Ok, etiquette....

[Sorry Jeff, I'll do editing tools next. Besides, you are pretty much set with Lightroom as far as I can tell.]

Diver and photographer etiquette seems like one of those topics that's a) talked about a lot b) pretty damn obvious and c) despite a&b, often ignored.

We've all had it happen to us, more times than we'd like.... A wayward fin smacking you in the face, someone kicking up silt just as your sailfin blenny starts to display, someone hogging the hogfish cleaning station - these are all examples. I also include people bumping, bashing, sitting on, dragging gear across, kicking, and otherwise torturing the reef.

I think the issue really comes down to self-awareness. Most people are not all that self-aware to begin with - then strap on 50 lbs of gear and 2 foot long foot extensions (which unfortunately do not contain nerve endings), and, well, it can get pretty ugly. I have to admit to a few etiquette lapses at times, though, so this applies to me as well (and I hope this whole thing doesn't come across as preachy). Fortunately, most people are pretty good about about it if you can (nicely) point out example of their etiquette breaches. Those that are not, well, just lump them in the asshole category and go on.

As Lisa pointed out in one of her comments, a common thing you'll see is the guy with a huge rig who doesn't yield for a person with a small point and shoot. Obviously, the P&S person has just as much right to shoot a subject that the divemaster pointed out as Mr. Big-Ass Rig does. There isn't a whole lot you can do underwater (though this is a time that knowing some good underwater signs is useful... the one that involves pulling one part of the body out of a another part of the body springs to mind here). Once on the surface, you can very gently and politely remind the person that you are a person too, despite the diminutive size of your camera, and next time you'd like a chance to photograph the little seahorse before it goes blind.

As I said, though, it really is a matter of self-awareness and despite your pleas, Mr. Big-Ass is probably not going to change. In fact, any time you dive with a large group of divers, you are pretty much guaranteed to run into people who are going to be problems.

So... how to deal with it......

First, increase your own level of self-awareness. Little things make a difference... like not leaving your crap (excuse me, your very nice, expensive gear) laying around the boat in people's way, or like not leaving your rig in the rinse tank for more than a few minutes so there's no room for others. If there's a subject you want to spend a lot of time with, let every single other person in the group go ahead of you. Learn how to signal - "no, please, after you", and let them shoot away. They'll know that you are waiting, so (generally) won't take a long time. A little politeness grease can go a long way.

Second, swim the other direction. If I am stuck diving with a large group, this is my favorite way of dealing with it. Sure, I'll miss the 27th juvenile drumfish that the divemaster has pointed out, and the DM is likely to be pissed at me for getting "lost"... "again", but I think I am ok with that. Frankly, I don't care much for the following a divemaster around thing anyway. Even if I took the shot, I'd just have the same shot that the other 12 people in the group have anyway. Whenever I can, I try to avoid diving with big groups in the first place - dives with a small group or by myself (gasp) are just more relaxing, for me.

Third, give people the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes this is tough for me, but I've found that when I do, it usually helps. For example, rather than assuming that Rick (not his real name)(yes, it is) got in the way of the shot I had been setting up and waiting patiently for the turtle to swim across the field of view with the lovely pink and soft corals swaying in the current and the bumphead parrotfish school in the just the right spot, rather than assuming the worst, that he purposely got in my way, I chalked it up to a lack of self awareness on his part, and realized that I really couldn't change him. In other words, he isn't an asshole (ok, yes he is), he just doesn't think about other people (ok, so this was a bad example).

Fourth, tell them what they did, especially if they jacked with the reef. If they screw up, tell them, otherwise they will not know (that self-awareness thing again). Keeping in mind that they might not have meant to do whatever they did, explain what happened in as nice of a manner as you can. Sometimes they will react well, and if they do, you get 1 extra bonus karma point. It might not help you, but it might help someone else in the future. If they react badly, well, they get 2 extra a-hole points.