Before

After

For those who have purchased a flat port housing for your GoPro’s don’t forget to color with black fine point sharpie the back clear portion of the epoxied lens to keep from getting sun rings in your shots. If you are using a Hero 2 you will not have to worry about coloring the front lens as instructions state as the new camera is already black. If you own the Hero 1, yes still follow instructions and do back part as well.

Trust Me! Kids LOVE the water, especially when they have the right equipment and skills. Garrett, is Neptune’s very own Snorkeling Specialist and the kids adore him. Schedule your own private snorkel lesson, starting at only $35 per kid when there are 2 or more. Reservations may be called in at (801)466-9630.

Watch for Monthly scheduled classes for only $25. These classes fill quick so reserve your spot now. Children need to be at least 5 years old for the group sessions.

May Class will be held on May 16 from 6-8pm.

There are no excuses for not diving fairly often, with Neptune’s monthly Dive-A-Longs there are at least 12 opportunities through out the year.

For May’s dive we will be headed out to Blue Lake, this is a fun dive that can be done all year long. May is one of our favorite times to go because it is not to hot and the bugs are not out yet. This is a great lake to practice your buoyancy and navigation, with the depth reaching 60 feet and the items placed by other divers.

We will meet at the lake at 10am on Saturday, May 26th.

Getting there: Take I-80 west to Wendover. Take the second exit — the one after you’ve gone through the notch in the mountain. Turn left, then left again onto the main street of Wendover. Drive a block and turn right (south) on Alt-US-93 (heading towards Ely). Yes, you’ll be in Nevada. Watch for the “Blue Lake” sign about 15 miles later. Take the dirt road east (left) 7 miles back into Utah and to lovely Blue Lake.

$59 Club Aquarius Rental Package – BC, Regulator, wetsuit, wt. belt, hood, and 2 tanks
For those of you who own your equipment, club price is $20 for 2 tanks and weights

Call to RSVP and come in to Reserve your Rental Gear 801.466.9630

HOSES CAN RUPTURE REDUCING THE AVAILABLE AIR SUPPLY TO THE DIVER, POSING A DROWNING RISK
Primarily, these hoses were sold as individual replacement gauge hoses from
May 2009 to present. Additionally, they were sold as cascade hoses or in three kits.
These kits are (1) Deluxe Cylinder Equalizer w/ Miflex HP hose (P/N AC366);
(2) Miflex Two-Gauge Console (HL300/HL300M); and
(3) Miflex Rebreather Kits.
Miflex high pressure hoses can be identified by:
1. A black nylon braided outer covering on the hose
2. A hose diameter of approximately ¼ inch (6 mm)
3. Manufacturing stamping on the female fitting “MFX”
IF YOU HAVE ONE OF THESE HOSES, IMMEDIATELY STOP USING IT AND BRING THE HOSE INTO US AND WE WILL TAKE CARE OF GETTING YOU A REPLACEMENT

CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS

Lets Play with the SpearGuns!
Join us for our Pre-Season Spearfishing Clinic and a little friendly competition on May 5th at 6pm at the Neptune Divers pool. Practice your skills before the season starts or try it for the first time. Scuba certified or not all are welcome to attend. We will provide the equipment; all you will need to bring is your swimsuit and towel. Special offers will be available on all SpearGuns in stock.

Space is Limited Please RSVP 801.466.9630

Jake has been at it again and we have some great new options to add to your GoPro camera sets. Neptune is now a dealer for the Capture Camera Clip Systems, see for yourself how useful this clip can be.

While your at it why not make your GoPro match your style with our new Custom vinyl.

Earth Day is on April 22nd so Lets help clean her up at Burreston Pond

We will be at the pond @ 10am

Burreston Pond is located just south of Mona, Utah (about 35 miles from Provo, 75 from Salt Lake). The pond is about 200 feet wide and 1200 feet long. It forms a circle around a central island, with a small dike splitting the western side of the pond. The north end (the larger arm of the pond) is best for diving. Altitude 4300 feet.

The Water: Burreston Pond is fed by springs at many locations along the pond’s bottom. Although the sun warms some areas of the pond to a balmy 70 degrees, the deeper spots near each spring are a chilly 54 degrees. This makes for a thermally interesting dive. Maximum depth (in the springs) is 13 feet, with most areas around 8 feet. Visibility is about 15 feet. The bottom is pretty clean — you’ll have to hunt to find underwater “treasures.” (Pack a couple extra weights due to the shallow water)

Getting there: Drive south on I-15 to Mona (exit number 233, 35 miles south of Provo). Turn right as you exit the freeway, then drive west a couple of miles into Mona. At the first stop sign (main street) in the middle of Mona, turn left to go south. (This is highway U-41, but there’s no marker at the intersection.) Drive south 1.7 miles and turn right (west, 2nd right after it goes to 55mph) on a paved road. After 0.5 mile, it turns to gravel at the railroad tracks. Continue straight across to the north sides of the pond. (Approximately 1 hr 20 min from Neptune)

$59 Club Aquarius Rental Package – BC, Regulator, wetsuit, wt. belt, hood, and 2 tanks
For those of you who own your equipment, club price is $20 for 2 tanks and weights

Call to RSVP and come in to Reserve your Rental Gear 801.466.9630

Technical Diving — Beyond the Limits of Recreational Diving

More and more divers are asking us about Technical Diving. In response to this growing demand, and to serve you better, working with 2 Instructors specialized in Tech Diving. They will be giving a presentation about Technical Diving and answering any questions you may have. Even if you are not sure you will be Tech diving, come learn what its about.

Until recently, if you wanted to get quality instruction in Technical Diving, you had to travel out of state. Now, with our new Technical Diving Program, we can offer you first class Technical Diving instruction, right here at our shop. All the classes can be done Sidemount, Backmount or both.

Tech Diving takes you where very few people have been or will ever go. It is a very rewarding and challenging sport that can be affordable. It is split into progressive levels, according to the level of training you want to reach. This makes it even more affordable.

Technical Diving allows you to extend your range of diving. Including Wreck diving, Deep diving, Cave diving, Search and Recovery, Expedition diving, longer shallow dives, etc., or simply because you are passionate about diving and you want to take it to the next level…

Now, you can dive where ever, when ever, to any depth, for as long as you want. You will have no limits!

If you are certified as an Open Water Diver, you can get trained and become a Technical Diver.

We will be having a FREE presentation on Technical Diving here at the shop on January 21st. There will be a demonstration of gear configurations and you will find out what classes will be available to you. Come and join the fun and have all your Technical Diver questions answered.

Dive with no limits — Expand your horizon — Become a Technical Diver

PS: Technical diving can be learned in Backmout or Sidemount. Sidemount equipment configuration facilitates “spot on” buoyancy within minutes and results in a more streamline profile. It facilitates water entry/exit, because the diver has to carry only 1 tank at a time instead of 2. Sidemount diving is becoming the preferred equipment configuration for extended range dives, cave dives, and deep exploration dives.

Please RSVP due to Space is Limited 801.466.9630

Class starts on December 21st for 3 Wednesday nights followed by 2 days of Open Water on January 14th and 15th. Course is $180 ($170 for Club Members). Reserve your spot in one of our favorite classes today.

There are a lot of ways you can complicate photography which is why I love the term KISS or Keep It Simple Stupid when it comes to underwater images mainly because I think there is a lot to see out there that I would like to have a pleasing shot of and only a short time to capture it. I also believe that anyone can get a shot they would be proud to show off with even the most basic of cameras. The things I will cover will apply to both video and stills to some degree or another.

Equipment

Simple Camera

Not Simple Set up

I could go on for days about equipment but as I stated before KISS and remember its not a matter of if you flood your camera but when you do. Much depends on how much you are willing to spend and how much gear you are willing to pack so with those things in mind let me tell you. I really love the new small relatively inexpensive and very capable camera setups out there today. We sell everything from $26 point and shoot film cameras to $5000 setups it really just depends on what types of images our customers are wanting. Another thing I like to tell folks is that you can’t shoot a better shot than your equipment will allow which basically means don’t buy the $20 camera if you want whale shark footage.

If you are more interested in setting up your shots and tweaking your f-stops and shutter speeds then that’s cool and there are plenty of resources out there that will help you do that. I shoot with simple cameras in automatic mode and for the most part the only settings I mess with are lighting angles and light power output. Some items that will help with your shots are as such.

Color filter

Color Filter

W/O Filter

With Filter

This is Money well spent in my book, this simple device can add to your shots exponentially. This works by adding reds back into your picture that you loose more and more the deeper you go. The only time I wouldn’t use this is maybe at ten feet on a clear sunny day and even then its better to have a little extra color that you can take down a bit in editing. Some of the new cameras even have an underwater mode that does this for you and works very well.

Strobe

Strobe

Video Light

This is one of those items that a lot of folks have a hard time spending the extra coin on as they are usually as much or even more than the camera itself, however once you do you will know why they are worth it. This device is generally called a slave strobe as it will use your cameras flash to activate it. They will have a fiber optic cable that goes from your camera to the strobe and the instant your flash fires it also sets off the strobe. The biggest benefit is that you will add significantly more light to your shot to really make the colors pop as well as it will usually be aimed at your subject at an angle to help eliminate light reflecting off the particulate in the water that would with a normal camera flash give you white dots in your shot known as backscatter.

Lenses

Wide Angle Lens

A lot of cameras have an option for at least a wide angle lens which I would highly recommend to increase your shooting perspective. I will admit I am a bit partial to the wide angle shots I suppose because that’s what tickles my fancy so to speak. Some will even do a macro lens that will let you shoot some of the cool little critters but takes a bit more getting used to shooting. If you find yourself shooting a lot off little stuff make sure you turn on the close up setting on your camera to help with focusing and don’t forget to turn it off again when done. The SLR housings will let you choose which lens port you want depending on what size of lens you want to shoot with.

GoPro Dome lens

Flat Lens Housing

The Gopro camera that we sell focuses well with a dome lens on it out of the water but will not work very well under and is why you would want to get one of our flat port housings to let that camera focus from edge to edge with no blurring.

Shooting

All to many times I hear people say “I am not going to take my camera this dive so I can get used to my gear”. If you think about it this makes no sense as your camera is part of your gear and if you want to get the best shots possible it will not happen with your camera sitting in the hotel room and I promise the dives you don’t take it on will be the ones with the coolest stuff to shoot. This can also change your weighting to some degree so then when you do decide to take it with you your bouyancy may be off. Nobody says you have to shoot with it but it’s better to have the option.

“The best camera I have ever used is the one I had when i needed one!”

Just by changing the angle at which you shoot can take a subject that is kinda cool and make it look amazing just by capturing it better in its environment. This does take a bit of practice to get the hang of but is not terribly complicated. I like to think about it this way: Subject, Foreground, Background. The shot should to some degree tell a story to the viewer. If a shot has these elements I generally enjoy it much more than just something somewhere at some depth.

Not Good Angle

Good Angle

Do not shoot down on the reef! In almost all instances your subject will be lost in the shot and you will have virtually no depth of field.

Shot Down at the Reef

Shot Parallel with the Reef

Subject – What is it you are taking a shot of? This should be easily recognizable at first glance to anyone.

Subject shot

Foreground – This is the area around the subject. maybe the place it calls home.

Foreground Shot

Background – This is to give your shot some depth of field or some sort of scale and even helps to tell the story of where this may be.

Background Shot

As you approach your shot you should be processing multiple things before you get there. I’m not talking about deep thinking here just a quick thought. Think about what you are shooting. How best can I approach to not disturb this critter or the environment around it. Is it big or little? What angle may work best to capture this critter? What lighting might work best on this? How close should I or can I be? Then once you have gone over this set your camera up at a good starting point before you get there so as to be ready to go when you get there and only have to make minor adjustments when in position and not be fumbling around and either scaring it away or stirring up the sand or generally ruining the shot for the guy behind you or worse case pissing the critter off and getting bit.

Shooting at an upward angle or horizontal with the reef will generally help your depth of field greatly. This can put some blue water or distant reef in the background. you can even enhance this by trying to capture your buddy in the background as well to help give a sense of scale and presence.

Shot Upward

Shot Upward with Diver

Shoot smaller things within arms reach and larger things within the focusable distance and strobe reach of your setup. Do not Zoom your camera this will only make things shakier and less lit by your light. You need to actually move closer to your subject so as to appropriately fill the frame with them and light them well.

To Far Away

Good Distance

Close ups or macro are fun to do also and you can apply most of these same principles with just some slight modifications. Don’t be afraid to move in close to your subject and have them fill the frame just remember to not invade their space to much. Try to keep a bit of depth in your shots even when close.

Close Up 1

Close Up 2

Macro

Shoot a few angles and settings of the same subject to give yourself a better chance of getting just the right combination to really make that shot great.

Not Good

Better

Best

When shooting video try to get a smooth steady shot of a subject doing something for at least 10 seconds and not longer than 30 seconds unless it is something really cool as you can always cut back a bit when editing. All to often the clips you shoot will be shorter than you thought, so as soon as you think you have gone long enough (Go longer) it will surprise you.

Try to keep as smooth as possible because hopefully someone will be watching it and you really don’t want to make them motion sick. Remember that every movement you do while recording can transfer to your camera. This means fin kicks, head turns, camera adjustments can all show in your video to some degree or another. That is one benefit to a larger more well balanced camera is that it is generally more stable in the water. Some of the smoothest video I have ever shot was with a camera that weighed about 15lbs but that is absurd to pack around the word.

Editing

Look I know some of the diehards out there think you should be able to get the perfect shot without any post editing but gimme a break! Shooting underwater is a complex juggling act of variables that are mostly out of your control so I say edit all you need and show off your best work. People do not want to sort through dozens of your so-so shots to see a couple of cool things.

Get some sort of half decent editing software and let it help you out without getting crazy with it. A little color correcting here and contrast fix there and you should be set. Then put together your top handful of shots and put them together in a short and sweet sideshow or video set to some nice appropriate music keeping in mind that people lose interest in about 10-15 min.

Click for some video examples

Maintenance

We spend a lot of time and money to get to these fantastic places with our cool gear so to not be able to use it because you do not have a good oring or set of batteries that work is both disappointing and really unacceptable. Pack some extras. I take an extra oring for everything that takes one and they all fit in one small Ziploc bag. The same goes for batteries, Memory cards, and maybe even a charger. I even take no less than three types of cameras (not all underwater) on my trips. That way I can more than likely fix the issues that may arise on the island in the middle of nowhere and get the shot rather than having packed my gear half way around the world for nothing. Take good care of your orings and they will take care of you.

Click for some great maintenance tips from Sea & Sea

Check your batteries before you go to make sure they hold a charge as they do have a relatively short life span depending on use. I also recommend getting the highest Mili-amp battery you can find such as 2400 or more on double or triple A’s.

Avoid the dreaded rinse tanks! I have seen way more problems come from these things than they help. Just rinse your camera off in your room upon returning each day to dissolve the salt buildup around buttons and such. These tanks will just get chemicals in them from some schmuck putting there oily hands in or even defog solution that can get all over your lenses and even may deteriorate your actual housing (yes this can happen). They allow all the expensive cameras to bounce around on each other like little wrecking balls breaking parts and even opening each other up. All that care and maintenance on 200 dives just to have it get unlatched in the rinse bin. What a shame! Ask the boat crew to not put your camera in the tank upon safely handing it up the ladder but to set it on a safe camera only table or area that it will not fall off of or get sat on.

Rinse Tank fail

Camera Table

Pack smartly! This will really depend on how much stuff you have to pack and how much you trust the baggage handlers. I personally pack all my camera gear into a carry on size bag and keep it with me.

These things should help to improve your good shot to not so good shot ratio and give you something you are proud to show off. So get out and shoot shoot shoot!
Feel free to come by and show us what you have and if you would like any pointers don’t hesitate to ask.