Okay Walter obviously we have a difference of opinion, which is fine. If you have a current and want to maintain position of course you have to move. On the other hand, if I am drift diving, I only move to move closer to the reef or to turn. Breathing takes care of most of the up and down adjustments. The great thing is you can dive any way you want and so can I. Neither of them or wrong just what we do. I am not here to prove one way works better than the other. I have my opinion on that, but I think we can leave it we just agree to disagree.
Also, for tech diving our preferred method for decompression with current is to do live boat blue water hangs so we do not have to fight the current. In those situations we do deco and drift motionless for long periods of time. This does not mean never moving, but we certainly are not moving all the time. Just do not need to. We will increase activity at the end of the decompression, but that is just to increase blood flow to the arms and legs. That movement is done to provide no direction change or movement at all, just keep blood flow moving a bit.
I think the debate is looking at two different things. You are kind of saying why master not moving if you are going to have to move all the time any way. I am saying why not master no moving buoyancy if it is going to improve skill base and actually will be used. Even in current, I have hooked a finger on a piece of wreckage and have done detailed work with the other hand. The ability to stay motionless with the rest of my body kept my legs off the sensitive wreck and avoided any risk of kicking up silt. Flat turns are another area where mastering buoyancy without moving helps. The ability to stay flat as the diver turns over a fixed position is important for detailed. When the diver is not balanced and they try to do this, they will rarely be able to stay flat.
Moving will always make it easier and moving faster helps even more. But, I want my clients to master the actual skill without the help of the lift while moving. It only makes it easier in the long run and they have a better foundation in buoyancy skills. Harder is not a bad thing, it makes you better.
It really is all about freedom. I have viewed all my work and training about mastering the skill sets to where I have the freedom to go do any dive I want to. I did not want to be kept from chasing any goal I wanted to go after. In that process a funny thing happened. The actual dive operations got easier from a personal side. I found that I did not have to think about what I was doing when I had trained it to a level of automaticity. It freed me up to accomplish more of a task list on the bottom. The whole reason I was there. During fun dives, it allows me to see more and just enjoy the interaction with the environment more. It frees the mind to use energy that used to go to the diving part of it to be used toward whatever else I want.
Plus, sometimes on dives it is nice to shut down all the movement and just be in the water. That alone is worth it to me to master hovering totally motionless. I have to disagree. Totally motionless does not require intense concentration. The whole idea is that you let it all go. I think you are equating totally motionless with not moving around in the water column. If the water is moving you will move. Really it is becoming a piece of plankton. You do not move and if the water does you move with it. It is a very relaxed state. It is not an all or nothing thing. When you are chillin out and not moving, if you decide you want to spin a bit you give a small flick of the foot and move. There are no rules about it. It does take a lot of work in the beginning and concentration for the person trying to master it. But, once it is mastered it adds freedoms to the diving. It is a hard thing to do until it is automatic, but the divideneds are large.
I guess we just disagree. Probably beaten this horse dead as dead can be. It is all good.
CT First off, I think you are imagining a video production that is far more than what is needed. The standards really are written against cameras on DSDs. The rest of the courses it is more open, really does not say actually. The standard was written into DSD because they were shooting during the program to sell the photos or tape to the guests. This is tape being shot as an instructional add. OW and above is not DSD. The real question is can you supervise practice and grab shots. Depends if you are looking though a viewfinder or not.
I have a very wide angle port on my camera. The unit is small and easy to grab quick shoots with. I do not shoot while I am directly evaluating students with set skills. I do not see a great value in that any way, they get immediate feedback with those skills as it is. Plus, I need to be totally present for those skills.
In the pool, I have no problem taping general practice while I am the only one in the pool without a DM. I feel I am defendable in that use and I know I am going to be able to respond to a diver in need just as well with or with the camera.
In OW, I pick and choose my moments to shoot a bit more carefully. But, again when it is set up well, you have a defendable position with it as well.
Now, when a DM is around, I do not have to have them anyway, I can have them film all they want. If it were not a DM and they were there to just shoot that would be fine. There is no risk if they are not a DM because they would not have any authority to supervise to begin with. I am not a lawyer, but I would believe the shooter would fall under my insurance or the shop's as a staff person. They have no need to be worried.
Outside of open water course training the field is wide open. You can film all you like. There is no standard against it. Besides on most things you are allowed to supervise indirectly while students conduct drills. Video as a training add is defendable and a great thing. If you pick times to shoot that are not high risk and work smart it is doable at any level of course. DMs are only going to make the situation easier. Ratios are ratios, but the application of the ratios is up to the best practice of the instructor. As long as you can defend safety and control, taping is defendable. It is workable.
My two big cents.
G2
Edited by bigblueplanet, 09 May 2004 - 12:54 PM.
