Doug Elsey entering water for commercial dive photo shoot. (Photo: Dave Geddes)
This particular shot has me all kitted out in commercial diving gear (I am a former commercial diver) as I ride the diving stage down to the commercial divers training at Seneca Colleges Deep Dive facility in Wiarton Ontario. Commercial diving regulations are quite stringent as to the type of gear and qualifications needed in a commercial dive – this time it meant for me (as it was a commercial shoot) that I had to have all my dive medicals in place as well as having the approved dive gear to do the shoot. Knowing how to use it and being competent is also needed – one wrong move and it could result in a fatality – yours!!! Fully kitted out, the gear weighs in excess of 150 lbs and I also had to handle another 20 lb housed Nikon DSLR and strobes.
The effort did however result in the cover for the prestigious “Underwater Contractors International Magazine”. Good images do not normally happen by accident – either you are extremely lucky or by deliberately making the extra effort – it gets you the image that you had envisioned in the first place.
