A Hole in My Heart

I HAVE BEEN A CERTIFIED DIVER since 1986 and have logged hundreds of recreational and technical dives. Since 2014 I have primarily been doing technical rebreather diving with a close group of experienced rebreather divers from Northern California. During the summer of 2019, our group visited Lake Huron’s Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Michigan […]

Divers Jim Eckhoff and Keith Flood exit the water after diving

Not Only for Diving

WHILE DAN’S SUITE OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS focus primarily on diving, graduates of the courses can apply the skills and knowledge they learned to many circumstances outside the aquatic realm. My wife and I were driving home from a weekend getaway to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, heading northbound on Interstate 95. As expected, I-95 was moderately […]

Building Better Balance

DIVING TAKES PLACE in an environment that is dynamic both in and out of the water. Challenging and changing situations can happen even while traveling to a dive site. Balance exercises can help improve your ability to maintain or regain stability on a rocking boat. Wearing scuba gear changes your weight distribution and center of […]

Iceland

It’s not every day you can witness the inner workings of our planet by taking a live look under the hood at the engine of creation. Some scientists claim that life on Earth began from hydrothermal vents in the ocean’s abyssal reaches. That realm is much deeper than where I float now, but otherwise it’s […]

Chunks of ice wash up on the black sand at Diamond Beach near Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon

Low-Visibility Diving

WEATHER, SILTY SEDIMENT, time of day, or water movement are just a few natural factors among the range of possible causes that can influence the visibility at your dive site. Low-visibility diving can be quite enjoyable, but it depends on the circumstances and your comfort level. Why do people dive in low-visibility environments? Some divers, […]

Underwater Smartphone Photography

LIKE ANOTHER UNIVERSE, the underwater world is full of whimsical inhabitants, sinuous sharks, and huge mammals that have always fascinated people and probably always will. As a photographer, you enter completely new territory when you begin shooting underwater and learning how to adapt to the conditions of the aquatic world. Lighting subjects underwater differs significantly […]