My Underwater World

I first strapped a tank on in 1970 at ripe age of 12 and have never looked back. I was formally certified by the YMCA in 1974. I dove for quite a few years (before BC's) before taking a hiatus. I resumed diving with a passion in 1990.

 
I have since earned Advanced Open Water, Stress & Rescue, Nitrox Certification and am a Master Scuba Diver. I will pursue additional training because I feel scuba diving is a sport where you can constantly learn.  I feel education = safety in diving.

 

In 2000 I decided that merely diving was not enough. I wanted to capture what I saw underwater to share with my non-diving family & friends. I purchased a Nikonos V, Ikelite SS-100 and various lenses. With no photo experience except for a point-and-shoot, I was tackling a monumental task.

 
Trying to shorten the learning curve, I enrolled in a week long underwater photography course at the Divi Tiara in Cayman Brac. I learned quite a bit, but had a long way to go. I made several subsequent dive trips and learned more by trial & error. Fall of 2002 I enrolled in another underwater photography workshop aboard the Turks & Caicos Aggressor led by Mauricio Handler. It was here that I saw drastic improvements in my technique and composition.

 

In early 2003, I decided that as digital improved and prices came down, it was time to sell the Nikonos (while the market was still good) and go digital. I unloaded everything on Ebay and bought an Olympus C5050, Tetra 5050 housing and two Sea & Sea YS-90DX strobes. My first dive trip with this new rig was in May 2003 (Curacao) and I have no regrets at all. The instant feedback is incredible!

In 2004 I decided to go DSLR when the Nikon D70 was introduced. I opted to house it in a Nexus housing from Ryan at Reef Photo & Video. It is very compact and very well made! In 2005 I switched to the Subal ND-70 because of the magnified viewfinder they offer. It, too, was a compact and very well made system. The viewfinder made a big difference!

As digital keeps improving, I keep feeling the need to upgrade. I am now shooting a Nikon D200 in a Subal Housing with dual Inon Z240 strobes. I plan to keep this system for awhile....but you know how that goes :-).

 

I hope you enjoy my site!

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All text and images on this site are the copyrighted property of David Haupt. Use without permission
is strictly prohibited. Text and images were originally copyrighted in 2002 - 2006.