I can't say enough good about these young people and my best days of each year are in July when I am working with and for them.

Thanx Matt.

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Famous People!

2009-07-13T06:28:00.003-04:00

This blogpost has absolutely nothing to do with scuba diving or underwater photography, other than the fact that Moby, pictured above, is one of 'my guyz'. Moby is a life long radio disc jockey and very much a celebrity in Atlanta. He has a country 'and' western, yes, both kinds of music, morning talk show known as: 'Moby in the Morning'.

So, in my mind at least, Moby is 'kinda' famous, but, is not why I titled the blogpost 'Famous People'.

Like others do , Moby occasionally sends me 'cute stuff' in emails. Forward of forwards of jokes, etc. The other day he sent me something very very very kewel! I thought I would share it with my bloggers and guyz so am making this post.

Here is a copy and paste of his email to me:

" loved this one, and thought my friends would as well.
Yeah baby,
MOBY

http://cliptank.com/PeopleofInfluencePainting.htm

I think you'll like this one.. put your mouse on any one of the people& it tells you who they are.."BUT" double click on that person & a pageopens up & tells you Everything about that person.. Really neat . I can't believe how much work has goneinto this painting. The painting itself is great but as you run yourcursor over the people; it tells you who they are and provides a link(if you double click) to get more information on each person. This couldkeep you occupied for hours Move the task bar to the right to see the entire picture. Enjoy "

I opened the link to the painting and it is stunning and I have no words to best describe it. As Moby said when he sent it to me: "WOW"

lg

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"They're Baaaaaaack" (or were)

2009-07-01T08:29:00.006-04:00

Every year, well almost every year, a group of my scuba students, and some of their friends, come to Key Largo for a few days of diving and diving with me. This year was no different and, who I affectionately refer to as: 'my Clines' returned and with a vengeance!

They were eight in number and adding me to the group made for nine of us in total. Having that large of a group, I made our diving arrangements with my friend, Captain Mark, who owns Scuba-Do (http://www.scuba-do.com/) . This was because while his boat will carry up to 14 divers, he limits his capacity to 10 in number. This resulted in our having the whole boat to ourselves and our pick of dive sites!!

One photo above features seven of the eight in the group. John, or Jack, or, oh yeah, 'Jim' is not in the photo as he likes lagging behind and exploring at his own pace. All of the divers in these photographs are wonderful divers and quite fun below and above the water. As you can see when you view the diver with the 'tu-tu' and 'rubber chicken'. I purposely did not capture his face when I made the photograph to protect the innocent, but, we all know it is Frank!

One photograph of a pair of spotted Drums is included as a representation of what we saw during their three days of diving. We saw, a southern stingray, several green moray eels, a couple golden tail eels, and a couple spotted eels. Lobster and Barracuda were also encountered and that is pretty typical of diving in the Key Largo area. We managed to witness the huge schools of Snapper and Goatfish at Snapper Ledge. Did a pair of dives on Molasses Reef and one on French Reef where we saw a huge 'cloud' of Horse-eyed Jacks, and our grande finale dive on the wreck of the Benwood, where the two spotted drumfish live.

We had perfect weather, with air and water temps in the 80s, and, calm seas which turned to flat calm seas during their time here.

The Scuba-Do crew took exceptionally good care of us, and tolerated our collective brand of bad senses of humor! Thank you, Greg, Jarod and Kevin!

'my Clines' have made it official to journey back to Key Largo for more fun diving every year from here on out! I couldn't be happier to hear that, as they are again, a lot of fun and good divers. Thank you, 'Clines'! 'Jack' and Frank included!

I'm not sure what they will come up with for next year, only that it will be funny!

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Welcome back and Congrats!

2009-06-21T10:21:00.002-04:00

As I've blogged about before and will again, I am very fortunate to be able to dive with the type and kind of people who come diving with me. Pictured above is one family who has dove with me since 2003, missing only 2007. Paige, Susie, Jerry and Tanner.

Back in 2003, I did a Discover Scuba Diving experience with young Paige, and her father, Jerry, who was already certified joined in. Susie even gave it a try at the last minute. Tanner was too young but engaged himself snorkeling.

Since then the family has been back, and even bringing the in-laws, to vacation and scuba dive in Key Largo. Paige went on to become a certified diver with me and now is nearly 17 and a good little scuba diver. She even dove the Spiegel Grove on her last trip here a couple weeks ago! This trip, Tanner now being old enough, along with his mother, Susie, completed their Open Water Diver course with me. They did their class and pool training back home and the check-out dives with me.

Congratulations, Susie and Tanner on becoming scuba divers! And thank you Jerry, Susie, Paige and Tanner, for coming and sharing your vacation with me. Hope to see you all back here next year.

lg

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Lionfish in Key Largo

2009-06-13T14:22:00.002-04:00

On June 9th I was on the dock waiting to board the dive boat with an underwater photography student and a friend of mine, Capt. Mark, who owns Scuba-Do Dive charters (www.scuba-do.com) walked by carrying a 5 gallon white bucket with 'something' in it. Out of curiosity I wandered over to see what was in the bucket.

Pictured above is what Mark was carrying and it is a photograph of Lionfish. As most of you probably already know, these fish are not indigenous to the Florida Keys, yet this fish was captured on one of our most popular dive sites, the wreck of the 'Benwood' which rests a few miles off shore of Key Largo.

These fish have been seen in the waters offshore of the East coast of Florida and up into the offshore waters of the Carolinas and for some time now. Recently they have become very prolific in the Bahamas. Two friends of mine were diving in the Bahamas and saw these fish on every dive!

It has only been the past few months that these fish have been sighted in our waters, in the Key Largo area. This is the fourth one that I have heard of although there could have been others.

The Lionfish has no natural predators in our waters and is evidently a voracious feeder and eater of small fish. Without any predators and having such a huge appetite, the Lionfish has the potential to upset our ecosystems balance.

Because of this we have been asked to report any sightings we have of the Lionfish and to R.E.E.F. and they in turn then attempt a capture.

They are a very ornate fish. Very photogenic, even in a 5 gallon bucket. Prior to this, my last attempt to photograph one was in Maui in 1992. I failed miserably at that attempt because I had not loaded my camera with film. (big but embarrassed, grin!)

Be interesting to see how many more of the Lionfish we encounter in the coming months.

lg

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Great way to improve your SCUBA:

2009-06-13T14:10:00.002-04:00

Last fall I happened to take a snapshot of a newly trained scuba diver, Susanne. I emailed it to her and low and behold discovered she had an interest in photography and also in improving her scuba.

So, she returned to Key Largo recently and engaged in a three day underwater photography course with me and stayed on for a couple extra days. Her concern was whether she was able enough of a scuba diver to engage in underwater photography. My suggestion to her was that engaging in underwater photography would improve her scuba.

This is because, in part, an underwater photographer oftentimes has to position themself and use buoyancy control to make a capture. In her learning about underwater photography she indeed improved her scuba diving.

Congrats Susanne (pictured above) with and in both your diving and your underwater photography. Paradoxically, both of which improved during your stay.

lg

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High Season for Diving!

2009-06-08T08:17:00.004-04:00

Our high season for scuba diving and underwater photography in the Florida Keys has arrived! And along with it the return of a few of my regular scuba diving and underwater photography students and clients!

Pictured above are James and Jill and Jame's dad in the background, Steve. These 'guyz' were back in Key Largo diving and doing underwater photography for five days in late May. We had wonderfull conditions with clear water, calm seas and warming water temperatures.

The next photograph is of another one of my 'guyz', Rob, who coincidentally joined us for a couple days to test out his new underewater camera system, a Nikon D90 and housed in an Ikelite housing. Rob is on his way to Sulawasi and wanted to make sure his new system was up and running before going that far. I think Rob should take me along just to be on the safe side, but, that is another story!

I'm trying to get into a routine to blog once a week or so, but, our high season is upon us and I am far behind in that goal!

I guess , deep down inside, I would rather dive than blog but am doing my best to do both.

The best time of year to dive in Key Largo, in my view is during the months of May thru the month of September. This is because we usually have the best weather for scuba diving. Warming water temps, calm(er) seas and conditions, and great visibility, approaching and averaging 80 to 100 ft.

My favorite month for scuba diving anywhere is the month of May. Because, to me, the ocean seems to come alive with life and action. So, this past month that is what I've been doing. Hope to see many more of you 'guyz' in the coming months.

Because, high season for Scuba Diving is here!

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A "descent" blog:

2009-05-22T07:51:00.003-04:00

Among my best days at my 'office' are when I am diving with some one I have dove with in the past. I had several good days at the office diving with two 'mermaids', Glenise and Lyndall (from the UK) these past days. Both dove with me for the first time a year ago and came to me via South Beach Divers (http://www.southbeachdivers.com/) and SoBe Divers, as I do, contract with Ocean Divers here in Key Largo (http://www.oceandivers.com/) when we engage with our students of scuba and or dive clients.

Both mermaids are relatively new divers and like many do not have the fortune to dive every chance they would like to. But do manage a couple trips in each year. They came to me looking to improve their scuba diving which we did by them participating in Peak Performance Buoyancy and UW Navigation specialty courses. Congrats, Glenise and Lyndall on your successfull completion of both.

During our first day or two together I observed a characteristic of new and infrequent divers and that is, some difficulty in descending. I know that many reading my blog do not get to dive as frequently as they would wish to, and, believe some may have experienced the same issue when descending. So, thought I would make a 'descent' blog and give some tips and pointers on 'descending to the depths of Mother Ocean' ( Cousteau).

Here goes: First of all the diver wants to take their time when making their entry and after making their entry. Get used to the feeling of the water and its temperature. Develop and begin to 'scuba breathe', which is slow and full in both the inhale and exhale parts of the respiratory cycle. And start to consciously relax. Get used to the feeling of being in your scuba and how it surrounds you.

Take a moment to put your face down into the water and start checking out the sights below! Now, the diver 'should' be in the right mindset to begin the descent. If wearing any thermal protection (other than a drysuit) flood it, so as to not try to descend with air trapped inside of it. That is the same thing as trying to descend with air still in the BCD. While orientating yourself to your entry/exit point and buddy, deflate all the air out of your BCD.

At that moment, fully exhale and relax to the point where you could be characterized as a cooked piece of pasta. Think: 'I just arrived home from a tough day at work and I am headed for my favorite chair and am going to literally sink into it once I get there'. This the mindset I am in when I descend. It works.

I equalize early and often and equalize on or after I exhale. I do not need to take a giant deep full breath of air to equalize two very small air spaces in my middle ears. Doing so, causes me to be positively buoyant and at a time when I want to be negatively buoyant. I exhale and then equalize.

The descent can be a very busy part of our dive. Lots to do and or lots going on, during our descent. We want to keep orientated, keep track of and close to our buddy, relax and it helps to keep breathing properly and in your scuba breathing rythum, equalize, dump the air from our BCD, and invariably our mask will leak a little, so it needs clearing. If we are trying to descend, we need to not be moving our fins at all, as long as our head is higher in the water column than the fins are. (it does not make a lot of difference what 'attitude' or position your body is in during the descent, rather that you are simply descending and able to equalize)

Each one of these are tasks. Tasks in diving can be stressors. Stressors in diving diminish the ability to properly breathe. By that I mean, when we are under stress in our diving, we lose our scuba breathing rythum, and, while we will fully inhale, we do stop fully exhaling. That results in a higher than normal residual lung volume, and makes the diver more positively buoyant and again at a time when negative buoyancy is the desired state of buoyancy to be in.

If you are optimally weighted and wearing a wetsuit it may be helpfull to cup your hands and turning them palm side up, use them to propel yourself down a little. Once your suit compresses a bit, the descent will get even easier. Stay relaxed and breath properly and equalize. The next thing you know, you will arrive at your desired depth for you dive!

I believe if you follow the above suggestions you will have a much easier time descending and in all likelihood not need to add weight just to aid you in your descents. Your dive will be off to a great start. Which begins with a nice relaxed and easy descent.

Go ahead and try these suggestions the next time you go diving. Know you are having a day off, and, once in the water, give yourself time to relax and get back into your scuba diver mode. Then begin your descent. Worked for us these past few days!

lg

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Congrats to Janet B !

2009-05-07T15:42:00.007-04:00

One use I've found for this blog is to recognize some of the accomplishments made by some of those who come to me for scuba instruction or instruction in underwater photography.

A few years ago, Janet came to me for instruction in underwater photography. She is featured on my website and in the 'Contributors Gallery'. Janet was recently back in Key Largo, taking time off from her job where she works for the Navy, to learn to become a scuba instructor.

She completed her IDC, Instructor Development Course, through Ocean Divers (http://www.oceandivers.com/). Following this she successfully passed her Instructor Examinations .

Janet is now a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor. And I thought I would take a minute to congratulate her , both for her accomplishements in her UW photography and in her becoming a SCUBA instructor.

S0, congrats Janet!

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Ikelite ROCKs !

2009-04-10T10:20:00.007-04:00

I am often asked by my underwater photo students for help in their decisions on what camera or other underwater photographic equipment they are considering obtaining. A few weeks ago, I got a 'rash' of such inquiries and all had similar wants and budgets in mind.

So, I went on-line and began window shopping to see what was 'out there' that met their requirements. A couple were buying their first cameras and the others were upgrading.

I came up with two cameras each made by different makers that did the job. The next step was to find a housing and as it turned out Ikelite made a very well built and competitively priced housing, so I had my suggestions in my mind and gave my recommendations.

One of 'my guyz', Connie, bought the camera and the Ikelite housing and we discovered that one control was not functioning. I have a couple good contacts at Ikelite so called them, and, they asked that we return the housing to them, which we did.

They fixed the problem and did so by installing a new 'one-off' control. Which I have named the 'Connie Control'. Ikelite explained that the 'Connie Control' works, but, less reliably at greater depths. And it not being flawless in total functionality is the reason why they won't be installing it on the rest of their inventory of this housing. However it does enable us some functionality of the camera control and thus solved our problem. Ikelite did this without any hassle to us, and without any costs, and did it promptly. There were a couple e-mails back and forth that Ikelite responded to immediately.

I've had other similar experiences with Ikelite and their customer service, and in my opinion, Ikelite sets the standard. It is simply the best I've ever experienced in the diving and UW photography industry.

In one other instance, for example, they Fed-Ex'ed a $5 part to a student and I, who was leaving for Micronesia a few days later! No charge, no problem. There are other instances, examples, of their stellar customer service, and, if you've been at this diving and UW photography biz very long; have likely heard of some of these.

This ended with a happy photo student and a working UW camera system. And thanx to Ikelite, Jean and Brett specifically, at Ikelite.

Ikelite makes good quality products and delivers, when needed, the best in customer service. I can highly recommend Ikelite. http://www.ikelite.com/

I am happy to give credit where credit is due, and it sure is in this case! Thanx again, Ikelite, you ROCK!

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In memory and in regard to Hugh

2009-04-01T18:51:00.006-04:00

Excuse me for this post, as I started my blog for fun and to be about scuba diving and underwater photography and its life-style and for the fun of it. In this instance, I am going to take a risk and deviate.

I am also risking blogging while having a beer, so please excuse any typos etc I may make in this emotional moment for me.

Today is April 1st and had Hugh McArthur lived he would be 40 years old today.

As many of you are, Hugh was a friend of mine. He was also a fine young scuba diver and instructor when I met him over 10 years ago. Great with his students of scuba and a great guy to work with and friend to hang out with.

He died diving in the Bahamas, eight years ago, but no one under his guidance did. His body was never recovered, even though US Navy divers looked.

I miss him. So in my memory of him and in regard for him , I took advantage of my blog platform to say so.

Hugh is worth the risk.

Thanx guys for allowing me this. He was a cool guy and I miss him.

lg

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Spring Break in Key Largo aka 'calm seas'

2009-03-21T05:54:00.003-04:00

Hooray for us scuba divers and underwater photographers as Spring has sprung! This brings calm seas and warmer, clearer water and signals our winter and typically worst conditioins for diving are behind us for the year.

It also means I can retire for some while at least, some of my 'rubber'. The dreaded hooded vest and soon the farmer john part of my two piece wetsuit. The days of freezing both during the dive and after, back on the boat, are gone. At least for the remainder of most of this year.

Gone for now are consecutive days of 20 knot winds from the East. These beef up the seas and the waves reach heights of 4 to 6 feet, with an occasional: 'oh my god!' . Which can make it a very 'sporty' time getting back on the dive boat and negotiating its boarding ladders.

Our coldest water temps are also gone with the coming of Spring and we get a break! Calm seas. And our best diving of the year is in front of us now!! Hoping everyone reading this will get a chance to take a break and come diving in Key Largo!

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My Book on Underwater Photography

2009-02-20T05:35:00.004-05:00

Late yesterday afternoon I received an email from my publisher, Amherst Media, which included the above graphic. It represents the cover of and for my book on underwater photography. I am obviously very excited about this book and it being published. Amherst Media publishes books on photography and I own a couple and they produce good quality books. I am proud they are going to publish my book and feel fortunate to have them as my publisher. And that I can now go more public with it being published!

Many of you knew I was writing a book on underwater photography. Fewer knew I had finished the book, and, fewer knew that I had found a publisher. I am happy to now be able to announce this to everyone.

The book's content very much mirrors my underwater photography courses and seminars/workshops that some of you reading this have participated in. The book speaks of the technology we use in our underwater photography but also and perhaps more importantly, actually speaks of how to take a photograph underwater. The technique of underwater photography.

I could go on and describe more about the book here, but, in effect, my doing so could amount to my re-writing the book here in this blogpost!!

I'd rather post about how this book came to be. Just as there is a story behind every photograph there is a story behind this book.

I got the idea for the book back in the mid to late '90s. I even had an outline for it, and a hand written one at that, because I was late in my entry into the computer world. 'Things' happened back then and the book and its writing was put on the back burner along with other back burner projects.

A few years ago the book migrated to the front burner and I took to writing it in earnest. By then I had a computer, thank the powers to be. But, had misplaced the book's outline and as such had to start all over.....

This was not all a bad thing as by then the digital paradigm in underwater photography was upon us and was in full-swing. Mercifully an F-stop stayed an F-stop so the underlying theme for my book remained current.

The book was very challenging to write and in every way imaginable. There was much psychology involved during its writing. Running the gamut from believing I had the 'mother of all' books on underwater photography, to, extreme and grave self doubt about my worthiness to write a book on the subject. I pressed ahead with the conviction that if I could teach underwater photography, and I can; that I should then be able to write a book about it. I had a lot of help and support and some of it came from some of you reading this blog. I thank you dearly, and did so within the book itself. I believe I could write a book about writing this book!

Writing a book is one thing. Getting it published yet another. I am very fortunate to my having been able to write this book. I am also very fortunate to have found a good publisher who, like I, believes the book has merit and is worthy of being published.

I believe you will find this book to be of value to you in your own underwater photography. The book has its humorous moments too, so should be fun to read as well.

It is with many emotions running that I post, humbly, about this book in my blog this morning.

I will let everyone know when the book is available!!

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Protecting your Photographs

2009-02-18T05:21:00.007-05:00

This blogpost was spawned from a conversation I had with several of my underwater photography students this weekend and about 'orphaned works'. Read more about 'orphaned works, images' by opening the link below or by doing a 'Google'.

In the 'good ole days' of film, it was easier to keep track of your photographs and where and by whom they were being used. Now days, we share our photographs on-line and through several venues, such as Myspace, Facebook, Flickr, PhotoBucket and other 'web albums' and personal websites. Once on-line they are seemingly fair game for any and all viewers and potential users or abusers of your copyrighted photograph.

If you are a photographer you automatically have, own, the copyright to your photographs. That is nice, of course, but, only if a potential user of the photograph knows 'who' owns the copyright to it.

In this day and age of the internet and digital photography there are countless numbers of (digital/digitized) photographs on-line and available to any and everyone. So many in fact, that it makes one wonder, given the sheer numbers of them, whether photographs have any worth or value and therefore 'need' protecting.

Your underwater photographs do have value and to help you begin to understand its value, think about what it took for you to be able to get the photograph.

You first needed to learn how to scuba dive and that was not without expence. Next you purchased your SCUBA. Then it cost you some money to actually go diving. Finally you needed the underwater camera to be able to take that photograph and unless you were gifted one, that had a cost. I am only dealing with the intrinsic value of your photograph. There are other intangible values involved. In any event, however calculated, your underwater photographs do have a value and in my view worth protecting.

There are several ways or methods to alert a viewer or potential user that you are the copyright owner of your photograph and protect it from becoming 'orphaned'.

You can use a photo editing application to create a digital signature and over-lay it onto your photograph. The first and second photographs are 'signed' that way, for example. Using these types of applications you can also create a 'watermark' which alerts a viewer that the photograph is copyrighted and by whom. This is what I did to the third photograph, which I title 'Big Splash', for example.

Digital photographs are computer files. As such they have 'properties'. One other method I have recently begun to use to protect my copyright is to embed my copyright information into the digital photograph's properties. You may already own a computer program or application that enables you to do this, but, if you do not, I have included a link to Microsoft where, for free, you can download their program: 'Pro Photo Tools II'.

Using it is simple and you can embed your copyright info to whole folders of your photographs in batches. The first photograph in this blogpost shows a screen shot of Pro Photo Tools II, and, it is easy to use. Whether you use this application or another, it is a step that should, in my view, be incorporated into your post processing workflow.

Once you've embedded your metadata (copyright info) into the digital image it takes a diabolical character to un-embed it. But, barring that, you've helped protect your valuable photograph and your copyrights.

Is it worth it? Yes, I believe it is. Whether you are a professional photographer makes no difference. As outlined above, your photographs have value and are worth protecting.

This post just scratches the surface on this topic. There is a lot of information on the internet about the whole matter. How deep you delve into it, if at all, is up to you, but, at least in this post, I hope I at least convinced you of the worth in trying to protect your photographs. Because once you put them on-line for 'sharing' you are sharing them with the whole wide world, or, the world wide web.

On an aside here is the story behing 'Big Splash' and it ties in nicely with the topic of this post and of the value of a photograph. The first value of any photograph is it captures the memory. Jeff, my subject is one of my 'regular guys' who dives with me 'regularly' and took scuba courses with me. I took this shot of him as he giant strided into the water some years ago and it turned out to be a 'fun' looking photograph. I subsequently posted it on my website and its Fun Topside page. A few years later and a few years ago, I received an inquiry from a graphics artist who worked for a small corporation in North Carolina that wanted to use on a promotional brochure for a corporate wide event they were planning. The corporation paid me $ XXX.XX for the one time, non- exclusive rights to use the photograph. So, one never knows......

http://www.microsoft.com/prophoto/downloads/tools.aspx http://www.abouttheimage.com/photo/category/orphan_works/

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Okay... Back to Scuba Diving and Underwater Photography

2009-02-12T02:08:00.002-05:00

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The Conch Republic: ' Where weird turns pro..'

2009-02-10T10:54:00.005-05:00

I was walking home from the 'office' some days ago, and passed by the neighborhood gas station and witnessed the above pictured 'vehicle'. My first thought was: 'only in the Florida Keys!!' But, then I noticed that this contraption was licensed in and from the state of Michigan! It is referred to as a 'Boatmobile'.

The Florida Keys are also known as the ''Conch Republic". It is a comparatively small republic and I think populated by wonderful people in much the same way as small towns anywhere can be. It s also a place that attracts people with a different way of looking at things, and I am among them.

One of my friends, George, coined the descriptive phrase that titles this blog post. And when I saw the 'boatmobile' I also thought of George's quote.

Weird or not or Pro or not, it is actually a pretty cool, to me at least, vehicle. And at times, I find myself in envy of others' imaginations and creativity. For more about its story you can visit: www.myspace.com/themagicboat

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What will 'they' think of next?!

2009-01-18T05:20:00.003-05:00

A short while ago, I was on the dive boat and at Molasses Reef, offshore of Key Largo. I was engaged in an underwater photography course with one of my underwater photography students. It was a perfect day for snorkeling, scuba diving and underwater photography as you can see in the above accompanying photograph.

Also on the boat that day were a couple and they were snorkeling and she had a very interesting mask. I started asking her all about her mask, but, she said she did not know a lot about it as she just purchased it and it was her first time using it. I settled for a yes answer from her to my question as to whether she would mind if I photographed her mask.

I date back to the era when masks were made with black rubber, metal frames, and their face plates made with 'safety' glass. They were ill-fitting, and equalizing often caused minor mask flooding. These masks were the reason why everyone learning to scuba dive also learned mask clearing skills!

The modern day dive masks are a wonder in fit and comfort. They come in many colors and constructed using soft supple form- fitting silicon. Some recent masks are made with optical quality lenses. A few are equipped with jet-fighter-like heads up displays, which give depth, deco status, and remaining air supply. Some are full-faced masks lending the ability for its user to speak to their buddy. Yes, they still leak, but far less, and mask clearing skills are still among skills we teach mastery of.

This mask had all of the features of a modern era dive mask, sans the HUD, with one additional and intriguing feature. It had a digital still camera built into it!

I spoke with its owner between dives and she said she liked it, had fun with it, but, used all the camera's memory on her first snorkel! I was disappointed because I was about to ask her whether she'd mind me trying it out myself.

Without promoting or panning this mask-cam, I thought it was a pretty cool idea and made me wonder: 'what will "they" think of next?!'

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Auld Lang Syne, well, 'kinda'

2009-01-07T08:05:00.004-05:00

Call me sentimental; what can I say? I had a very special day last Saturday. Of course I have to wonder, given what I do, what days are not. I had scheduled a workshop and was working with one of my underwater photography students that day. My student, Ron, had planned a dive trip to Belize next month. Ron is a scuba instructor in Pennsylvania and is taking a group of his there. ( http://www.westshoredivers.com/) He had just purchased a housed dSLR camera system and had barely taken it out of its boxes. Ron thought it to be a good idea to come down to Key Largo and check these new 'toys' out in the 'sandbox' with me.

I was booking our dive charter for the day and was told that two long time friends of mine were also scheduled to be on the same boat and trip. John and Sasha, and are pictured above, and from your left to right, alongside me. This was a real special treat for me, as I go back a long ways and lots of dives with these two 'guyz'. Clear back to the mid '90s.

Sasha and I met back then and when we both were teaching scuba for other dive companies. He lived and worked up in South Beach (Miami) and I, here in Key Largo. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday he would trek down here with his scuba students, so they would get a chance to dive our coral reefs here, rather than doing all of their dives offshore in Miami. Over those years we became friends. Sasha went on to start his own dive center, South Beach Divers and has been in business for over 12 years.

Since opening his business, it has kept him very busy with the 'business' end of it all and that has trumped the frequency that he can get down to Key Largo and dive and see me. While we only live 60 miles from each other, I had not seen Sasha for over a year!

Similarly, John, also lives in SoBe and he is one of SoBe Divers' longest time instructors. I go back with John almost an equal amount of years and to the time he was working on his Advanced Open Water Diver rating. I staffed his IDC. As a consequence of his work, John does not get down here very often either. It had been at least a year since I last saw John.

To be fair, I do not get up to South Beach, very often. I enjoy it there when I do get up there, it is just that what I do keeps me in Key Largo.

In total, the consequence of this is , while we only live 60 miles from each other, we do not see each other often, or often enough. Saturday, last, was exceptional. We had great dives that afternoon. Ron and I got any and all of his new camera issues sorted out and the camera is optimized for his upcoming trip to Belize. Sasha and John and I had time on the boat to reminisce about old times. We encountered each other during our dives and photos were taken when that happened. We had good diving conditions and weather, and saw the 'usual' cool 'stuff'. Eels , Rays, Sharks, Turtles. At the end of the day, back on the dock, they had time to stay for a couple of beers.

Was a very good time, and a sentimental one for me. Visit Sasha and John if ever in South Beach, and look them up at http://www.southbeachdivers.com/ . Tell them Larry sent ya!

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Happy New Year Everyone!!

2009-01-01T11:24:00.002-05:00

Several months ago, I received a call from a dive buddy who told me that Good Morning America was in Key Largo, and, going to broadcast their morning weather report here. I hurriedly packed up my camera and rushed over to the location. It was not seven o'clock yet, but, there were a couple hundred locals already on site. Including a band who brought their own Margarita blender.

It is made with a conventional blender vessel and a circa 1950s Johnson outboard motor. It is so typical 'Keys' ( as in 'only in the Keys...') that I just had to have a photograph of it, not knowing when or how I might ever use it or share it.

I think New Years is an appropriate time to share this photograph of a wonderfully handcrafted and working Florida Keys Margarita Blender!

Happy New Year and be careful how many margaritas you drink, however you make them!

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Everyone!

2008-12-24T07:54:00.004-05:00

I wish the very best to any and all of you during the holidays and in the coming new year. I have much to be thankful for and much of it has to do with every one of you!

(about the photo: This photograph was taken by one of my longest time scuba students, photography student and great friend, Scott. And taken many years ago. I wanted such a photograph to use to make that year's Christmas cards with. We determined to scuba dive on a Coast Guard cutter, the USS Duane, which was sunk for diving in 1987. It rests a few miles off shore from Key Largo and in roughly 125 fsw. It is a beautiful wreck encrusted with orange cup and other corals and is home to schools of fish of many species. On a right day:good vis, calm seas, and no current; it is one of the best dives in Key Largo. Scott got a nice capture of a not so great subject, disguised as Santa. Kudos to Scott!)

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Welcome back to Key Largo, Rob!

2008-12-20T08:38:00.004-05:00

Many, many years ago, and soon after I launched my website, one of my very first scuba students to come to me through my website was Rob and his wife, Tammy. They had completed the academics and confined water portions of their Open Water Diver course up in the frigid north (Iowa). They engaged me to help them complete their course by doing the four requisite open water training dives. We had a very successful outcome and an enjoyable time. While here, he, being a techie type and me not being one, helped me install my first ever photo editing application on my computer. At that point I considered him to be my new best friend!
Rob and Tammy went back home to Iowa. And I continued teaching my scuba and underwater photography and the years went by. A couple weeks ago, Rob contacted me and was headed back to Key Largo and wanted to do his Nitrox course and Dry Suit Diver course with me while here! We set this up and in the process, I learned that he had since gone on to do his Advanced course and his Rescue diver course. And he and Tammy had been continuing with and in their diving.
I have the credential to teach Nitrox. I do not have the credential to instruct dry suit diving. So, I hooked Rob up with Pam W. who is a friend and a PADI Course Director. Pam learned to dive in NC and they use dry suits up there, more than we do down here. I snapped the photograph above, while Pam was working with Rob in the pool and during his Dry Suit Diver course.
We had excellent diving conditions as he managed to catch one of the few window periods here, in 2008, where the winds had abated. Rob saw his first shark while we were diving at Snapper Ledge!

Rob successfully completed both courses and like many of you reading this blog, is a good student of scuba. He will be taking advantage of the new knowledge and skills he learned here as he dives in Lake Superior. He intends to return this summer bringing Tammy, as she is like me, and prefers to dive in warm waters and sans the need for a drysuit!

So after all these years, I was able to welcome Rob back to Key Largo and will see both he and Tammy again this summer!

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Hector logs his 1000th scuba dive!

2008-12-14T07:52:00.006-05:00

One use I have found to make use of 'My Blog' is to recognize achievements and accomplishments of 'my guyz'. I met Hector a little over a year ago. He had recently been discharged from the military and was in Key Largo doing his Instructor Development Course. Shortly after his successful completion of his IDC, he participated in my underwater photography course. Hector did both these through Ocean Divers, http://www.oceandivers.com/, the dive charter company I engage. After leaving me and Key Largo, Hector packed his new instructor and photo credentials, scuba and underwater camera and moved to Hawaii. He is engaged as an instructor and photographer at this time and on the island of Oahu. Two of Hector's images, photographed there, are featured in my website's Contributors Gallery. A short while back Hector sent me the photograph above, which was taken on the day he did his 1000th scuba dive! That is a heck of a lot of diving Hector and kudos to You!

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Tee-shirt Contest Winner!!!

2008-12-09T04:46:00.004-05:00

For the past ten years and around Thanksgiving, I send out a mass emailing to my students of scuba, of underwater photography, to my 'guyz' who regularly dive with me, associates, peers, photography clients and customers, 'mermaids', family and well; just_plain_ole_friends!
I do this after I have finished making my annual changes, additions and edits to my website. I accumulate ideas during the year and begin making the changes beginning after Labor Day, when diving in Key Largo slows down a bit.
The email serves many purposes from just being a way to better keep in touch with everyone to promotional. Like diving, the undercurrent is, it is also for fun. This year in the email, for fun, I conducted a 'contest' and the prize was one of my logoed tee-shirts. To win, the contestant needed to be the first person to email me and in their email identify three changes I made to my website. I mentioned, in this year's emailing, I would announce the winner of the contest here in 'My Blog'.
This was the first ever contest and this year, the contest winner is Mike and Kara. Kara has been diving with me for years and taken many scuba courses from me, including her Divemaster course. She is a great little scuba diver and now a mother and she is also a horsewoman. I feature her here in this blogpost competing in another contest that, I believe, she took third place in.
Congratulations, Kara (and Mike) for winning not one contest but two!
The changes 'they' noted to my website were: that I added two new images to my Gallery, 'Big Mouth' ( a Moray) and 'Natalie's Queen Angelfish' (self explanatory). Somewhat ironic that Kara would notice 'Big Mouth', as Morays have never been her favorite 'critter'! They also noted a new image on my Fun Top Side page: that of Mary M with her camera system. I made additions to the Contributors Gallery and they noticed those, and among those were: Jessica's 'Eye of the Octopus' and Melissa's 'Eyes of the Ray' (validating my premise that in UW photography, the 'eyes have it'). They also noticed links to a 'guyz' ability to order my way kewel logoed tee-shirt, and I believe that their seeing these compelled them to enter the contest. And, of course they noticed my addition of this- 'My Blog'.
Great fun to 'conduct' this contest and not sure what I will do next year! Me being unimaginative and not very creative, will likely do the same thing. So, if you missed out this year, there is always next year. Or, alternatively, you can just order a real kewel dive tee-shirt now!

Thank you Kara and Mike for noticing these changes to my site and I hope Mike enjoys wearing the tee-shirt. Congratulations to a winning couple!

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An interesting photo shoot.

2008-12-06T12:07:00.006-05:00

Once in a while I get contacted to photograph subjects that are not underwater and it is always an interesting shoot. I never know where my own diving and underwater photography will lead me, only that it will be 'interesting'. A week or so ago a local friend of mine, Rick, was contacted by an individual who needed some photographs of his gemstones taken to use in the individual's advertising campaign to sell these stones.

This week, I spent parts of days engaged in photographing some very beautiful and ornate gemstones, Turquoise and it was a new challenge for me. The individual, Capt. Shon, who, along with his partner, Lee, also own a restaurant here in Key Largo, Captiain Shon's Seafood Grill and Pub. They had already purchased all the photographic equipment necessary to do this type of photography and shoot.

We used a Canon dSLR and its 100mm macro lens and a 'shadow box'. Once we got organized the shoot went well. I learned many new things and most of which was about the stones themselves. I did not know how popular they are and as such, there are only three mines in the world that contain enough turquoise to make the mining of them profitable. I had no idea how valuable these gemstones are but learned it when we would weigh each one and weigh them to the 100th of a carot.

Interesting life's experience for this scuba diver. Camera settings were ISO 1600, AWB, F-Stop of F-22 and a Shutterspeed that varied from 1/60th of a second and faster, and varied only due to the reflectiveness of the stone photographed. The camera lens was set to manual focus and each stone focused individually. The shadow box had different types of light choices, and the photos were taken using the halogen choice. We mounted the camera to the box and I used my remote control to trigger the shutter, to avoid camera shake and out of focus photographs.

I wish Capt Shon great success with his endeavor and it was an interesting experience for me to be a small part of. Thank you Rick and Capt. Shon and Lee and for her help in organization!

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Working with CBS

2008-11-19T08:28:00.004-05:00

Earlier this month I received a call from my friends, Rob and Aja, who own Pleasure Diver, a dive charter company here in Key Largo (http://www.pleasurediver.com/). They had received contact from a CBS film crew who needed some footage for a pilot that will be produced by CBS and aired this spring. The crew privately chartered Pleasure Diver for the day, and Rob and Aja wanted to and did engage my diving and photographic services to help support the film crew's effort. The shoot occurred on November 5th and 6th. The crew captured their needed footage on the first day, but, had such great diving they stayed on to dive the second day!

For me it was a very interesting challenge as they needed water that looked like the Pacific Ocean, as that was where the pilot program was taking place! We were lucky and on the days they were here we found beautiful blue water. Luckier still that on their shooting day, 'everything' that could show up 'critter-wise' did! We needed sun for filming and the sun was out. We were void of current and surge which made filming easier. And we had great visibility with clean water. The film crew Dennis and Eddie were an absolute dream to work with. They were very serious minded about their task at hand, to capture the footage, but were very easy going and laid back about it none the less. Fun to be on the boat with and to dive with.
Was a nice 'kudo' for me to be a part of and especially given the success the film crew had. And aside from doing a bit of bragging here in 'my blog' ('cause I can!) I want to use this as a forum to thank my friends Rob and Aja of Pleasure Diver for the opportunity. Thank you Rob and Aja!

If you want to leave a comment; 'mouse- curse- and- click' over the time stamp below and it will open this post in a new window enabling you to do so.

"September 2008 Dive Spectacular"

2008-11-04T04:15:00.005-05:00

Many years ago and for years, I have had the idea to get a group of my 'regular guyz' together and take a trip somewhere cool. Down to an island in the Caribbean, whereever. That is a huge undertaking to say the least and the least of which would be the ability to get a dozen or so different 'guyz' from all parts of the country and world together on the same dates! Last spring it came to me that I have a pretty good list of 'regular underwater photography guyz', who all live in Florida and maybe I could put together a less ambitious undertaking and right here in Key Largo.
So in March the plan began with emails to 'my guyz'. The "our September Dive Spectacular" was born. The above slideshow captures best in imagery what it was all about. Most drove down from all over Florida, and even one came from the UK, on the previous Friday night, or that Saturday morning.
We had arranged to privately charter our own boat for the afternoon. There were around 20 of us on the boat and I was able to handpick both the boat and crew and picked a boat and crew that most of my guyz were already familiar with. We met at noon that Saturday in September, and the weather, even during our hurricane season, fully cooperated. Sunny, warm, calm seas. We provisioned the boat with snacks including: a rumcake, an apple/caramel fruit platter, Sunspree soft drinks ( and a couple beers were spirited aboard), bottled water, crackers, cheeses, chips and dips and salsa and mixed nuts, cookies and a plate of brownies. Oh yeah, we also brought our scuba gear and the camera tables and other spaces were jammed with underwater photography equipment of any and all types!
The dives were just wonderfull with great visibility and swim suit warm water. It was amazing to hear about all the cool stuff that everyone 'said' they saw even after just the first dive! The captain and I came to the conclusion that 'the first liar did not stand a chance'. There were 'claims' to Manta Rays being seen, Eagle Rays spotted, Sharks, including a Tiger shark, a big mouthed green Moray Eel and a very large menacing Mantis Shrimp and more than one seductive Mermaid. At least one diver claimed to seeing a Whale Shark! Another claimed he missed seeing that because he was busy watching a humpback whale and her calf. And a third missed both events due to being busy dodging a pod of bottlenosed dolphins!!
In case any of you missed the event, or missed seeing these things, they are included in the slide show.
I was overwhelmed by this whole event and especially the comraderie. Everyone met and immediately got along! And throughout the day and later after the dives at our planned happy hour and cookout, that was held dockside. New friends were definitely made. While we had around 20 'guyz' on the boat, we invited the crew and dive operator staff to our happy hour and cookout so I guess we had around 25 or 30 people during this part of the 'Dive Spectacular. Only one person, Brian, and his wife, could not make it as a last minute work issue rose its ugly head. But, Brian you were there in spirit as evidenced by a photo of you on the boat!
To top off the good diving, we did what divers do after diving. Debrief and Celebrate. We had both types of beverages, the second type being 'adult'and in abundant quantities. Iced and ready for us when we got off the dive boat! Four grills were fired up to cook the things we used to make shiskabobs with: all the colored peppers and onions and mushrooms and big cubes of marinatetd sirloin steak, and nice chunks of marinated and plain chicken breast filets. To tide us over one of the 'guyz' brought a large crockpot full of bbq-ed pulled pork, and, one of the Mermaids got a bunch of chickenwings from the adjacent bar. Along with all this we had potato salad, macaroni salad, and one of the guyz grilled 30 ears of corn on the cob. Breads, butter, coleslaw, more chips and dips and the usual condiments were all there. Oh, I almost forgot, we grilled scallops in butter!! I do not believe anyone went hungry! Or, thirsty! And we had music too, thanx to a guy bringing a small boombox! So, there was some dancing (not me).
Everybody chipped in with the preparation of all of this from beginning to end. And made it such a spectacular event. It began with an idea last spring and started at around noon that September Saturday. Continued on until the last of the 'younger guyz' attending quit at around midnight. A few of the heartier souls showed up the next morning for a debrief session over Bloody Mary's and Mermosas. I had coffee, thank you!! Laughing
We are already talking about doing this again and perhaps a little differently and likely between now and before next September! I have been diving a long time. This event, to me, epitomized what scuba diving can be , should be, and is, all about! Great fun from start to finish! It was overwhelming and indeed a 'Dive Spectacular'! And made possible, simply, by good divers and good people just gettin' together and goin' divin' ! September 20, 2008.
If you want to leave a comment; 'mouse- curse- and- click' over the time stamp below and it will open this post in a new window enabling you to do so.

Happy Birthday, Natalie!

2008-10-29T04:44:00.000-04:00

Happy birthday, Natalie. And congratulations again on all your accomplishments as a scuba diver and student of scuba.

Your successfull completion of your Underwater Navigation specialty course with me, and, your hard worked for Rescue Diver credential with my friend, Sasha, who owns South Beach Divers, http://www.southbeachdivers.com/ in Miami.

Huge congrats, tooo, on your completion of your Divemaster course. You are such a good student of scuba and always come well prepared for your course and ready to go!

You also make a wonderfull dive buddy and not a bad underwater model for this humble photographer.

Have a great day today on your birthday.

"Matt's Kids"

2008-10-28T07:25:00.003-04:00

I consider myself fortunate and and am very thankfull for being able to do what I do. I teach people how to scuba dive and or underwater photography. It is rewarding for me to help my students reach their goals. I make an analogy to when we were all kids. And when we meet and make a new friend, one friend knows something that the other does not know or know much about. And I am the new friend and the one showing the other friend something the friend does not know.

Years ago, I met a new friend, Professor Matt Landau, who came to me and spent some days with me learning underwater photography. Matt is a PHD and college professor who teaches the Marine Sciences at Stockton College in New Jersey. Each year, during the summer, Matt conducts a couple of week-long field trips to the Florida Keys with a group of his college students, who we here in the Keys affectionately refer to as ' Matt's Kids'. They are in my mind the future 'Cousteaus' of the world. They are all good 'kids', dedicated and studious and work hard while here. Matt's field trips are not junkets for college kids. Their days are long and begin early and end well after dark.

Matt asked me years ago, if I would spend a day with him and his 'kids' working with them and helping introduce them to our local marine environment and I readily agreed to. Over the years, these days, one day during each of the two week field trips, that I spend time with Matt and his Kids, are among the most rewarding days of my year.

As the years passed, Matt's Kids have graduated and went on to work in their field. And make a contribution. Each year, Matt brings new groups of these kind of people.

I thought I would use my blog to applaud not only Matt, but, his 'kids'. To in some small way give recognition to them and their energies and dedication to their endeavor. Thank you Matt and a thanx to your 'kids'. Our Kids! It has been my good fortune to meet and work with them.

If you want to leave a comment; 'mouse- curse- and- click' over the time stamp below and it will open this post in a new window enabling you to do so.

Turtle Rescue in Key Largo

2008-10-23T04:20:00.005-04:00

We have a lot of fun scuba diving and being out on and visiting our wonderful reefs here in Key Largo. And once in a while during the midst of it all, we come across a chance to do something in return for the fun we all have. One day this past August that 'something' appeared on the horizon. I had already finished my dives that day and was back on the dock. Enjoying a dive debrief and a beer. When, I started to hear about a turtle being rescued; so here is the 'story' as I remember it and am attaching a slide show that helps document this:

Scotty who works for our marine sanctuary patrol, was on duty when he spotted a turtle on the surface. Scotty drove his boat over to check out the turtle and noticed it could not dive. Scotty knew something was wrong with the turtle and he could not, single handedly, do anything to help it. So, he got on his marine radio and hailed Ocean Divers' boat, 'Santana' as it was in the area. Santana arrived on the scene and between Scotty and Santana's crew, they managed to land the turlte onto Santana. A call was placed to our very own 'Turtle Hospital', a non-profit entity headquartered in Marathon, and they have a 'Turtle Ambulance'. The Turtle Hospital's ambulance arrived at the dock to meet the boat and take the turtle to the hospital.

I had originally heard that the turtle had ingested a plastic bag, which they do do, misstaking these baggies for jellyfish. This can be deadly as the plastic plugs up the turtle's system. But, in this case that was not what was ailing the turtle. I am not sure what exactly was wrong, but, some sort of infection in a body cavity causing an inability for the turtle to dive. The turtle is being treated with anti-biotics. The Turtle Hospital staff named the turtle 'OD' for Ocean Divers and in their gratitude for the efforts of Scotty and OD in rescueing the turtle. For more about this rescue visit the Turtle Hospital's blog here: http://www.turtlehospital.org/blog/?m=200808

To me, it is pretty cool , that we can be out there scuba diving and having some fun and sometimes, get the chance to do some real good for the environment which we recreate in!

If you want to leave a comment; 'mouse- curse- and- click' over the time stamp below and it will open this post in a new window enabling you to do so.

Some tips for other Bloggers

2008-10-20T05:34:00.008-04:00

As I mentioned early on in my blog, I set this blog up in January of 2007, but, really did nothing with it until this fall. During the fall of each year, I make annual changes and additions to my website, and last year, determined that trying to incorporate a blog reference and blog was too much of an undertaking due to the other changes I was making that year.

Well, the fall of 2008 has now arrived and I determined to incorporate 'my blog' into my website so began developing the blog itself. I've learned a few things from other bloggers and doing some research on-line and the purpose of this post is to share these with other bloggers. I will probably update this post from time to time when or if I find or learn something new and usefull. Here goes:

My blog's template is 'Minima' but I believe these tips will work on other templates as their CSS/HTML seems similar. A word of warning, though, is if making changes to your existing blog, is to always save a copy of your template before trying to change anything, or, note your blog's prior settings. That way you can always go back to square one, should your attempt fail, or, you do not like the result.

One long standing problem I have had as an underwater photographer and having my photographs on the Internet was anyone else's ability to copy and save them and use them without my knowledge or permission. I've enjoyed having a website and now a blog, but the first thing that took the fun out of my having a presence on the Internet was having my images ripped. To this date there is no way a photographer can prevent this. It used to be easier to, but, that was long ago, and before many regular guys grew in their technological competencies. I am not going to elaborate here on how to copy someone else's imagery from the Internet, rather, advise what I have done to make it more difficult to.

I at least have prevented (in most cases) a viewer's ability to 'right-click-and-save' a photograph.

I added as a gadget to my blog, a piece of javascript. If you created your blog and are reading this , then you will know how to add a gadget. One gadget you can add is HTML or Javascript. To find the javascript that I added, using your browser, select VIEW, then SOURCE. Scroll down and you will find some 'html' that begins with a bracket: <> with Java inside it. The script's end tag reads something like this < / java 1.1 > . I am paraphrasing this script or tag, here in this post. Copy and paste this javascript into your 'gadget' and save. This will prevent some one from right clicking and saving your photographs you have posted in your blog. You can also find this same script by viewing my website's source code. My webmater, Bill Dunbar, of http://www.net-creations.net/ coded this for me and it was a huge favor. If you have a problem finding the javascript and need it, send me an e-mail: larry@larrygates.com .

The next thing I noticed was when I posted a post that had a photograph in it, was a person could curse over that photograph and 'left-click' and open a page with a very large version of the photograph and then, 'right-click-and save' that version! It took some study and thought for me to come up with a solution to this issue. I resolved this by using one of the blog's tool, which enables me to edit the blog's HTML. But, only the HTML within each post already posted. Not the blog's template. (This is much less perilous, if one errors)

We bloggers can post and later edit our posts and an edit choice is 'Edit HTML'. So, I make that choice just after I make a post that holds a photograph, and, I edit the anchor tag that would lead a viewer to that larger image. The anchor tag begins with: <>. com. I simply replaced the reference to 'blogspot.com' with larrygates . com. ' You could use 'anything . com '. Literally! The result of what I did was to create a 'dead-link'. Again if you have any questions about exactly how I did this, please send me an email.

On another matter altogether, I oftemtimes include links within my posts. As a reference to what I am posting about. I want the viewer to be able to 'see' the link, and the viewer to be able to 'click-on' it and go to that page or site. This saves the viewer the time and effort of having to copy and paste the link into their browswer's address bar. I managed to get this done by beginning in my blog's Dashboard. Then I selected 'Settings'. Next I selected 'Formatting'. Then I scrolled done until I found "Show link fields" and selected the 'YES' box. Then selected 'Save Settings'.

So, for now, fellow bloggers and photographers, either underwater or topside, the above are a couple things I learned that were useful to me in developing this blog. I can at least afford the same protection to the photos in this blog as I am already doing with those in my website and if I want some one to be able to view a link within a post, can do that as well.

Good blogging to you! And as the 'techies' would say: " hope this helps" .

If you want to leave a comment; 'mouse- curse- and- click' over the time stamp below and it will open this post in a new window enabling you to do so.

'Save Snapper Ledge!'

2008-10-16T05:56:00.004-04:00

Snapper Ledge is a small, easy to dive, shallow dive site; that we in Key Largo favor because it is probably the most fishy dive site anywhere. Marine scientists have studied the site and cannot explain why there are so many fish on this site nor can they explain the diversity of the fish and aquautic life there. Because of the diversity and density of the fish-life there it is immensely popular as a dive site. Schools of grunts and goatfish are so thick you literally cannot see through them. It is home to nurse sharks, moray eels of different species, lobsters, squirrelfish, parrotfish, trumpetfish, both yellow and southern stingrays, all the macro creatures and an occasional gray shark or eagle ray visit Snapper Ledge.

It is not part of the Sanctuary Preservation Area program. Therefore, any and all activities, fishing, spearfishing, lobstering are legal to do at Snapper Ledge. Over the very few years that mankind has visited Snapper Ledge, word has spread about its existance and wealth of marine life there. In its early days, only a few knew of it, and only a few had its GPS numbers. Several years ago, a mooring ball was installed at Snapper Ledge and this made it easy for everyone to find Snapper Ledge and enjoy it.

However, this summer a tragic event occurred at Snapper Ledge. It was discovered by recreational scuba divers engaged in underwater photography. Someone had caught a small nurse shark and eviscerated it, and, released it back onto the reef, where it died a slow death over some days' time.

Word of this tragic event spread first among us local divers and then more regionally, and, there is now a movement on to try to get the authorities to add Snapper Ledge to the SPA program and make it a Sanctuary Preservation Area.

The movement has circulated an on-line petition and the link is above, embedded into my photograph of fish at Snapper Ledge and here:

http://www.petitiononline.com/snapledg/petition.html .

I've signed it. I believe over 2000 others have also signed it. I would urge you to sign it as well.

Snapper Ledge is a very rare phenomenon and it is my belief that we should do all we can to preserve it.

Your own Website!

2008-10-11T09:03:00.003-04:00

Obviously I have my own website, a virtual domain, www.larrygates.com. And it is rich in content and particularly photographic imagery. I make changes to my site each year, and some miner changes during the year and adding images has always been a real chore for me, the scuba diver, to do. I managed to learn how and in that process later came across a person who can create much easier to edit websites than mine.

His name is Mike and is pictured above. He is a friend now, and before that one of my Rescue Diver students and is also a friend of another friend of mine, Hans. Hans was also one of my Rescue Diver students and took instruction from me in underwater photography.

As a new underwater photographer, Hans wanted his own website where he could feature his work and one in which was 'mo betta' than using the more mainstream and (I think) mundane photo sharing sites 'out there' in cyberspace.

Since then, I had another long time scuba student and dive client, Steve , who also took instruction from me in underwater photography and completed his course about a year or so ago. Steve, like Hans, determined to have a website also. Steve, as Hans did, engaged Mike to construct and launch Steve's website.

Check these sites out:
http://www.hansdejager.com/

http://www.sjmphotos.com/

To me, Mike's websites are very rich in both appearance and features and you can see for yourself by 'clicking-on' either or both of the links in this post that take you to Hans's and Steve's websites!! The big advantage that both Hans and Steve derive from their sites is their ease in setting up Galleries and adding their images to these Galleries. Their images are first viewed as thumbnails and mouse cursing over them leads to a larger view. The images are also 'right-click- protected.

So, I am impressed, and thought I would pass this on to you, the readers of my blog. In the event you are contemplating having your own website and having one that is easy for a scuba diver to add to, edit or whatever!!

Mike is a good guy (as you can tell by the photo of him I added to this post), a scuba diver and now Rescue Diver, and also a very smart 'techie-guy'! Mike can be reached via an email to: mikeselleck@msn.com

Tell Mike, Larry sent ya!!!

Dolphin Rings via an Email

2008-10-08T07:30:00.004-04:00

I received this video clip from a friend, Sally, who is a Course Director and teaching scuba in Guam. What follows is a copy and paste of the text of her email that tells the story:

"The attached video is of dolphins playing with silver colored rings which they have the ability to make under water to play with. It isn't known how they learn this, or if it's an inbred ability. As if by magic the dolphin does a quick flip of its head and a silver ring appears in front of its pointed beak. The ring is a solid, donut shaped bubble about 2-ft across, yet it doesn't rise to the surface of the water! It stands upright in the water like a magic doorway to an unseen dimension. The dolphin then pulls a small silver donut from the larger one. Looking at the twisting ring for one last time a bite is taken from it, causing the small ring to collapse into a thousands of tiny bubbles which head upward towards the water's surface. After a few moments the dolphin creates another ring to play with. There also seems to be a separate mechanism for producing small rings, which a dolphin can accomplish by a quick flip of its head. An explanation of how dolphins make these silver rings is that they are 'air-core vortex rings'. Invisible, spinning vortices in the water are generated from the tip of a dolphin's dorsal fin when it is moving rapidly and turning. When dolphins break the line, the ends are drawn together into a closed ring. The higher velocity fluid around the core of the vortex is at a lower pressure than the fluid circulating farther away. Air is injected into the rings via bubbles released from the dolphin's blowhole. The energy of the water vortex is enough to keep the bubbles from rising for a reasonably few seconds of play time."

I do not know how Sally came across this video, nor, who made it. To me, it is very cool!

Happy Birthday CJ !!

2008-10-05T16:20:00.003-04:00

No need to mention how young you turned.

Nor kid Andrianna how many turtles you saw!

I had a great day divng with you and congrats

on your birthday present from 'mother ocean';

You saw your very first turtle, and three more!

This can't be rocket science!

2008-10-03T13:38:00.001-04:00

Hopefully any of you will laugh at 'technology boy' (me, the scuba diver) trying to get this 'blogging thingee' sorted out!

I have attempted to create this blog in a way that its appearance closely resembles the appearance of my website www.larrygates.com.

Mouse cursing over either my logo, my link, or my photograph; found in the sidebars, and clicking will take you to my website.

First post

2007-01-08T16:56:00.003-05:00

I created this blog in 2007, but, did nothing with it until 2008. I am very positve about having this blog. I believe it will be fun and hopefully an enjoyable experience for everyone. But, want it known that the graphics and photographic images in this blog are copyright protected. The copyrights are either owned by me, or, by any of those who have sent me a photographic image for use in this, my, blog. If you have a want or need or use for any graphic or photographic image posted in this blog, please contact me: Larry@larrygates.com or via: http://www.larrygates.com/ .