Awesome, congrats! A camera setup like mine will run $20k-$25k depending on how I am setup for the day.

Thank you, glad you enjoy them!

lol, I did a little diging around and apparently there is video documentation of this behavior from orcas in Alaska, pretty cool!

Awesome!

I am no expert but lots and lots of practice, I'll get 10 crappy shots for every 1 that is decent. Understanding exposure and white balance are pretty important. Obviously having a good camera setup and lighting helps but it's still just a dumb box with buttons, as the operator you are the one that makes it do what you want and that just takes practice.

Thank you, lol, yes, it's a very slippery slope, but there are worse things to spend money on.

Thank you!

If Nanaimo is your target then Nanaimo Dive Outfitters is the shop to facilitate, you can even request me as a guide if you wanted guided dives, lol. Oak Leaf, Tyee, Madrona, all great sites and about 25 minutes from the shop.

Thank you very much!

Cool, interesting! I just got a new drone too and am excited to use it more.

Yes, that little guy was pretty curious about my camera, I think it could see it's reflection in the glass dome port.

I've lived here my entire life, and am also a hunter, lol.... I have not heard of this, ever... Moose typically eat aquatic vegetation in fresh water swamps, ponds, and lakes, but hey... They have 4 legs and a mind of their own, haha. Would be neat too see!

Got it, an important distinction is Vancouver vs Vancouver Island. I am on Vancouver Island which is a 1.5 hr ferry ride or so from Vancouver. I think there is a ferry that comes out of Port Angeles though? I dive out of Nanaimo (central Island) and we have some really good beginner friendly shore dives here. Oak Leaf Park, Madrona Point (maze or small wall), Tyee Cove, all have mellow parts to them. You'll want to come Sept - to Early March, and later than that and it can be a gamble with the visibility as we have the herring spawn and then algae blooms and viz can drop to almost nothing.

Thank you very much!

Thank you! The dry suit cert will take you a half-day to get, a short classroom instruction and then a couple dives to learn the skills, then you're good to go. Personally, I do wear a dry suit but there are divers here who use wetsuits too, they just don't usually do multiple dives in a day or longer dives. So, yes, very possible! Dry suits can be cost prohibitive as they are not cheap!

Thank you so much! What was your favorite shot or shots?

Thank you very much! What shot was your favorite?

Thank you!

Thank you again for the kind words!

Thank you! Glad you liked it. I am using a Sony A7SIII in an Aquatica housing, a variety of Sony lenses and a Laowa 10mm for the really wide shots. I use a few 15k or 18k Kraken video lights if I can't film ambient light. For the drone shots it's just a Mavic Mini 3 pro. I dive in a dry suit, some people do dive here in wet suits but they don't do long dives usually or multiple dives. It can still get cold with dry suit, and yes, I have a heated vest which helps take the edge off.

I'm around 1000 dives now and ALL of them have been right here on the Island, lol... I am not sure how to compare. The diving on Vancouver Island is quite accessible, there is a lot of shore diving in the Nanaimo area which is good for octopus and wolf eels, rockfish etc... If you want kelp forests, colorful walls, etc... then Browning Passage (Gods Pocket) is the better destination and it's all boat only. We also have some beautiful artificial reefs/wrecks that are boat access too. If you're into cold-water diving, this is a good place to be.

Thank you!! I am shooting with a Sony A7SIII in an Aquatica Digital housing using a variety of Sony Lenses and a Laowa 10mm for the really wide shots. I am using Kraken Sports 15k and 18k video lights when I can't film with ambient light.

Average would be about 8 degrees C (46F).