GoPro Video Underwater- Are you ready?

Green Moray Eel, Cozumel, Mexico (Click to image enlarge)

The GoPro is an excellent underwater camera.  It is inexpensive and easy to use, takes high resolution video and has a wide angle lens to minimize the amount of water between you and the subject.  But are you ready for underwater videography?

Before attempting underwater videography, make sure you have excellent buoyancy control and situational awareness of what is around you.  Make sure you are not missing safety stops, crashing into coral, unable to maintain good horizontal trim, or making other common but potentially hazardous mistakes.  Taking video is a huge distraction to new divers and can be very dangerous.  Trying to take video underwater before you are ready is not only dangerous, but your videos will not be good if you cannot hold the camera very still and swim smoothly as if your camera is on a rails.  You must be able to approach your subjects slowly and stop very close to them to take advantage of the GoPro's wide angle lens.

Many new divers make the mistake of trying to mount the GoPro on their head.  Never ever do this if you want good video.  This is the sure mark of a newbie diver and a dishonest or clueless salesperson that sold them a GoPro mask.  Reasons why GoPros should not be worn on your head include: Shaky nauseating videos, exhalation bubbles in the video, cannot get close enough to your subject due to extreme wide angle GoPro lens, can not easily start and stop video to get efficient short clips rather than long slow to upload computer crashing memory hogging 30 minute videos, cannot see the screen to frame your shot properly for good composition, no way to attach video lights, looking like a clueless dweeb and more.  I could go on all day, but for 99% of divers, just don't wear a GoPro on your head!  Only in rare instances are they a good idea.

For quality video you need to mount the GoPro in a underwater camera tray and use high quality wide angle video lights of at least 2000 lumens with a light angle of 90-120 degrees. Also be sure to get a camera with a video screen so you can frame your shots. The more light the better to bring out colors as in the photo above, shot with a GoPro Hero 4 Silver and a Bigblue VL3500P, 3500 Lumen, 120 degree wide angle video light.

Shooting GoPro video is not hard, but does require you to first be an excellent diver, second have the correct equipment and third consult a dive professional you trust to help you get started with the proper equipment and techniques.

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Recreational Scuba Training Agency? Does it really matter?

PADI, SSI, SDI...  Does the acronym on your certification card matter? No, it doesn't.

If anybody tells you it does- run!

All the major recreational scuba training agencies have the same minimum standards as agreed upon by the World Recreational Scuba Training Counsel.  They all have strengths and weaknesses and there are good divers and good instructors in all of them.  There are also poor divers and poor instructors in all of them.

Can you go from one training agency to another?  You bet!  The only loyalty is to the dollar!

What is most important is not the training agency or dive business, but the instructor that will be teaching you.  Contact this person directly and ask questions, get to know her/his philosophy, experience, qualifications, degrees, certifications, and skills.  Find out if you are a good fit and if the instructor is qualified to teach. Scuba diving isn't hard, but breathing underwater is a serious business.  Choose someone you can trust to help you become a safe, comfortable confident diver that respects the underwater environment.  Above all, don't choose a cheap or fast course.  You will get what you paid for.

Throwing Up Underwater

It came to my attention recently that scuba course materials don't always mention throwing up underwater, coughing, or "hocking a loogie."  At some point it inevitably comes up during the course, but it is not usually "in the brochure" and you don't often see demonstrations in the videos.

Maybe it just isn't glamorous- who knows?

Anyway,  as a diver since 1993, I can honestly say, I have never vomited underwater, but I have seen a few folks offshore that "fed the fish" while diving. I believe knowing what to do if you are sick underwater is essential, because you can't swim to the surface every time you need to cough, clear your throat, or vomit.  Remember you must slowly ascend from every dive!

By the way, it is considered bad form to take video of your vomiting dive buddy and the resulting swarm of fish that it attracts, but I digress....

There are many ways to avoid seasickness in the first place like using motion sickness medication before you leave the dock whether you think you will need it or not. The last guy I saw blowing chunks above and below the water was a merchant marine, so just because you sail or work on boats does not mean you will never be seasick.  Avoid large, heavy, greasy, or spicy meals.  Staring at the horizon, staying in the center of the boat, avoiding exhaust fumes or other odors, and not going below deck are other good ways to avoid being seasick.  Being well rested and having a positive mental attitude can also help.  My favorite  method is to visualize the motion of the boat in my mind, so my brain can make sense of it.  I swear this is helpful.  My other favorite is eating ginger snap cookies, which was my mother's remedy.

The good news is that most people who feel sick on the boat will feel just fine in the water when the rocking of the boat stops. So one way to deal with seasickness is to get into the water quickly after the boat anchors.

If you do not take proper precautions and do need to vomit underwater, then what do you do?

Simply hold the regulator and mask in place and throw up through the regulator.  Just remember, when we cough or throw up we breathe in sharply afterward as a reflex, so it is vital to keep the regulator in to avoid inhaling water as best you can.

Material will flow out of the regulator exhaust valve and hopefully the valve will then close normally to keep water from entering during the inhalation reflex.  It is possible for debris to lodge in the exhaust valve and keep it open, so as with any first breath underwater, make it a tentative cautious breath.  If the exhaust valve is stuck open and the regulator breathes wet (allows some water in), you can always switch to your alternate regulator to end the dive.

Use the regulator purge valve if needed to clear the regulator of debris, just remember to seal the opening with your tongue.  You do not want to inhale vomit or water.

Though it isn't ideal; coughing, sneezing,  hiccuping, or clearing your throat,  and vomiting can all be accomplished underwater if done cautiously.

Sorry for the yucky topic, but it is essential information.  I hope this was helpful.

Clearing Ears When Diving

A new diver once told me she was amazed to find out she could clear her ears.  Prior to learning to scuba dive she just endured the pain and discomfort of pressure changes while flying or driving to and from altitude!

As divers we become deeply aware of the air spaces in our heads; our sinuses, middle ear space, eustachian tubes, mucous production and so much more we probably never wanted to know about.  An instructor once told me "diving is all about mucous control." Sounds yucky, but there has never been a more true statement about diving.

Why must we clear our ears?

As we descend pressure pushes inward on the ear drum.  If we continue to descend this pressure will injure or even rupture the ear drum.  The simple solution to this is to, equalize the pressure, aka clear your ears, by allowing air from your throat to flow into the middle ear space via your eustachian tubes.

In your scuba class you are taught to relax your neck muscles and gently blow against pinched nostrils while wiggling the jaw (Valsalva Maneuver); close your mouth and swallow with the tongue against the roof of the mouth (Frenzel Maneuver); the Yawn and Swallow or other method that works best for you.  If this does not work, you must ascend a few feet to lower the pressure and try again.  It is important to clear your ears before you feel discomfort and never do anything forcefully.  It is also important never to dive if you cannot clear your ears or have a cold.

This is more difficult than it sounds, because what is meant by discomfort?  What is meant by forcefully?

Most divers learn how to clear safely without injury through practice with an instructor.

Sadly, some people will never dive because the anatomy of their ears, sinuses or eustachian tubes will not allow them to clear their ears and their diving days are quickly over.  Others may have surgery to correct any anatomical problems.  Some find working with an allergy specialist will help them avoid excess mucous that may make clearing difficult.  

Learning to dive means learning to clear your ears, learning to avoid things that will cause excessive mucous production, knowing when not to dive and much more. 

Your instructor does not know what is going on in your head, so be sure to communicate with your instructor about your ears by using the hand signals your are taught.

Above all don't dive if you are not able to clear your ears.


Visit Divers Alert Network FMI:

http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/articles/Guide_to_Avoiding_Ear_Sinus_Injuries_in_Scuba_Diving

https://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/articles/download/DiversGuidetoEars.pdf