It all started when…
I got my SASSY in Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles. In the picture below, I was 5 years old and going SASSY snorkeling with my dad. I started to learn how to breath through a regulator using my SASSY and got used to the feeling of carrying an air tank behind me. The vest with the floats prepared me for how a BCD (buoyancy control device) would feel. I could only swim on the surface with a SASSY, but it was a closed system and I didn’t have to worry about water getting in through a snorkel. Bonair was a perfect spot for this experience because there was a ship wreck right off the coast that I could clearly see with my SASSY. I remember wanting to dive down to explore the ship. My SASSY wouldn’t allow me because of the floats. My dad said, “Well, you can try the next step, which is becoming a diver.” That was a good clear goal for a 5 year old to grasp onto. He told me I could get start scuba camp at 8 and get my PADI Junior License at 10. That us exactly what I did and discovered another whole world is there beneath the surface. I have been diving regularly in the summers since then. I replaced my junior diver license with a regular open water diver license when I turned 15. My next goal is to complete specialty classes and get my advanced diver license.
Diving with a “SASSY” - Surface Air Supplied Snorkeling for Youth
Over the years my passion for diving has evolved into a specific interest in underwater photography. I like the idea of capturing images of things that so few people ever get to see in person. By creating these images, I can share what I see with others. In addition, I like the challenge. Underwater photography is hard. Learning to compensate for the lack of light and shifting colors, taking a picture while drifting through space, and learning how to frame and compose and image are challenges. It take a ton of practice and luck. However, I have learned patience and kept at it summer after summer and (I hope) that there has been improvement in the results.
The latest challenge that I have given myself in fluo photography.
My pages are set up in chronological order based on the wonderful diving destinations I have been privileged enough to visit. Even I can see I have been improving from summer to summer. My goal in sharing my growth in underwater photography is to inspire anyone who may be interested in this subject to give it a try. It takes time and patience, but being a messenger of the underwater world and raising awareness on the planet surface is a distinguished honor and well worth the effort. I will continue to take pictures and carry my net bag with me to collect any garbage I see in what should always remain a pristine underwater world.